DHAHRAN: Saudi Aramco reported Tuesday that second-quarter profit jumped 44% from a year earlier, as a disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices sharply higher even as the state oil giant disclosed that some of its facilities in the Kingdom had come under attack.
The company posted net income of $32.7 billion for the quarter ended June 30, up from $22.7 billion in the same period last year and roughly in line with the $32.5 billion it earned in the first quarter. For the first half of 2026, net income totaled $65.2 billion, compared with $48.7 billion a year earlier.
Aramco’s average realized crude price rose to $108.10 a barrel during the quarter, up from $76.90 in the first three months of the year and $66.70 a year earlier. Executives said the increase in revenue came mostly from higher prices for crude and refined products, which outweighed a decline in the volumes Aramco sold.
The company, one of the world’s most profitable, has weathered a turbulent stretch for global energy markets. It said “unprecedented regional disruption” tied to the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a large share of the world’s seaborne oil trade, had threatened to interrupt supply, but that it kept crude flowing using its East-West Pipeline, storage capacity and export terminals.
Aramco also said that during the quarter, and again in July, facilities belonging to the company and its affiliates inside Saudi Arabia were targeted in attacks. The company said that as of June 30 the impact on those facilities had not been material to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows, and that it was continuing to assess the risk of further disruption.
“Aramco’s first half performance in 2026 has been defined by the remarkable resilience of our people and the agility of our business and operations to withstand and respond to rapidly changing market conditions,” President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in a statement accompanying the results.
Chief Financial Officer Ziad T. Al-Murshed said the company’s long-term planning and infrastructure had allowed it to keep delivering for shareholders despite regional pressures, noting that adjusted net income rose 33% from a year earlier.
Even so, cash generation showed signs of strain. Free cash flow fell to $12.3 billion in the quarter from $18.6 billion in the prior three months, which Aramco attributed to a $13.6 billion buildup in working capital combined with higher spending. The company’s gearing ratio, a measure of its debt load relative to its capital base, rose to 6.2% from 4.8% in the first quarter.
Aramco’s board nonetheless declared a base dividend of $21.9 billion for the quarter, to be paid in the third quarter, bringing total base dividends for the first half to $43.8 billion.
By division, the company’s upstream oil and gas business posted adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $50.9 billion, up from $44.7 billion a year earlier on higher crude prices, even as production volumes and sales slipped. Total hydrocarbon output averaged 9.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The downstream refining and chemicals business more than doubled its adjusted earnings to $6.2 billion, benefiting from stronger refining margins, while supply reliability held at 98.4% despite the regional disruptions.
The quarter also brought further changes to Aramco’s portfolio. In May, the company agreed to sell its full stake in the PRefChem refining and petrochemical venture in Malaysia to state-owned PETRONAS, a deal expected to close later this year. Aramco’s SABIC subsidiary continued separately to divest parts of its European and North American petrochemicals operations, including a final agreement in June to sell its engineering thermoplastics business to Mutares SE & Co. KGaA.
Aramco also pressed ahead with a share buyback program approved in March, repurchasing 83.8 million shares for $610 million as of June 30, out of an authorization for up to 350 million shares and $3 billion in spending over 18 months.
The company’s interim financial statements were reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which said in a report dated Aug. 3 that it had found nothing indicating the results were not prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards.
