Saudi Aramco briefly reached a US$2 trillion valuation during its December 2019 IPO.
Saudi Aramco, officially Saudi Arabian Oil Company, priced its initial public offering at 32 Saudi riyals per share in December 2019. When trading began on the Saudi Exchange, the company’s market value rose to about US$2 trillion, making it one of the largest public companies ever measured by market capitalization.
The offering sold a minority stake, while the Saudi government retained ownership of most of the company. Saudi Aramco is central to Saudi Arabia’s economy and operates across oil exploration, production, refining, chemicals, and related energy activities. Its enormous reserves and production capacity were major reasons investors assigned it such a high valuation.
The US$2 trillion figure was reached briefly and market prices later moved below it. That distinction matters because market capitalization is constantly changing. Apple later became the first public company widely recognized as passing US$2 trillion in a sustained technology-market milestone.