EL7.AI
StocksMedium•15 November 2026•
3 min read

Saudi energy companies’ profits rise 42.8% to $105.64 billion in 9 months

Key Facts

1Combined net profit at listed Saudi energy companies reached 396.15 billion riyals ($105.64 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, up 42.8%.
2Combined profits at the six companies rose 50.1% to 145.15 billion riyals in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 96.72 billion riyals a year earlier.
3Bahri posted profits of 9.98 billion riyals in the first nine months, up 586.7% year on year.
4Petro Rabigh recorded net profit of about 6.7 billion riyals, compared with losses of 3.29 billion riyals in the corresponding period.

Combined net profit at listed Saudi energy companies rose 42.8% to 396.15 billion riyals, equivalent to $105.64 billion, in the first nine months of 2026, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. Growth came despite mixed results among companies, with Aramco accounting for the largest share of sector profits, the report said. In the third quarter alone, combined profits at the six companies rose 50.1% year on year to 145.15 billion riyals, or $38.71 billion. The companies had recorded 96.72 billion riyals, equivalent to $25.79 billion, in the third quarter of 2025. Performance in the final quarter of the period highlights an acceleration in combined profit growth compared with the rate for the nine months.

Aramco supported a large part of the total, as its revenue and other sales-related income rose 20.8% to about 1.52 trillion riyals, or $405.33 billion, in the first nine months of 2026. On a third-quarter basis, the company said higher oil prices and the sale of its stake in Malaysian refining and petrochemicals company PRefChem supported profits. The average oil selling price was $95.20 a barrel in that quarter, compared with $70.10 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. This gap in the average selling price provides context for one of the factors Aramco cited in explaining its quarterly results. Asharq Al-Awsat also reported that the sector saw sharp shifts in global energy markets, driven by geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions and higher shipping costs.

Bahri posted the biggest percentage jump among the results reported, with profits of 9.98 billion riyals, or $2.66 billion, in the first nine months of 2026, up 586.7% year on year. The company’s profits were about 1.45 billion riyals, equivalent to $386.7 million, in the corresponding period. The comparison reflects the scale of the increase against the profit base recorded a year earlier. By contrast, Petro Rabigh returned to a net profit of about 6.7 billion riyals in the first nine months, after losses of 3.29 billion riyals in the same period of 2025. Asharq Al-Awsat said Petro Rabigh’s improvement was linked to operational, pricing and financing factors, as well as differences in the year-on-year comparison.

Factors the newspaper cited for Petro Rabigh included higher operating rates at the industrial complex and increased sales volumes, alongside improved prices for refined and petrochemical products. It added that lower financing costs helped support the result during the period. Production and sales levels were weaker in the corresponding period of the previous year because of comprehensive maintenance, which means the year-on-year comparison was also affected by operating conditions at the time. Elsewhere in the sector, Arabian Drilling’s net profit fell 90.6% to about 6.9 million riyals in the first nine months of 2026. The company had recorded 73.3 million riyals in the corresponding period of 2025. The divergence in these results shows that growth in combined profits coincided with clear pressure on some companies.