Orlen is ahead of Gazprom and chasing Lukoil. Russian giants are losing billions

Orlen overtook Gazprom and is chasing Lukoil

Recently, it was widely reported that the Polish Orlen is worth more than the Russian Gazprom. When Prime Minister Donald Tusk mentioned it in mid-March, Orlen's business was valued at less than $42 billion. compared to approximately USD 37 billion capitalization of Gazprom.

See also: Orlen with a record. It beats the Russian giant and other global brands

Now, a month later, Orlen's value is approximately USD 4 billion. higher, and the advantage over Gazprom increased to almost USD 6 billion.

It is worth noting that at the beginning of 2022 (before Russia's attack on Ukraine), Gazprom's value was estimated at over USD 100 billion. In the following years, at the worst moment, only a quarter of it remained.

Orlen is climbing, breaking records, and if it continues like this, it will overtake another large Russian raw material brand. We're talking about a corporation Lukoilwhich before the full-scale war in Ukraine was valued at $60 or even $70 billion. Now the capitalization slightly exceeds USD 50 billion, which means that the distance from Orlen has shrunk to less than USD 4 billion.

See also: The Americans extended the license for Lukoil. The stations will avoid sanctions again

On the way to Orlen's “swallowing” will be the Russian Novatek, which on May 19, 2026 had a capitalization of USD 48.4 billion. It is one of the largest private companies in Russia engaged in the extraction and processing of natural gas, operating mainly on the Russian market and in LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects. It is a key competitor of Gazprom and develops, among others, large export projects such as LNG plants on the Yamal Peninsula.

A few months before the outbreak of the war, Novatek's shares broke records, giving a valuation of almost $80 billion. At the end of 2024, approximately USD 23 billion remained. Despite its subsequent recovery, the Russian giant still has a negative war balance.

Russian pearls in Putin's crown after four years of war. A shocking loss

Of the Russian raw material giants, Rosneft is the most valuedbut also in this case the war left its mark in the form of billions in capitalization losses. In the last months of 2021, it reached USD 85 billion, and now it is approx. $61 billion

Although Russia is mainly associated with raw materials, the most valuable pearl in Putin's crown is Sberbank. It is the largest bank in Russia and one of the key financial institutions in the entire country, serving both individual clients, companies and the public sector.

See also: A large bank is considering leaving Russia. The paradox of profits and pressure

The ten largest Russian companies have lost a total of $173.47 billion over the last four years. capitalization. Below are the changes in valuations that make up this sum, in order from the largest to the smallest company:

• Sberbank: -$9.85 billion.
• Rosneft: -24.2 billion dollars.
• Lukoil: -$16 billion.
• Novatek: -$30.68 billion.
• Gazprom: -$76.31 billion.
• Polyus: +$9.74 billion.
• Nornickel: -$19.26 billion.
• Tatneft: +$4.15 billion
• PhosAgro: +$1.65 billion.
• Surgutneftegas: -12.71 billion dollars.

Russian companies that are worth more than before the war in Ukraine

However, among the largest Russian companies, there are also individual examples in which market valuations ultimately increased after 2022. This is what happened with Polyus. This the largest gold mining company in Russia and one of the largest in the world in terms of metal production. The company operates mines mainly in Siberia and the Russian Far East, where it exploits large open-pit and alluvial deposits. Its activities cover the entire gold production chain – from ore mining to its processing and sale of investment gold.

Recently, Polyus even broke stock price records, which coincided with record gold prices in the world.

Another example is Tatneft — one of the large Russian ones oil companiesengaged in the extraction, refining and sale of crude oil and petroleum products. Its operations are mainly concentrated in the Tatarstan region, where it has its main deposits and mining infrastructure. The company also runs a network of gas stations and invests in petrochemistry and the development of mining technologies.

The best time for the company was 2018-2020. Now it is valued much lower, but it still exceeds the levels from the last months before the war.

It also deserves attention PhosAgro, one of the largest Russian chemical companies specializing in the production of phosphorus fertilizers. The company extracts raw materials (mainly apatite and phosphates) and processes them into fertilizers used in agriculture. It was a beneficiary especially of the first weeks and months of the war in Ukraine, when its ratings rose sharply.

Author: Damian Słomski, journalist of Business Insider Polska