Saudi Aramco tops global profit charts for 2024

Oil giant raked in US$120 billion, ranking as world's most profitable company for third consecutive year

 

Saudi Aramco has retained its position as the world's most profitable company for the third consecutive year, raking in a staggering US$120 billion in 2024. 

 

This dominance is attributed to the company's vast oil reserves and remarkably low production costs of just $3 per barrel, giving it a significant advantage over Western oil producers.

 

The Fortune 500 list revealed that combined revenues for the world's largest 500 companies saw a slight 0.1% increase in 2024, reaching a record-breaking $41 trillion. The top 10 companies alone generated $4.6 trillion in revenue, exceeding the GDP of entire nations such as Japan and Germany.
  


While Walmart maintained its reign as the world's highest-revenue company for the 11th year running, its profits dipped by 32% to $15 billion. Amazon, climbing to second place in the revenue rankings, also experienced an 11% revenue decline, with profits falling to $30 billion.

 

Other companies in the top 10 revenue earners are State Grid, Sinopec Group, China National Petroleum, Apple, UnitedHealth Group, Berkshire Hathaway, and CVS Health.

 

However, when it comes to profitability, Saudi Aramco stands head and shoulders above the rest. Apple secured the second spot with $97 billion in profits, followed by Berkshire Hathaway ($96 billion), Alphabet ($73 billion), Microsoft ($72 billion), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC, $51 billion), JPMorgan Chase ($49 billion), China Construction Bank ($49 billion), Meta ($39 billion) and Agricultural Bank of China ($38 billion).
 
A notable trend in 2024 is the strong performance of financial institutions, with 14 of the 50 most profitable companies operating in the financial sector. Energy companies accounted for 12 spots, while technology firms held eight.

 

For the first time, US companies outnumbered Chinese companies in the top 500 list, with 139 US firms generating $13.8 trillion in revenue, a 6% increase from the previous year. Chinese companies accounted for 133 entries.

(2025/02/01-00:00)