After four decades of keeping financial performance data protected, the Saudi Arabia state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco released financial data showing it to be the world's most profitable company, far outpacing U.S. oil giants like Exxon (XOM  ) and Chevron (CVX  ).

The recent data reveal comes as Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discloses his ambitious effort to diversify Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy and make Aramco a public company, with an initial public offering (IPO) set within the next year or two.

Salman stated he wants to raise a record $100 billion by selling a 5% stake in Aramco on local and foreign exchanges, giving Aramco a market capitalization of $2 trillion, the biggest achieved by any company to date.

A brief look at the state oil giant's finances shows Aramco churned out $33.8 billion in net income the first six months of 2017, easily outstripping U.S. titans like Apple Inc. (AAPL  ) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM  ).

Additionally, Bloomberg noted that Aramco is nearly debt-free and enjoys production costs running at a fraction of the industry standard. The companies per barrel production costs are roughly $4, compared to around $20 for Exxon and Shell (RDS.A  ).

However, Bloomberg also noted that the government relies heavily on the revenues for social and military spending, which alongside cash flow and the kingdoms tax structure, is likely to limit the scope for dividend payments after a share sale.

Asked to brief on the matter, Saudi Aramco did not want to speculate on its financial performance and states that this is inaccurate information regarding the financial figures.

Although investors are skeptical of the numbers due to the House of Saud and Aramco's top executives making a strenuous effort over the past 40 years to keep Aramco's books in the dark, away from prying eyes of U.S., European, and Russian oilers, and preserve a competitive advantage along with OPEC to wield more influence when setting production quotas, reporters have confidence that the figures are reliable.

The accounts provide sovereign bond investors with a unique insight into the kingdom's financial health and gives investors the most extensive set of data yet to assess the value of the highly publicized company.

Investors still don't know exactly when, or even whether, the share sale will take place. The sale, including an international listing in New York, London or Hong Kong, was initially scheduled for 2018, but is now likely delayed until 2019. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser says his company is ready to go public, but is waiting for the government to decide where to list shares.