It is a classic case of “tried and tested.” Petro dollars will always have the upper hand, never mind the come-and-go Apple and Microsoft of the world. Saudi Aramco on Wednesday dethroned Apple as the world’s most valuable company as surging oil prices drove up shares and tech stocks slumped.
The Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company (ARAMCO) was valued at $2.42 trillion based on the price of its shares at the close of the market. Apple, meanwhile, has seen its share price drop over the past month and was valued at $2.37 trillion when official trading ended on Wednesday.
The sinking share price came despite Apple reporting better-than-expected profits in the first three months of this year amid strong consumer demand.
Earlier, Apple did warn that the China lockdown and ongoing supply chain woes would dent June quarter results by $4 to $8 billion.
“Supply constraints caused by Covid-related disruptions and industry-wide silicon shortages are impacting our ability to meet customer demand for our products,” chief financial officer Luca Maestri said on a conference call with analysts.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco recently reported a 124 percent net profit surge for last year, hours after Yemeni rebels attacked its facilities causing a “temporary” drop in production.
As the world economy started to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic, “Aramco’s net income increased by 124 percent to $110.0 billion in 2021, compared to $49.0 billion in 2020,” the company said.
The kingdom, one of the world’s top crude exporters, has been under pressure to raise output as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions against Moscow have agitated global energy markets.
“We continue to make progress on increasing our crude oil production capacity, executing our gas expansion program and increasing our liquids to chemicals capacity,” Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser issued a statement.
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