RIYADH: The Saudi Central Bank increased the market value of its disclosed portfolio of stocks and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, in the US market by 61.4 percent in the second quarter of 2026, bringing it to $7.63 billion. The expansion included increases in the number of shares held across hundreds of US companies.
The portfolio’s value rose by about $2.9 billion from the end of March, according to a comparison by Asharq Bloomberg of the central bank’s two filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The jump does not reflect higher share prices alone. Changes in the number of shares show that the bank expanded its holdings broadly during the quarter. SAMA increased its holdings in 474 of the 493 investment positions held across both filings, without reducing the number of shares in any continuing position. It exited 21 companies during the second quarter, including Snap Inc.
The pace of increases was high across much of the portfolio, ranging between 85 percent and 90 percent in 349 positions, pointing to a systematic expansion of exposure to US equities rather than purchases concentrated in a limited number of companies.
Bigger bets on AI giants
Major technology companies accounted for a significant share of the expansion. SAMA increased its holdings in chipmaker Nvidia by about 80 percent to 1.62 million shares, bringing the position’s value to about $323 million at the end of June.
It also increased its Apple holdings by about 89 percent to more than 1 million shares, with a market value of $297 million.
Holdings in Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Broadcom also increased, with the number of shares held rising between 80 percent and 91 percent.
The purchases were not limited to the technology sector. SAMA also expanded positions in companies across financial services, energy, retail and healthcare, including JPMorgan, Exxon Mobil, Walmart and Eli Lilly.
SAMA’s holdings in Coca-Cola and Berkshire Hathaway also increased, by 14 percent and 92 percent, respectively. The largest increase was in Booking Holdings, where its holdings jumped 4,507 percent.
Micron tops the portfolio
Semiconductor companies emerged among SAMA’s largest positions at the end of the second quarter, as global investors continued to focus on companies benefiting from AI-related spending and data-center infrastructure.
Micron Technology became SAMA’s largest single position, valued at about $438 million, compared with $152 million at the end of March. However, the number of shares held increased by only 8 percent, indicating that the rise in the stock price was the main driver of the increase in the position's market value.
The gains came as Micron benefited from strong demand for AI-related memory chips. The company reported record second-quarter results for its fiscal year in March.
VanEck Semiconductor ETF ranked as the second-largest position, valued at $335 million, with no change in the number of units held. It was followed by Nvidia and Meta Platforms, valued at $323 million and $303 million, respectively.
New positions include TotalEnergies
SAMA’s first-quarter filing had already shown a significant expansion of its US portfolio, which was valued at about $4.7 billion. The portfolio included sizable positions in sector ETFs, as well as Meta, VanEck Semiconductor ETF, Nvidia and Micron.
SAMA added positions that were not disclosed at the end of March. The largest was a $42.2 million investment in TotalEnergies, followed by a position worth about $7 million in Millicom International and another worth about $6.3 million in SpaceX.
Form 13F disclosures provide a snapshot of US securities subject to institutional disclosure requirements. They do not necessarily represent the Saudi Central Bank’s full assets or its total foreign reserves and investments.
