Saudi Aramco became the first Middle Eastern firm to join the world’s top five companies by market value after its 2019 IPO.
Saudi Aramco began trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange in December 2019 after raising about US$25.6 billion, making the offering the largest initial public offering at the time. Its shares rose after listing, briefly giving the company a market value near US$2 trillion and placing it among the world’s most valuable listed businesses.
The company is formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Company. It traces its origins to the concession granted to Standard Oil of California in 1933, and oil production began in the kingdom in the 1930s. Saudi Aramco later became fully owned by the Saudi government before the public offering sold a minority stake.
Saudi Aramco is primarily an integrated energy company, not a technology firm. Its market value is influenced by oil prices, production expectations, refining, chemicals, and investor views about the long-term energy transition.