Forbes Middle East has revealed its annual Top 100 Listed Companies ranking for 2024, spotlighting the region’s largest, most valuable, and most profitable firms.
Collectively, the 100 companies experienced a 5.1% decline in sales, dropping from $1.1 trillion in 2022 to $1 trillion in 2023. Their net profits also fell by 13.5% to $240.2 billion, and their total market value saw a slight reduction of 4.4% to $3.6 trillion as of April 2024. Nonetheless, the total value of their assets increased by 5.4% to $4.9 trillion in 2023 compared to the previous year.
To construct the list, Forbes Middle East collected data from listed stock exchanges in the Arab world and ranked firms based on their reported sales, assets, and profits for the 2023 financial year, along with market value as of April 26, 2024. Each metric was given equal weight, and companies with the same final scores were given the same rank. Companies that had not disclosed their 2023 audited financial statements as of April 26, 2024, were excluded.
GCC firms reigned the list with 92 entries, led by the U.A.E. with 32 companies, followed by 31 from Saudi Arabia. The ranking also features 14 companies from Qatar, 10 from Kuwait, four from Morocco, three from Bahrain, and two entries each from Egypt, Jordan, and Oman.
Saudi Aramco retains the top spot this year with $660.8 billion in assets and $1.9 trillion in market value. In January 2024, Aramco and Rongsheng Petrochemical announced their plans to buy stakes in each other’s units. In the same month, Aramco allocated an additional $4 billion to its global venture capital arm, Aramco Ventures, increasing its total investment allocation to $7 billion. Saudi National Bank and the International Holding Company complete the top three.
The banking and financial services sector continues to be the most represented with 45 entries generating combined sales of $223.5 billion and holding $3.3 trillion in assets. Six of the top 10 companies operate in banking and financial services. However, the energy sector, with five companies, remains the most profitable, boasting total profits of $127.5 billion, largely due to Aramco. Telecommunications and industrials are the second and third most represented sectors, with nine and seven entries, respectively.
Despite a challenging economic year for businesses globally, the 2024 list featured six newcomers: the U.A.E.’s ADNOC Gas, Borouge, PureHealth Holding, and ADNOC Logistics & Services, and Saudi’s Elm and ADES Holding. While notable dropouts include SABIC—ranked second last year—after reporting a $102.5 million loss in 2023, compared to a $6.3 billion profit in 2022.