Saudi Aramco reached a market capitalization of about $1.88 trillion in its 2019 IPO.
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, commonly called Saudi Aramco, began trading on the Saudi Exchange in December 2019. Its initial public offering sold shares at 32 Saudi riyals each, giving the company a valuation near $1.7 trillion at the initial pricing and roughly $1.88 trillion after early trading gains.
The listing was part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program, which seeks to diversify the kingdom’s economy beyond oil. The offering was initially discussed as potentially much larger and possibly involving an international listing, but the completed deal took place domestically.
Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying share price by shares outstanding, so it changes with trading even when the company’s oil reserves and production capacity do not. Saudi Aramco’s IPO was notable because it briefly ranked among the world’s most valuable listed companies.