In a year shaped by economic recalibration, the Nigerian stock market has pulled off an unlikely feat: creating the largest pool of billion-dollar stocks in any seven-month period in its history.
As of July 31, 2025, at least 17 companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) now boast market capitalizations exceeding $1 billion, according to a Nairametrics analysis.
Collectively, they are now worth over $45.15 billion (N69.978 trillion) up by $11.7 billion (N18.2 trillion) in seven months.
This isn’t just a reflection of bullish sentiment it’s a confluence of fundamentals and favorable market dynamics.
Many Nigerian stocks began the year deeply undervalued, trading at low price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples relative to their emerging-market peers.
Currency devaluation made Nigerian equities even more attractive to dollar-based investors, rendering them “cheap” in real terms.
Meanwhile, improved corporate earnings across banking, cement, telecoms, and consumer goods sectors have reinforced the market’s appeal.
Local institutional investors, once largely fixated on money market and fixed income securities, have gradually shifted allocations into equities especially as returns have outpaced safer assets.
The market returned 16.5% in July alone, its best monthly performance this year. That rally has cemented the NGX as one of the top-performing markets globally in 2025.
Nairametrics analysts believe the bullish run may persist as more investors rebalance their portfolios toward stocks, especially with yields in fixed income markets beginning to normalize.
Yet, despite this optimism, equities still attract significantly less institutional capital compared to treasury bills, bonds, and money market placements—suggesting further upside if allocation shifts continue.
So, who are the stars of this rally?
Among the most notable new entrants into the billion-dollar club are UBA, Lafarge Africa, Nigerian Breweries, International Breweries, Stanbic IBTC and Presco Plc—all of whom joined the league of seasoned giants like Airtel Africa, Dangote Cement, BUA Foods, MTN Nigeria, Seplat Energy, Geregu Power, Transcorp Power, Aradel Holdings, BUA Cement, GTCO, and Zenith Bank.
Take Nigerian Breweries for example. After a tough 2024, the company staged a comeback, adding N1.396 trillion ($901 million) in market value and bringing its total market cap to about N2.387 trillion ($1.54 billion). Its stock soared 141% year-to-date, fueled by signs of financial recovery and renewed investor optimism.
GTCO also stood out, contributing N1.485 trillion ($958 million) in market value as of July 2025. With a market cap of N3.43 trillion ($2.2 billion) and shares hitting a 52-week high of N100.70, GTCO’s performance has been buoyed by strong investor sentiment and its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. Despite the surge, it trades at a modest 1.18x book value, suggesting room for more upside if earnings hold up.
BUA Cement added N1.4 trillion ($918 million) to reach a valuation of N4.57 trillion ($2.95 billion), making it the fifth-most valuable company on the NGX.
Then there’s International Breweries, arguably the market’s comeback kid. After a near-collapse in 2024, the stock has rallied an eye-watering 149% this year, adding $896 billion (N1.388 trillion) to its market cap. Now valued at $1.498 billion (N2.3 trillion), its P/E multiple of 42x reflects sky-high expectations—but its H1 2025 pre-tax profit of N61.52 billion compared to a N150 billion loss in H1 2024 suggests it may just be living up to the hype.
Then there’s MTN Nigeria, which recorded the largest dollar gain among all listed companies so far this year. It added an impressive $3.684 billion (N5.711 trillion) to its market capitalization in 2025 alone. As of July 31, its total valuation had surged to N9.91 trillion ($6.393 billion), driven by a sustained rally in its share price, which closed at N472.
MTN’s performance highlights how strategic investor confidence, robust data revenue growth, and macro-driven currency tailwinds have combined to deliver outsized returns in a short period.
Other noteworthy performances include:
- Zenith Bank, which added $821 million, brought its valuation to $2.027 billion.
- Presco Plc, which gained $694 million, now valued at $1 billion.
- Lafarge Africa, which crossed the mark at $1.548 billion.
- UBA, which entered the club at $1.3 billion.
On the other hand, legacy giants like BUA Foods and Airtel Africa maintained their commanding positions with market caps of $5.3 billion and $5.6 billion respectively, despite more modest YtD gains of $511 million and $372 million.
But not every stock has participated in the rally.
Some billion-dollar companies lost value in dollar terms even as they retained their status. Aradel Holdings saw a $191 million decline to close with a cap of $1.486 billion, while Transcorp Power and Seplat Energy lost $193 million and $95 million respectively. Geregu Power saw a minor dip of $14 million, ending the month with a market cap of $1.84 billion.
These declines point to the dynamic nature of the market while some stocks are surging on solid fundamentals or growth projections, others are facing correction pressures or cautious valuations.
With more institutional money poised to shift into equities, the next six months could very well redefine the Nigerian stock market’s place on the global investment map.
This is somewhat interesting.and possibly a cause for some concern
The stock market is valued at N 85 trillion or $ 54 bn
There are over 300 securities including 151 listed companies
17 Nigerian companies are worth $ 44 bn or N 69 trillion.
While 134 companies share the balance
This actually indicates a major shift of value to the rich ie transfer of wealth from the less rich to the more rich.
Can we really say that’s good sign of health of the market?