Saudi Aramco became the first publicly traded company from outside the United States to exceed $2 trillion in market value.
Saudi Aramco passed the threshold in December 2019, shortly after its shares began trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange, known as Tadawul. The company’s initial public offering was one of the largest in history and valued the oil producer at about $1.7 trillion at its market debut.
The company is formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Company. It is Saudi Arabia’s national oil company and is headquartered in Dhahran. Its valuation is heavily influenced by oil prices, production expectations, refining operations, and investor views about the long-term energy market.
Saudi Aramco’s listing was unusual because the company remained majority-owned by the Saudi government. A public listing does not require a company to be privately controlled; it means that at least part of its shares are available for public trading.