As the business landscape stands on February 12, 2024, the SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY towers over the rest as the pinnacle of Saudi Arabia’s commercial sector, boasting a staggering market valuation of $1.98 trillion. Trailing behind, yet formidable in their own right, are the AL RAJHI BANKING AND INVESTMENT CORPORATION, valued at $95.46 billion, followed by the SAUDI NATIONAL BANK with a capitalization of $65.22 billion. This elite cadre of the top five most valuable firms in Saudi Arabia also includes globally recognized entities such as the SAUDI BASIC INDUSTRIES CORPORATION and the SAUDI TELECOM COMPANY, securing fourth and fifth place with valuations of $63.27 billion and $55.82 billion respectively.
The echelons extending from the sixth to the tenth spot feature a diverse array of sectors, with the SAUDI ARABIAN MINING COMPANY (MA’ADEN), ACWA POWER COMPANY, DR. SULAIMAN AL HABIB MEDICAL SERVICES GROUP COMPANY, RIYAD BANK, and ALINMA BANK completing the list of Saudi Arabia’s top ten titans by market capitalization.
So, which entity reigns as the most valuable in Saudi Arabia by market cap? A compendium of the largest companies within the nation as of 2024 reveals a snapshot of economic prowess and sectoral dominance.
Market capitalization, often simply referred to as market cap, encapsulates the total market value of a company’s outstanding shares. This metric is derived by multiplying the current share price by the total number of shares outstanding. To illustrate, a corporation with 2.34 billion shares outstanding priced at $66.66 per share would have a market cap of $156 billion. Market cap serves as a quick gauge of a company’s magnitude and is a key consideration for investors mulling over stock purchases. It is customary to classify stocks based on their market cap into various categories: mega-cap (over $100 billion), large-cap ($10 billion to $100 billion), mid-cap ($2 billion to $10 billion), small-cap ($300 million to $2 billion), and micro-cap (below $300 million).
Investors often leverage market cap as a barometer of corporate value and as a determinant in investment decision-making.