Who’s Really the Big Boss? A Quick Take on the Top‑Tier Companies
In the latest buzz, many websites – Guardian, BBC, Telegraph, and thousands of others – brag that Apple is the most valuable company ever. Sure, their numbers look impressive. Shares hit a high of $664.75 in the morning, ballooning Apple’s market cap to over $619 bn. That tops the $618.9 bn record Microsoft had set back in 1999, and a few months ago Apple even outpaced Exxon Mobil. But here’s a twist: we’re not talking about the same kind of “value” that counts toward the world’s powerhouse list.
Enter Saudi Aramco – the Real Heavyweight
- Reserves – 260 bn barrels of oil (~1/5 of the world’s supply) + 283 trillion cubic feet of natural gas
- Employees – 56,066 staff, a fleet of supertankers, and a network of refineries
- Rank – #1 in Petroleum Intelligence Weekly’s asset list; #3 behind Exxon Mobil, #2 behind the National Iranian Oil Co, #10 behind Gazprom
Now, how do we fairly value Aramco? The trick: use a comparable company as a yardstick. BP, ranked #6, sits at a valuation of around £85 bn with a P/E of 7.87 and holds 17.75 bn barrels in reserves. Applying that same logic to Aramco gives a ballpark of $1.245 trillion – double Apple’s crown. And that’s not even the full story.
Aramco’s oil sits in the desert; less engineering hassle than offshore rigs. And it might be sterlingly underreported – who knows if there’s more “black gold” waiting to be unwrapped? In short, the real value could easily be higher.
Apple vs. Oil – Stability Matters
- Tech volatility – iPhones face competition from HTC, Samsung, China’s emerging giants, and even unknown startups. Visionary leaders like Steve Jobs are gone; the future is a wild card.
- Oil stability – For decades, oil remains the bedrock of global industry. Nuclear and other clean sources are long‑term prospects, not tomorrow’s headlines.
That means Aramco is a more solid bet than Apple. The royal family’s preference to keep it private hints that it’s a prized asset.
Bottom Line
When you pull the numbers apart and mindfully weigh each company’s fundamentals, the ceiling for Saudi Aramco obviously beats Apple’s. The debate that tripped Apple into the spotlight is, by all calculations, a modest contender on the world‑leading list.
