Saudi Aramco was the first company to be valued at US$1 trillion during an initial public offering.
Saudi Aramco began trading publicly on the Saudi Exchange in December 2019. Its offering was priced at 32 Saudi riyals per share, giving the company an initial valuation of about US$1.7 trillion. That made it the largest initial public offering ever recorded at the time and immediately placed it among the world’s most valuable companies.
The Saudi government sold a minority stake while retaining overwhelming ownership. The listing formed part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, which seeks to diversify the economy and develop investment markets beyond oil.
Saudi Aramco’s IPO is sometimes confused with its later US$2 trillion market-cap milestone. The offering began with a valuation below US$2 trillion; the company crossed that higher level in 2022 as its share price rose. IPO valuation and later market capitalization are related but not identical measures.