Have you been eager to see how Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS-A - Free Report) – Europe’s largest oil company – performed in Q4 in comparison with the market expectations? Let’s quickly scan through the key facts from this Hague, Netherlands-based behemoth’s earnings release this morning:

About Royal Dutch Shell: Royal Dutch Shell owns one of the largest integrated oil and gas businesses in the world. The group has operations all over the world and is involved in various activities related to oil and natural gas, chemicals, power generation, renewable energy resources, and other energy related businesses. Royal Dutch Shell divides its operations into four major segments: Upstream, Downstream, Integrated Gas and Corporate.

In Feb 2016, Shell acquired UK’s third-largest energy player BG Group for a total consideration of $50 billion.

Zacks Rank & Surprise History: Currently, Royal Dutch Shell has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) but that could change following its fourth quarter 2016 earnings report which has just released. 

Coming to earnings surprise history, the company has a dismal record: its missed estimates in three of the last four quarters resulting in an average negative surprise of 10.01%.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC Price and EPS Surprise

Royal Dutch Shell PLC Price and EPS Surprise | Royal Dutch Shell PLC Quote

Estimate Revision Trend: Investors should note that the earnings estimate revisions for Royal Dutch Shell depicted slight optimism prior to the earnings release. The Zacks Consensus Estimate rose marginally over the last 7 days.

We have highlighted some of the key details from the just-released announcement below:

A Lower-than-Expected Profit: Earnings per ADS (on a current cost of supplies basis, excluding items) came in at 44 cents, well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents.

Revenue Came in Lower than Expected: Revenues of $64,767 million were below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $68,600 million.

Key Stats: Upstream segment recorded a profit of $54 million (excluding items) during the quarter, turning around from the $1,009 million (adjusted) loss in the year-ago period. Shell’s upstream volumes averaged 2,997 thousand oil-equivalent barrels per day (MBOE/d), 25% higher than the year-ago period. The group’s worldwide realized liquids prices were 15% above the year-earlier levels but natural gas prices were down 5%.

In the downstream segment, the Anglo-Dutch super-major reported adjusted income of $1,339 million, 12% less than the $1,524 million earned in the year-ago period. 

The Integrated Gas unit reported adjusted income of $907 million as against $1,245 million in Oct-Dec quarter of 2015.

Share Performance: Shares have risen 7% over the past 3 months, mirroring the Zacks categorized Oil & Gas - International Integrated industry gains. Over the last 12 months, Royal Dutch Shell stock has risen 26%.