Yahoo Finance Saudi Aramco the world's most valuable company again after Apple's shares sink
Saudi Aramco is once again the world’s most valuable company after its market value eclipsed Apple amid a slump in US technology shares.
The state oil giant’s stock has gained 1.1pc in Riyadh this month despite Brent crude dropping 12pc to below $40 a barrel as concerns about rising coronavirus infections mount.
Meanwhile, Apple has fallen nearly 17pc in September. That decline means it is almost into bear-market territory - a 20pc drop from a recent peak - with its market value falling $400bn to $1.9 trillion (£1.48 trillion).
Apple and Aramco are the only two companies to have achieved valuations of $2 trillion. Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, peaked at just above that level in mid-December, shortly after its record float.
Apple overtook it in July as technology firms soared amid massive US monetary and fiscal stimulus to counter the fallout from the virus.
Aramco’s share price has been resilient partly because of its pledge to pay $75bn in dividends this year. That would be more than five times what Apple has paid out to shareholders in the past four quarters.
