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Saudi oil giant Aramco said Sunday its net profit rose 25.5% in the first quarter of 2026 from a year earlier after the Middle East war drove oil and gas prices sharply higher.
Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, said net income reached 120.13 billion Saudi riyals, or $32.04 billion, in the first quarter, compared with 95.68 billion riyals, or $25.51 billion, in the same period of 2025.
The company said the increase in revenue was mainly due to higher prices and volumes sold of refined and chemical products, as well as higher crude oil volumes sold and higher crude oil prices.
The quarterly result came as global markets faced uncertainty over the course of the Middle East war.
Iran restricted the passage of hydrocarbons through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway for global energy shipments.
Crude prices rose during the first quarter from the mid-$60s in early February to more than $100 a barrel in March after Iran’s shutdown of the strait triggered a global energy crisis.
Aramco said higher revenue and other income related to sales drove the profit increase.
The rise was partly offset by higher operating costs and an increase in income taxes and zakat linked to higher taxable income compared with the same quarter last year.
The median analyst consensus for first-quarter adjusted net income had been $31.16 billion, based on 13 forecasts.
Aramco’s increase in net income marked its first quarterly rise after 12 consecutive quarters of decline.
President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said the results reflected “resilience and operational flexibility in a complex geopolitical environment.”
He said the company was “leveraging both its domestic infrastructure and its global network to navigate disruption.”
Aramco is majority-owned by the Saudi state and is the flagship company of the Saudi economy. It is also one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
Despite the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Aramco has continued to deliver millions of barrels of crude to markets daily through its east-west pipeline.
The pipeline connects the company’s energy installations on the Gulf to export terminals on the Red Sea.
Aramco said a significant increase in pumping through the east-west pipeline to its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels per day in the first quarter supported exports from Saudi Arabia’s west coast.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said last month that the pipeline and other facilities had been restored after attacks by Iran.
The oil-rich Gulf region has been hit by Iranian attacks during the war, which followed U.S.-Israeli strikes in late February that triggered the conflict.
Tehran has targeted U.S. assets as well as civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities and airports.
In Saudi Arabia, facilities in Riyadh, the Eastern Province and the industrial city of Yanbu were targeted.
The targeted sites included infrastructure for oil and gas production, transport, and refining, as well as petrochemical plants and power facilities.
The rise in oil and gas prices also boosted other major energy companies.
In late April, French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies said its net profits rose 51% in the first quarter.
British energy giant Shell reported a 19% jump in profit after tax.
If crude oil prices remain at current levels, Aramco’s profits are expected to continue rising in the second quarter after Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the rest of the OPEC+ countries raised their oil production quotas as expected.
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