Saudi Aramco briefly became the world’s most valuable public company in 2019 after its initial public offering.
Saudi Aramco began trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul, in December 2019. Its offering valued the company at about $1.7 trillion, making it the largest listed company by market capitalization at that time and briefly putting it ahead of Apple.
The company is formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Company and is majority-owned by the Saudi Arabian government. It operates in oil exploration, production, refining, chemicals, and distribution, giving it a scale unusual even among global energy companies.
The IPO did not sell the entire company. A relatively small portion of shares was offered to investors, while the state retained overwhelming ownership. A common mistake is to treat the IPO proceeds as the company’s market cap; proceeds are the money raised, while market cap is the value of all outstanding shares.