RIYADH: Saudi Aramco was the world’s largest corporate dividend payer in the second quarter of 2026, while Saudi Arabia ranked eighth among national markets, according to asset management company Janus Henderson.

Companies in the Kingdom distributed an estimated $28.4 billion in dividends, accounting for 63.6 percent of the Middle East’s $44.6 billion total.

Saudi payouts recorded underlying annual growth of 2.4 percent, although the headline figure declined by 1.5 percent.

Aramco contributed 3.1 percent of the dividends paid by the 1,500 companies tracked in the Global Dividends & Buybacks Index. It retained first place in every quarter covered by the ranking from the second quarter of 2025 through the same period of 2026.

“This is fundamentally a strength story. Aramco isn’t just Saudi Arabia’s largest dividend payer; it’s the largest in the world, and that scale is precisely what gives international income-focused investors a uniquely reliable, high-visibility anchor in the Saudi market,” Ahmad Chreim, economist at MT Trading, told Arab News.

Regional payouts

Middle East dividends increased by 5.5 percent year on year on an underlying basis and by 6.9 percent on a headline basis. Underlying growth adjusts for special dividends, currency movements and payment timing.

The UAE ranked as the region’s second-largest dividend-paying market, distributing $13.6 billion and recording underlying growth of 7.3 percent. Kuwait followed with $1.8 billion after its payouts rose by 45 percent.

“As that non-oil corporate base matures and more companies list and grow shareholder distributions, I’d expect the payout mix to broaden naturally over time, adding new sources of income alongside Aramco rather than replacing it,” Chreim said.

The report measures dividends paid during the reference quarter rather than those declared for companies’ second-quarter financial performance.

Separately, Aramco declared a second-quarter base dividend of SR82.06 billion ($21.88 billion), or SR0.3393 per share, which was paid on Aug. 27. The distribution increased by 3.5 percent from a year earlier.

The company’s net income attributable to shareholders rose by 41.9 percent year on year to SR121.51 billion in the second quarter, according to its Saudi Exchange filing.

Aramco attributed the increase mainly to higher revenue and other sales-related income, partially offset by higher operating costs, taxes and zakat.

Global dividend growth

Worldwide dividends reached an estimated $757.8 billion in the second quarter, rising by 7.3 percent on an underlying basis and 3.2 percent on a headline basis.

The US was the largest national market with $177.2 billion in payouts, followed by France with $70.4 billion and China with $61.8 billion.

Janus Henderson forecast global dividend growth of between 5 percent and 6 percent for the full year.