About 80% of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) 30 companies posted profit growth in full-year 2025, with aggregate after-tax earnings climbing 59% to ₦10.34 trillion, buoyed by FX stability and price hikes—though banks trailed amid impairment burdens.
Telecoms dominated: MTN Nigeria led with ₦1.12 trillion profit, while Airtel Africa’s ₦6.55 trillion revenue topped the index; their combined ₦1.93 trillion swung from a ₦53 billion loss.
Analysts are sanguine about future earnings growth of telecom firms who will continue to benefit from strong data demand, structural improvement in countries of operations, and improving macroeconomic conditions specially in Nigeria. The proliferation of smartphones and favorable demography in Nigeria makes their stocks a good buy.
The 50 percent maximum increase in telecommunications tariffs for calls, data, and SMS to cushion the effects or fend off high inflation, currency devaluation, and rising diesel costs to power telecom infrastructure will continue to be one of the major drivers of earnings.
Sectoral Performance Breakdown
The 2025 financial year was characterized by divergent fortunes across major sectors, with telecommunications and materials leading, while banks served as the market laggards.
Consumer goods flipped to ₦750 billion combined profit from a ₦404 billion loss, via pricing power and erased FX hits, while the cement trio—Dangote, BUA, Lafarge—each exceeded 100% growth on infrastructure spend and cost cuts.
Chapel Hill forecasts volume-led consumer rebound via disinflation to 13%.
“We believe the growth in 2026E will be predominantly volume-driven, supported by disinflation and capacity expansion,” said analysts at Chapel Hill Denham.
“Notably, in 2025E, inflation has nose-dived to 14.45 percent year on year ( yoy) in November from 24.48 percent yoy in January and our base case forecast for 2026E indicates further disinflation to 13.06 percent yoy in December 2026. In addition, Nestlé Nigeria Plc (Nestlé) is seeking to expand, particularly in the culinary business, while BUA Foods Plc (BUA Foods) is nearing the completion of its integrated sugar refinery,” said analysts at Chapel Hill.
Banks faltered: Liquid giants’ profits dipped 11.8% to ₦4.56 trillion, hit by vanishing FX gains and looming rate cuts.
| Sector / Index Segment | FY 2025 Performance | Key Drivers & Highlights |
| Telecommunications | Combined PAT: ₦1.93 Trillion (from ₦53.12bn loss) | Led by MTN Nigeria (₦1.12T profit) and Airtel Africa (₦6.55T revenue). Supported by data demand and potential tariff adjustments. |
| Consumer Goods | Combined PAT: ₦750.41 Billion (from ₦404.47bn loss) | Returned to profitability via price adjustments and FX stability, eliminating foreign exchange losses from 2023–2024. |
| Building Materials | Earnings Growth: >100% across majors | Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, and Lafarge Africa benefited from strong infrastructure spending and cost-control strategies. |
| Banking Sector | Cumulative PAT: ₦4.56 Trillion (-11.78%) | Floundered due to heavy impairment provisions, the absence of prior-year FX revaluation gains, and the shift toward lower-yield environments. |
Source: MoneyCentral
Macroeconomic Context
The solid underlying corporate performances reflect a recovering domestic macroeconomic landscape, despite lingering inflationary pressures:
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GDP Growth: The Nigerian economy expanded by 3.9% YoY in 2025, an improvement from 3.4% in 2024, with non-oil sectors growing by 3.7% and the oil sector by 8.5%.
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Inflationary Pressures: Headline inflation rose modestly to 15.38% in March 2026 from 15.06% in February, down from the peak of 24.48% in January 2025.
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Market Capitalization: The NGX All-Share Index rallied to 242,277.81 points by April 30, 2026, representing a 55.69% year-to-date return, with a market capitalization of ₦155.99 trillion ($113.08 billion).
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