Saudi Energy posted H1 2026 revenue up 11% to SR52 billion and net income up nearly 8% to SR6.7 billion, though Q2 net profit fell 7% on higher finance costs. Capital expenditure reached SR39 billion, up 6%. The customer base hit 11.6 million, with more than 47,000 added in Q2; the distribution network grew 5%, transmission 4% and fibre-optic lines 7%. The stock is up over 25% year to date.
47,000 new connections in three months is roughly 500 a day, paid for with capex running near six times profit, the grid is being built ahead of the country that will eventually fill it.
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Ninety-eight million pilgrims
Saudi Arabia hosted 98,053,017 pilgrims across fifty Hajj seasons from 1390 to 1439 AH, with 54.4 million of them in the last 25 years of that period and 19 seasons exceeding 2 million pilgrims. The 1447 AH season drew 1,707,301 pilgrims, of whom 1,546,655 came from abroad and 160,646 from inside the Kingdom, with 1,485,729 arriving by air, 54,429 by land and 6,497 by sea.
Arrivals are mostly international, so an airline planner adding Saudi capacity should schedule around the 1.5M who come from abroad rather than the 160K who do not.
SAR 700 against SAR 15,000
A Princess Nourah University team has built a locally made breathing-assist device for people with quadriplegia that costs about SAR 700, against SAR 3,000 to SAR 15,000 for similar imported devices. Prince Sultan University's prosthetics centre says 3D printing has cut prosthetic limb production from 20 days to two, and field research showed 83% of users walking independently with daily use reaching 10 hours. 159 teams took part in an AI hackathon for people with disabilities at the 7th International Conference on Disability and Rehabilitation in Riyadh.
A device that costs around SAR 700, compared to imported versions priced between SAR 3,000 and SAR 15,000, highlights where local production makes the most sense. This is especially true for assistive products with low sales volumes and high import markups.
SAR 159.1 billion came in
Foreign direct investment inflows into Saudi Arabia rose 33.5% in 2025 to SAR 159.1 billion, from SAR 119.2 billion in 2024, GASTAT data show, while outflows rose 98.5% to SAR 77.7 billion, so net FDI rose only 1.7% to SAR 81.4 billion. By activity, construction drew the largest inflows at SAR 34.5 billion, followed by manufacturing at SAR 33.4 billion; by country, Luxembourg recorded the highest net inflows at SAR 24.4 billion, followed by the UAE at SAR 9.4 billion.
According to GASTAT, outflows mean foreign investors are reducing their stakes in Saudi companies by repaying loans, taking dividends, or exiting, rather than Saudi money leaving the country. Since net FDI is nearly unchanged, anyone presenting investment momentum to a board should focus on the net figure instead of just the inflow.
