Shell’s quarterly profit of $5.32 billion rivals the days of $100-a-barrel oil, but its stock drops.

Royal Dutch Shell rode the surge in oil prices to earn its biggest profit since the days of $100 a barrel crude. Investors were displeased that the company didn't take them along for the ride.

While French rival Total has started disbursing the rewards of rising energy prices — with higher dividends and share buybacks — Shell has other priorities, at least for now. Chief Financial Officer Jessica Uhl declined to say when her planned $25 billion to $30 billion stock repurchase program would start, telling reporters during a call that she wanted to focus on debt reduction first.

There are two big reasons for the company's caution.

First, it still has to pay off the acquisition of BG Group in 2016, a deal that has turbocharged natural gas earnings but left Shell heavily indebted.

Second, its cash flow — little changed from a year earlier despite higher oil prices — “may not necessarily support” the planned buybacks, according to RBC Capital Markets.

Shell’s stock dropped as much as 2.8 percent as analysts raised concerns about flat cash flow from operations, which was $9.43 billion in the first three months of 2018.

Shell reported adjusted net income was $5.32 billion last quarter, compared with $3.75 billion a year earlier. That surpassed analysts expectations of $5.2 billion, rising to a level only consistently seen when oil traded for more than $100.