Saudi Aramco briefly became the world’s most valuable publicly traded company in December 2019 after its IPO.
Saudi Aramco began trading on Tadawul in December 2019 with an implied market capitalization of about $1.9 trillion. That valuation temporarily placed it above Apple, then the leading publicly traded company by market value.
The company’s valuation reflected its enormous oil reserves, production scale, and profitability. Saudi Aramco has long been central to Saudi Arabia’s economy and is among the world’s largest integrated energy businesses.
The record was temporary because market capitalization changes as share prices move. Apple later reclaimed the top position, and the ranking has since shifted among large technology and energy companies. A private company’s estimated valuation is not included in public-company market-cap rankings, because its shares do not trade openly on a stock exchange.