Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) Thursday pulled out a record-high cash flow from operations, excluding working capital. The $17.5 billion in cash flow was assisted by commodity derivatives, in addition to cash generation across businesses. This is a nearly $4 billion increase quarter on quarter and nearly double year over year. Shell's net debt for Q3 fell to $57.5 billion, from $73.5 billion in Q3 2020. Adjusted earnings were $4.1 billion, and adjusted EBITDA was $13.5 billion. The positive results come after an activist shareholder pitched the idea of breaking up Shell's oil and gas divisions from its renewables.