Saudi Aramco was the first company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization during a 2019 initial public offering.
The company listed shares on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul exchange in December 2019. Its IPO valued the business at roughly $1.7 trillion at the offering price, making it the largest initial public offering at that time by proceeds raised. The listing also made Saudi Aramco one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies immediately after it began trading.
The offering was part of Saudi Vision 2030, a national program intended to diversify the Saudi economy and reduce dependence on oil. Selling a small portion of the company created a public market valuation while leaving the Saudi state as the dominant shareholder.
The terms IPO and market capitalization describe different things. An IPO is the process of selling shares publicly for the first time; market capitalization is the value investors assign to all outstanding shares at a given price.