Rankings | Global Most Profitable Companies: A New Champion Emerges — Annual Net Profit Exceeds 890 Billion RMB; Saudi Aramco Drops to Fifth Place

One Chinese company has entered the top ten of the profitability ranking: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) ranks tenth with a net profit of USD 54.4876 billion. Surging demand for AI chips and associated infrastructure investments continue to drive performance growth at the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry. Its core customers include leading U.S. tech firms such as NVIDIA, Apple, and AMD. TSMC currently operates nine fabrication sites and dozens of 300-mm wafer fabs. To meet market demand for AI processors, logic chips manufactured using cutting-edge process nodes, and advanced packaging technologies, the company has launched its most aggressive production expansion plan ever—building or retrofitting nine wafer fabs annually. Meanwhile, its 2-nanometer (N2) technology entered mass production in Q4 2025; five dedicated wafer fabs have been designated for N2 production, achieving a monthly output of 20,000 wafers. Saudi Aramco—the world’s largest oil company, which had held the top spot on the profitability ranking for four consecutive years—has dropped to fifth place, with net profit declining 11.6% year-on-year to USD 9.2785 billion. Its integrated operations span exploration, development, production, refining, transportation, and marketing. It holds approximately 260 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves—about 15–16% of global proven reserves. In 2025, its liquid production—including crude oil, natural gas liquids, and condensates—reached 10.7 million barrels per day, up 3.9% year-on-year; natural gas output reached 11.4 billion standard cubic feet per day, up 5.6% year-on-year. In recent years, Saudi Aramco has intensified its strategic push into the Chinese market, shifting from long-term crude oil sales toward deeper integration into refining, petrochemicals, and high-end materials value chains. For instance, in July 2023, it acquired a 10% stake in Rongsheng Petrochemical for RMB 24.6 billion, becoming its second-largest shareholder. In November 2024, it joined China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and Fujian Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. to launch an integrated refining and petrochemical project—including a 16-million-ton-per-year refinery and a 1.5-million-ton-per-year ethylene plant—with full commissioning expected by end-2030. On July 15 this year, its subsidiary SABIC signed a project development agreement with Rongsheng Petrochemical and Rongsheng New Materials (Zhoushan) Co., Ltd. to jointly advance the Jintang New Materials Project in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province. Of the top ten most profitable companies, eight are U.S.-based: Alphabet (Google’s parent company), NVIDIA, Apple Inc., and Microsoft occupy the first four positions; Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Meta Platforms, and JPMorgan Chase rank sixth through ninth, respectively.

Special Research Report on Saudi Arabia, the Oil Kingdom of the Middle East

WTI crude oil prices plunged from a peak of USD 107.50 per barrel in October 2014 to a low of USD 26.05 per barrel in 2016. Under these circumstances, relying solely on exporting raw crude oil is clearly unsustainable. Saudi Arabia thus chose a classic developmental path—transitioning from exporting low-tech commodities to pursuing higher national development levels—by shifting toward exporting refined petroleum products. Under the traditional ‘oil-for-security’ framework, Saudi Arabia’s core security needs hinge on the United States. In turn, this bilateral relationship depends on whether Saudi Arabia remains a major oil exporter. To avoid undermining this relationship, Saudi Arabia is cautiously diversifying its economic and investment ties with individual companies and countries—including China. Guided by this strategic thinking, we witnessed, seven years later, a historic leap forward in China–Saudi relations. Saudi Aramco and its joint-venture subsidiaries launched a series of expansion initiatives, aiming to increase their refining and petrochemical capacity from 2.1 million barrels per day in 2013 to 3.3 million barrels per day by 2018. Globally, Saudi Aramco will hold stakes in refineries with a combined capacity of 5.7 million barrels per day. Three new domestic refineries—designed to produce a range of high-precision products meeting stringent European standards—form the cornerstone of this strategy. Their output will consist primarily of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (accounting for roughly two-thirds of total production) and premium gasoline (approximately one-quarter). The remainder includes heavy distillates, benzene, propylene (as petrochemical feedstocks), plus residual sulfur and petroleum coke. The first of these three refineries is the SATORP refinery in Jubail—a joint venture with France’s TotalEnergies—which began operations in 2014 and quickly achieved its full processing capacity of 400,000 barrels per day of Arab Heavy crude. The second is the YASREF heavy-crude refinery—a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec)—with a throughput capacity of 400,000 barrels per day. The third is the Jazan refinery, located at the southern tip of the Red Sea, wholly owned by Saudi Aramco and also with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, which commenced operations in 2018. Internationally, Saudi Arabia continues advancing steadily, actively collaborating with numerous countries. Building upon existing joint-venture refineries in China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, it is further expanding overseas integrated refining-and-petrochemical projects. Saudi Arabia’s refining capacity is projected to rise over the next decade—a rare instance of significant new refining capacity globally—as its flagship oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, seeks downstream joint ventures in China and India—two primary growth centers. In March 2022, Saudi Aramco made its final investment decision to participate in developing the Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Complex—Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO)—in Northeast China. This liquid petrochemical complex will be developed by a joint venture comprising Saudi Aramco, Norinco Huajin Chemical Industry Group Co., Ltd., and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group Co., Ltd. The project is scheduled to commence operations in 2024, with Saudi Aramco supplying up to 210,000 barrels per day of crude oil feedstock to the HAPCO complex.

Saudi Aramco’s New China Refinery Venture Gets First Crude Cargo

Oct 13, 2026

Saudi Aramco received the first crude cargo for its new Liaoning refining complex, advancing toward commercial operations expected in Q1 next year. The joint venture features a 300,000-barrel-a-day refinery and major petrochemical production capacity.

bloomberg

2025-10-14

Saudi Aramco to Boost Gas, Chemicals; Primed to Handle 'Shocks' — CEO

2026-03-10

Saudi Aramco Q4 net income falls on higher operating costs, lower revenue

2026-04-28

Poland's Orlen says Aramco oil supplies on schedule, in line with contracted volumes

2026-04-28

Aramco Suspends LPG Deliveries Through May on Facility Damage

2026-05-08

Aramco, Adnoc Transport Oil Through Hormuz Despite Iran Threats