GCC corporate earnings fall 8.7% in Q2 2025 amid oil price decline

Aggregate net profits of companies listed on GCC exchanges declined 8.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, reaching USD 56.7 billion compared with USD 62.1 billion in Q2 2024, according to Kamco Invest. Earnings were also down 3.4% quarter-on-quarter. The fall was driven mainly by weaker crude oil prices and lower global petrochemical prices, which weighed on the energy and basic materials sectors.

Saudi Arabia reported the sharpest absolute drop in profits, down USD 6.3 billion to USD 33.0 billion. Kuwait also recorded a steep decline of more than 25% to USD 1.65 billion, largely due to losses at Agility from discontinued operations. Dubai-listed companies posted a 5.7% decline to USD 6.5 billion. In contrast, Abu Dhabi companies registered a USD 1.6 billion increase to USD 10.3 billion, while Qatar and Oman recorded profit growth of USD 3.6 billion and USD 1.0 billion respectively.

The banking sector was a bright spot, with profits rising 10.3% year-on-year to USD 16.6 billion, supported by higher net interest income and non-interest income, despite a 41.6% jump in impairments. Real estate, food and beverages, utilities, and telecoms also reported double-digit profit growth. However, these gains were offset by weaker results in energy, materials, transportation, capital goods, and media and entertainment.

For the first half of 2025, aggregate GCC net profits fell by 3.4% to USD 115.4 billion compared with the same period in 2024. The decline was again led by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, while Abu Dhabi, Oman, Qatar, and Dubai recorded earnings growth.

The energy sector reported a year-on-year decline of 18% in Q2 2025, with aggregate profits falling to USD 25.5 billion from USD 31.2 billion in the previous year. The drop coincided with a 19.6% fall in average Brent crude prices to USD 68.1 per barrel. Saudi Aramco’s profits fell 19.4%, while Abu Dhabi’s Taqa reported a one-third decline.

Despite these challenges, Kamco noted that resilient non-oil sectors across the region, including banking and real estate, continued to support overall earnings performance.