What is Saudi Aramco stock?
Aramco listed on the Main Market of the Saudi Exchange on December 11, 2019, in what it called the world’s largest IPO. The government sold 3 billion shares, 1.5% of the company, at SAR 32 each, raising SAR 96.0 billion, about $25.6 billion, before an option to sell more; Aramco’s annual report puts the share sold in the 2019 offering at 1.73%. The IPO lesson explains how such offerings work.
In a secondary public offering on June 11, 2024, the government sold another 0.7% of the company: 0.65% to the public, and 0.056% bought back by Aramco itself as treasury shares. Aramco shares trade in Saudi riyals during the Saudi session, Sunday to Thursday; see Saudi stock market hours.
- Secondary public offering
- A sale to the public of existing shares by a large shareholder after a company is already listed. The company does not issue new shares, so the money goes to the seller.
Who owns Saudi Aramco?
At December 31, 2025 the government of Saudi Arabia owned 81.48% of Aramco. Another 16.00% was held by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Sanabil Investments and PIF’s wholly owned companies. The public held 2.48%, and 0.04% were treasury shares held by Aramco.
So only a small slice of Aramco trades freely, even though its total market value is very large. That shapes how the stock behaves: the shares available to trade are a small part of the company, and big index funds count only that part. The chart at the top of the page shows the split.
- Treasury shares
- A company’s own shares that it has bought back and holds. They receive no dividends and do not count as shares held by investors.
How does Saudi Aramco make money?
Aramco reports two main segments. Upstream finds and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids: in 2025 it produced 12.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, against 12.4 million in 2024. Downstream refines crude into fuels, makes chemicals, including through SABIC, and trades and markets products; in 2025 it used 53% of Aramco’s crude oil production.
Upstream earns almost all of the profit. Its adjusted EBIT, earnings before interest and taxes without one-off items, was $195.5 billion in 2025, down from $213.6 billion, because the average price Aramco realized for its crude fell to $69.2 a barrel from $80.2. Downstream’s adjusted EBIT rose to $10.0 billion from $2.4 billion on better refining margins. Revenue and other income related to sales were $445.7 billion, down 7.2%, and income taxes and zakat took $94.0 billion. Aramco reports in riyals and dollars at 3.75 riyals to the dollar.
- Upstream and downstream
- Upstream is finding and producing oil and gas; downstream is turning them into fuels and chemicals and selling them. Upstream profits move most with the price of crude.
- Barrels of oil equivalent per day
- A way to add oil and gas production into one number by converting gas to the amount of oil with the same energy. Aramco reports it in thousands or millions per day.
How do Saudi Aramco dividends work?
Aramco pays a base dividend every quarter and, in some years, a performance-linked dividend on top, which it introduced in 2023 and ties to its financial results. In 2025 it paid $84.6 billion of base dividends and $0.9 billion of performance-linked dividends based on 2024 results. Its annual report says the base dividend has grown 12.8% since 2021, and by at least 4.0% in each of the last three years.
Per share, the ordinary dividend was SAR 0.3278 for each of the first three quarters of 2025, plus SAR 0.0034 of performance-linked dividend each time. From the fourth quarter of 2025 it rose about 3.5% to SAR 0.3393: that payment had an eligibility date of March 16, 2026 and was paid on March 31, 2026, and the third-quarter 2026 dividend has an eligibility date of November 16, 2026 and a payment date of November 25, 2026. To receive a dividend you must own the shares by the eligibility date under the exchange’s settlement rules; see how dividends work and the ex-dividend date.
- Performance-linked dividend
- An extra dividend that Aramco pays on top of its base dividend when its results allow, set from a past year’s financial performance. It can change from year to year or not be paid.
How much does Aramco weigh in TASI?
Much less than its size suggests. TASI weights each company by free-float market cap, and the Saudi Exchange’s methodology leaves out holdings such as a government stake of 5% or more. Since the end of 2019 no single company may weigh more than 15% of TASI. With the state and PIF holding about 97.5% of Aramco, only a small part of its value counts.
Aramco is still one of the heaviest stocks in the index, so a big move in its shares can move TASI on its own. The exact weight changes with prices and with the exchange’s periodic free-float updates, so check the current figure on the Saudi Exchange website. The TASI index and market cap lessons explain free float and the cap in detail.
What moves Saudi Aramco’s share price?
Aramco’s profit follows its upstream business, so watch these:
- Crude oil prices: its realized price fell 13.7% in 2025, and lower oil, fuel and chemical prices were the main reason revenue fell 7.2% and net income about 12%.
- Production and sales volumes of crude oil and gas.
- Refining and chemical margins, which drive Downstream profit, and one-off items such as the losses booked in late 2025 on businesses SABIC plans to sell.
- Dividend announcements with each quarter’s results, and any change to the base or performance-linked dividend.
- Index changes and free-float updates, which affect how much index funds hold.