Saudi Aramco Profit Surges, Offering Some Relief to Kingdom's Finances — Update

By Joseph Wilkins

State-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco reported a rise in third-quarter profit, offering some relief to the kingdom's finances during a period of escalating conflict with Yemen's Houthi militants.

The company's net profit rose 35% to $36.25 billion from $26.9 billion in the same period a year earlier, Aramco said Tuesday. It attributed the boost to higher crude volumes sold from maintaining consistent production, as well as higher prices of refined and chemical products.

Aramco declared a dividend of $21.9 billion, up 3.5% on year, which offers crucial support to Saudi Arabia's finances.

The results are a windfall at a challenging time for the Saudi Arabian government, as attacks from Iran-aligned Houthis intensify--resulting in damage to airports and other critical infrastructure.

Aramco said that as of Sept. 30, the impact of Houthi attacks on its facilities wasn't expected to be material to the company's financial position. Most of the more serious attacks occurred in October, after the third quarter ended.

Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product has taken a significant hit as the Arab region's largest economy struggled to contain the fallout from the Iran war. Real GDP shrank 3.8% on year in the third quarter. The General Authority for Statistics said Sunday that growth was weighed down by a 20.4% decline in oil activities compared with the same period in 2025.

The war between the U.S. and Iran restricted energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a thoroughfare for about a fifth of the world's oil and gas flows before the conflict started on Feb. 28.

Aramco is offsetting some of those declines by continuing to export via the East-West pipeline, which connects Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Jefferies analysts said barrels are coming back, noting Aramco in September achieved its highest month of exports since February. Those figures came despite the pipeline's temporary closure for almost two weeks following drone attacks from Iraq in September.

Aramco President and Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser said Aramco "continues to explore additional overseas storage capacity and alternative export routes" to further strengthen its global supply network.

Write to Joseph Wilkins at joseph.wilkins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2026 03:44 ET (08:44 GMT)