A major driver of the Nigerian stock market’s impressive 18.95% return in the third quarter of 2025 was the strong performance of a select group of heavyweight stocks known as SWOOTs.
In Q3, 9 out of 22 SWOOTs gained more than 20%, while 16 advanced between 15% and 20%.
Altogether, 17 of them closed the quarter in the green, highlighting the breadth of positive sentiment among Nigeria’s largest corporates.
By definition, SWOOTs (an acronym for Stocks Worth Over One Trillion Naira) are companies whose market capitalization exceeds N1 trillion.
Given their enormous influence, any sustained movement in SWOOTs tends to shape the overall market direction.
Hence, their impressive showing in Q3 was powerful enough to lift the Nigerian All-Share Index to its third-best quarterly performance since 2020.
This work ranks the top 10 best-performing SWOOTs in Q3 2025, focusing on share price appreciation rather than size, with each company maintaining a market capitalization above N1 trillion.
Here are the top 10 best-performing SWOOTs:
Aradel Holdings Plc ranks 10th with a 19.53% return in Q3, standing out as the only oil and gas company among the top 10.
As of September 30, the stock carried a market capitalization of N2.67 trillion, with 4,344,844,360 outstanding shares listed on the NGX.
It opened the quarter at N514.50 and saw 195.7 million shares traded before closing Q3 at N615.
A sharp 20.59% surge in September delivered most of the quarter’s gains. Despite sluggish momentum in the oil and gas sector, Aradel remained firmly in the green.
In its H1 2025 results, Aradel reported revenue of N368.07 billion, up 37.18% from N268.3 billion in H1 2024.
- Crude oil sales contributed N232.7 billion, up from N171.1 billion.
- Refined products earned N116.4 billion, up 42.57%, while gas sales grew 21.74% to N18.8 billion.
Hence, pre-tax profit rose 17.89% to N191.3 billion, despite general administrative expenses of N53.1 billion.
Year-to-date, the stock is up 8.71%, though a 16% decline in Q1 trimmed part of its yearly gains.
