Arabia's Top Companies of 2026

Storyby Sep 16, 2026 1:40 PM UTCPhoto-illustration by TIME; Elijah-Lovkoff—Getty ImagesCountries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose economies have benefitted massively from natural resources like oil and gas, have been increasingly diversifying their economies beyond the hydrocarbon business. “In terms of economic strategy, [the GCC countries have] gotten the message that oil is not going to be there for long,” says Adnan Mazarei, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former deputy director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department. “They've been aware that the geopolitical landscape is changing. They have a role to play by being a platform for various things in between these two poles: China versus the West.”To gauge how different industries are developing across the GCC countries, TIME partnered with data firm Statista on a research project aimed at identifying the top-performing 200 companies in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth in recent years, and sustainability transparency informed by self-reporting. Methodology: How TIME and Statista Determine...