Saudi Aramco held the record as the world’s most valuable public company after its 2019 initial public offering.
Saudi Aramco began trading on the Saudi Exchange, also called Tadawul, on December 11, 2019. Its IPO valued the company at about US$1.7 trillion, making it the largest initial public offering by funds raised at that time. On its second trading day, the company’s market value briefly reached about US$2 trillion.
The company’s valuation reflects its position as one of the world’s largest oil producers and its ownership of extensive petroleum reserves. Saudi Aramco is majority-owned by the Saudi Arabian government, so only a minority portion of the company is publicly traded.
Market-cap rankings change with share prices, currency conversion, and the valuation date. Saudi Aramco has therefore moved up and down relative to technology companies such as Apple and Microsoft, but its IPO remains a defining event in global equity-market history.