Saudi Aramco cements status as world's most profitable company after earning $68 billion in just 9 months

• Saudi Aramco told bankers working on its initial public offering that it earned $68 billion in the first nine months of 2019, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
• The disclosed earnings establish Aramco as the world's most profitable company ahead of its record IPO.
• The nine-month figure is likely dragged down by September drone attacks on Aramco facilities. The state-owned firm was forced to rely on oil reserves as it repaired damaged infrastructure.
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Saudi Aramco told bankers associated with its upcoming initial public offering that it earned $68 billion in the first nine months of 2019, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The massive stockpile establishes the state-owned firm as the world's most profitable company.

The news arrives as the oil producer prepares the largest IPO in history. Aramco is looking to float 1% to 2% of its shares on Saudi Arabia's Tadawul market before offering the remainder of a 5% stake to international investors.

The public offering process will officially kick off Sunday and trading is slated to begin December 11, according to state TV channel Al Arabiya. Saudi Aramco has not confirmed those dates.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman previously called for the company to be valued at $2 trillion, but analysts and investors have balked at the lofty valuation. If the 5% stake is offered at a $2 trillion valuation, the public offering could bring in as much as $100 billion, four times the largest IPO to date.

Aramco disclosed its nine-month earnings to analysts working on the offering, and comparative figures from prior periods or future projections aren't yet public. The oil company previously disclosed income of $111 billion for all of 2018.

The disclosed earnings are likely lower than the company's projections, as they cover the period when oil production was crippled by September drone attacks. The strikes led the price of oil to spike as much as 20%, and Aramco was forced to rely on reserves as it repaired damaged infrastructure.

Production will return to "maximum sustained capacity" by the end of November, CEO Amin Nasser told CNBC earlier in October.

Apple is currently the world's most profitable public company, reporting $59.35 billion in net income for 2018.

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