📊 PRO: This Week in Visuals
ARAMCO HPE NIO RBRK PATH MTN S
Welcome to the Saturday PRO edition of How They Make Money.
Over 300,000 subscribers turn to us for business and investment insights.
In case you missed it:
Premium members get:
📊 Monthly reports: 200+ companies visualized.
📩 Tuesday articles: Exclusive deep dives and insights.
📚 Access to our archive: Hundreds of business breakdowns.
PRO members get everything PLUS:
📩 Saturday PRO reports: Timely insights on the latest earnings.
Today at a glance:
🛢️ Aramco: Geopolitical Storms
🖥️ HPE: Networking Takes the Wheel
🔷 Rubrik: Mission Control for the AI Era
🤖 UiPath: Growth Ceiling
👁️ SentinelOne: New Leadership
⚡️ NIO: Profit Inflection Point
🎿 Vail Resorts: Worst-Case Winter
1. 🛢️ Aramco: Geopolitical Storms
Saudi Aramco is operating at the center of a global energy crisis. While the financial headlines from its annual report show a slight retreat in profit and revenue, the narrative is dominated by the company’s response to the Iran war and the strategic blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the extreme volatility in the Middle East, Aramco maintained a high level of profitability, though it cooled slightly from the record-breaking previous years:
Profit & revenue: Full-year net income dipped to $93.4 billion (down from $106.2 billion in 2024). Total revenue fell 7% Y/Y to $445.7 billion, primarily due to lower average crude prices, which hit $64.10/bbl in Q4.
Shareholder returns: In a historic move, Aramco announced its first-ever $3 billion share buyback program. It also raised its Q4 base dividend by 3.5% to $21.9 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of dividend growth.
Capital investment: The company executed a massive $52.2 billion capital program. Looking ahead to 2026, spending is expected to peak between $50 billion and $55 billion as it invests in liquids-to-chemicals and new energy.
The regional military escalations forced Aramco into an emergency logistical shift. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, CEO Amin Nasser warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the global economy if shipping does not resume.
The East-West lifeline: To bypass the blockade, Aramco is rerouting its Arab Light and Extra Light grades via the East-West pipeline to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea. This route reached its full 7 million bpd capacity on March 11.
Production cuts: Because the pipeline cannot handle Aramco’s full export volume, the company has reduced output by 2 million bpd. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), this is the largest oil supply disruption in history, with roughly 10 million bpd of regional production currently offline.
Refinery recovery: The giant Ras Tanura refining complex, the largest in the kingdom, successfully restarted operations on March 10. While it is currently operating at limited capacity, the facility has recovered from the drone attacks that occurred earlier this month.
While the IEA has authorized a record 400 million barrel reserve release to cap prices, analysts warn this is only a temporary bridge. With Brent crude swinging back near $100 per barrel and tanker insurance rates soaring, the market is grappling with a physical shortage. The coming weeks will determine if the global economy can absorb these costs or if the persistent blockade will trigger a more severe inflationary crisis.