Saudi Aramco became the first listed company outside the technology sector to reach a $2 trillion valuation.
The Saudi Arabian oil company reached that level briefly in December 2019, shortly after its shares began trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange. Its initial public offering was one of the largest in history and raised about $25.6 billion.
Saudi Aramco’s enormous valuation reflected its vast hydrocarbon reserves, high oil production capacity, and unusually strong profitability. Saudi Arabia retained the overwhelming majority of the company after the listing, so only a small portion of its shares was available to public investors.
The milestone is sometimes confused with Apple’s later achievement. Apple was the first company overall to reach $2 trillion in market capitalization in 2020, while Saudi Aramco became the first non-technology listed company to touch that level in 2019.