Ever since Iran started responding to the joint attacks of America and Israel, only American and Israeli bases in Saudi were targeted. But now Iran has given the biggest attack on Saudi Arabia. This time Iran has targeted Saudi Aramco, the company called the ‘golden bird’ of Saudi Arabia.
This is the world’s largest crude oil company. The power of this company is so big that leave alone the GDP of many countries, the GDP of Saudi Arabia itself will become smaller. The government owns the largest stake in Saudi Aramco, which was once among the top 3 largest companies in the world. Whose market cap is around $1.69 trillion.
This means that Aramco’s market cap is more than the GDP of Indonesia, the world’s 17th largest economy. On whose targets Iran has fired missiles. Let us also tell you what kind of story the data of Saudi Aramco is telling. Also, how can attacking the company hurt the global economy?
What is Saudi Aramco?
Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest oil producing company. Officially known as Saudi Arabian Oil Company, it is mainly a government company and is based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It is the most profitable company in the world, which has left behind even big tech companies like Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).
The world got a glimpse of the long-secret company’s finances when credit rating agencies released financial details about Saudi Aramco in April 2019, just before its first international bond sale, which raised $12 billion.
Saudi Aramco caught the attention of investors in 2016, before going public in 2019, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud announced plans to list 5 percent of the company at a valuation of about $2 trillion. The special thing is that it was the world’s largest IPO at that time. The record which still stands today.
What is the history of Saudi Aramco?
Saudi Aramco was established in 1933 following a concession agreement between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Standard Oil Company of California. The company began primary drilling operations shortly thereafter, and began its first commercial oil production in 1938.
Saudi Aramco expanded rapidly throughout Saudi Arabia over the next decade, and crude oil production reached 500,000 barrels per day in 1949. To maintain production, the firm built its own distribution pipeline, also known as the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, which is the longest pipeline in the world.
The Saudi Arabian government purchased a 25 percent stake in the company in 1973 and gradually increased its stake over the decade. By 1980, the government had 100 percent stake in the company.
Saudi Arabian Oil Company was officially established in 1988. It entered into global alliances and partnership deals in the 1990s. The company has also started investing heavily in research and development (R&D) to expand into non-metallic and crude-to-chemicals products.
Amin H. Nasser is the lead executive of Saudi Aramco, serving as the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He also serves on its board of directors, which is headed by Chairman Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyn.
How big is the market cap?
If we talk about the present time, Saudi Aramco market cap is more than 1.69 trillion dollars. The special thing is that the GDP of Indonesia, the 17th largest economy in the world, is also not that big. At present, Indonesia’s GDP is not only about 1.5 trillion dollars. On the other hand, Saudi Aramco is a bigger company than the GDP of its own country.
At present, Saudi Arabia’s GDP is an economy of 1.31 trillion dollars. Which is the 19th largest economy in the world. According to experts, we may see further increase in the valuation of Saudi Aramco. At present, a rise of about 1.40 percent was seen in the shares of Aramco.
How can the company’s report card be?
According to a news report by Javea, Saudi Aramco is likely to report a net profit after minority interest of $24.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, which shows a growth of 5.9 percent year-on-year and a decline of 5.5 percent quarter-on-quarter. Compared to adjusted net profit, earnings are expected to decline by 9.2 percent in the third quarter of 2025.
The continued decline in adjusted net income is primarily due to a quarter-on-quarter decline of 7.4 percent in crude oil prices, which was somewhat offset by a 4.3 percent increase in production, equivalent to an additional 400,000 barrels per day.
Revenue for the quarter is estimated at $108.40 billion, down 5.1 percent year-on-year and 2.7 percent quarter-on-quarter. Upstream revenues are expected to continue to decline by 7.5%, reflecting soft oil prices.
Looking to 2026, revenues are projected to increase marginally by 0.5% year-on-year to $0.45 trillion, while net income is expected to remain broadly stable at $98.84 billion. Aljazeera Capital said its 2026 projections are based on an average oil price assumption of $62.4 per barrel, a decline of 8 percent year-on-year. Saudi Aramco is going to release its financial results for the full year 2025 on March 10.