Petrobras, the state-controlled oil company that dominates production in Brazil, posted the highest profit margin among the world's major oil companies in the first half of 2026 and overtook Saudi Aramco for the first time in a ranking compiled since 2020. Of every US$ 100 in sales, US$ 29.15 became net income, according to a study released on September 16 by FUP, the national federation of Brazilian oil workers' unions, as reported by the state news agency Agência Brasil. The company earned 85.1 billion reais in net profit over the period.
The ranking is coordinated by economist Cloviomar Cararine of Dieese, a research institute linked to Brazil's trade union movement, and draws on financial statements published by the companies themselves. FUP groups unions representing more than 105,000 oil industry workers. From 2020 through 2025, Saudi Aramco held the top margin every year, with Petrobras the runner-up in all of them except 2024. Chinese companies such as Sinopec and PetroChina were left out of the comparison. In this year's first half, Petrobras finished 3.7 percentage points ahead of its Saudi rival. The full Dieese ranking:
- Petrobras: 29.15%
- Saudi Aramco: 25.48%
- Chevron: 18.01%
- ExxonMobil: 16.33%
- BP: 14.83%
- Equinor: 12.84%
- Shell: 9.94%
- TotalEnergies: 9.44%
In absolute profit, Aramco still far ahead
In dollar terms, Petrobras ranks third among the most profitable oil companies, behind Saudi Aramco, with US$ 65.4 billion, and ExxonMobil, with US$ 18.7 billion; Petrobras's half-year profit of US$ 16.6 billion beat Shell (US$ 15.5 billion) and Chevron (US$ 14.3 billion). The two indicators measure different things: margin shows how much of each dollar of revenue is left after costs, expenses and taxes, while absolute profit also depends on the size of each company's operation.
Where the money comes from
For Cararine, the unprecedented result reflects the company's "great operational efficiency". He credits higher output, higher international oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East, lower general expenses and an integrated model in which Petrobras produces and refines the oil. In his assessment, that combination leaves the company better prepared than its international rivals to weather crises.
The numbers behind the margin were operational records. In the second quarter of 2026, oil and gas production reached 3.34 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, the highest in the company's history; about 30% of that volume, 996,000 barrels a day, was sold abroad. Refineries ran at the highest utilization factor ever recorded, 101.2%.
For the company and its shareholders, among them the federal government, which controls Petrobras, the record margin means more cash. For consumers, the study is a reminder of where part of the gain came from: international oil prices inflated by the war in the Middle East, which sustained sales of crude and refined products through the half-year.