Saudi Aramco became the world's largest company by market capitalization after its 2019 Saudi stock-market listing.
Saudi Aramco began trading on the Saudi Exchange in December 2019 after an initial public offering that valued the company at about $1.7 trillion. Its enormous valuation came from its dominant position in Saudi Arabia’s oil industry and its exceptionally large hydrocarbon reserves.
The offering sold only a fraction of the company’s shares to the public. Most ownership remained with the Saudi government, so the listed shares represented only part of the total company.
Saudi Aramco is sometimes confused with Apple in first-trillion-dollar discussions. Apple crossed $1 trillion earlier, in 2018, while Saudi Aramco was the first company to pass that level through a public listing in Saudi Arabia. Rankings can vary with oil prices, exchange rates, and daily share movements.