Saudi Aramco Overtakes Apple To Become World’s Most Valuable Company

Saudi Aramco has become the world’s most valuable company, worth $2.42 trillion at the close of market trading on Wednesday. The Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company overtook Apple following a surge in oil prices due to supply disruptions from the Russo-Ukraine war. Apple was valued at $2.37 trillion when official trading ended on Wednesday. Saudi Aramco’s shares are up 27% so far this year, and Apple’s stock has fallen more than 17% since January. Saudi Aramco has been under pressure to raise its output of crude oil as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions against Moscow have wreaked havoc with global energy markets. Saudi Aramco first became the most valuable publicly listed company when it debuted on the market with an IPO, or initial public offering, in 2019; Apple overtook the oil and gas company in July 2020. Apple hit $3 trillion for the first time in January. Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco’s shares, which are listed in Riyadh, have risen 28% since the start of this year. The company is expected to announce major profits when it reports first-quarter earnings on Sunday.