Saudi Aramco briefly became the world’s most valuable public company in 2019 after its Saudi stock-market listing.
Saudi Aramco began trading on the Saudi Exchange on December 11, 2019. Its shares rose on the first two trading days, lifting the company’s market capitalization to about $2 trillion and making it the world’s most valuable listed company at that point.
The ranking was later overtaken as technology-company share prices climbed and oil-market conditions changed. A company’s position in a global market-cap ranking can therefore change without any change in its legal status or business name.
Saudi Aramco is majority-owned by the Saudi government. It is one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies and operates major oil-production, refining, chemicals, and distribution businesses. Its 2019 IPO was also notable because only a small minority stake was offered to public investors.