Saudi Aramco became the first company to reach a $2 trillion market capitalization after its 2019 public listing.
On its second day of trading in December 2019, Saudi Aramco’s share price rose enough to value the company at approximately $2 trillion. The milestone made it the world’s most valuable listed company at that point, although later market movements changed the ranking.
The offering was part of Saudi Arabia’s economic-reform strategy associated with Vision 2030. The sale gave public investors a stake while the Saudi government retained overwhelming control of the company.
This fact is often confused with Apple’s later $2 trillion milestone in August 2020. Apple was the first technology company and the first widely recognized U.S.-listed company to reach that level, while Aramco reached it earlier as a Saudi-listed energy producer.