Saudi Aramco's Third-Quarter Profit Jumps 35% on Higher Oil Prices and a Stake Sale

As of 7:57 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026

Saudi Aramco said Tuesday that its third-quarter net profit rose about 35% from a year earlier, as the Middle East war kept oil prices high and the company booked a gain from selling a stake in a Malaysian refining venture.

Net profit rose to $36.3 billion from $26.9 billion a year earlier, the Associated Press reported. Adjusted net income, which leaves out the stake sale, rose 9% to $31.2 billion from $28.6 billion, Aramco said in its results statement.

The gain came from selling Aramco's stake in the PRefChem refining and petrochemicals joint venture to Malaysia's Petronas. That gain was 25.9 billion riyals, Euronews reported, citing AFP. That is about $6.9 billion at the riyal's fixed exchange rate of 3.75 to the dollar.

Refining margins and the dividend

Aramco said adjusted earnings in its downstream business, which includes refining and chemicals, rose 234% from a year earlier because of stronger refining margins. Cash flow from operations was $38.7 billion, up from $36.1 billion, and free cash flow rose to $28.2 billion from $23.6 billion, the company said.

The board declared a base dividend of $21.9 billion for the quarter, up 3.5% from a year earlier, to be paid in the fourth quarter. Aramco is majority-owned by the Saudi state and is a major source of government revenue, the AP reported.

Adjusted net income was down about 7% from the second quarter but beat a $30.66 billion median forecast from 12 analysts, Euronews reported, citing Reuters.

Attacks and export routes

Oil prices surged after the war with Iran began in February, disrupting supply, the AP reported. Aramco said it kept exporting by using its East-West Pipeline, and that it is exploring more overseas storage and new export routes.

"Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy facilities continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter of 2026, with serious implications for global energy security," Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in the statement.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have said they targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage sites and refineries, and last month said they targeted Aramco's headquarters, Euronews reported, citing AFP. Iran and the Houthis have also disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, it reported.

Aramco also said it has bought a 49% stake in the Saudi artificial intelligence company HUMAIN, through a transfer of assets and about $2.6 billion in cash, and has signed an agreement to form a mining joint venture.

Why it matters

Aramco's earnings are a key measure of how the war is affecting Saudi Arabia's finances. Despite the profit jump, the kingdom has raised its 2026 budget deficit forecast to 245 billion riyals, or 4.9% of GDP, and its finance ministry expects the economy to shrink 3.6% this year, Euronews reported.