Revenue among the giants leapt 16% in 2021, thanks in large part to escalating sales prices across all housing market segments caused by high demand and overall economic inflation.

Land, labor, and materials continue to be the biggest costs among Housing Giants, at the logical expense of sales and marketing investments. Despite cost increases, average net profit leapt to 9.1% in 2021 from 7.8% the year before.

But sustained Saudi outage of several million daily barrels would rattle markets, because of the lack of other players big enough to step in and provide enough supply to cover the shortfall longer term. Even if Saudi officials were successful in restoring all or most of the lost production, the attack demonstrates a new vulnerability to supply lines across the oil-rich Gulf. Tankers have been paying sharply higher insurance premiums, while shipping rates have soared in the region after a series of maritime attacks on oil-laden vessels, which the U.S. has blamed on Iran.