MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTNN) hit an all-time high of ₦708.90 per share, in the trading session of Friday, February 13, 2026, successfully reclaiming its title as the most valuable company on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
With a market capitalization of ₦14.88 trillion, the telecom giant edged out BUA Foods and Dangote Cement to lead the “Double-Digit Trillion” club.
The stock’s 8.56% surge on Friday capped a remarkable year-to-date rally, driven by a complete transformation of its balance sheet and the “pricing power” unlocked by recent regulatory reforms.
Despite the run up in its stock (38.79% YTD), investors and analysts expect MTNN to continue to rally in 2026.
Investment firm Chapel Hill Denham maintained a positive outlook on the listed telecoms operators, Airtel Africa and MTN Nigeria, supported by strong operating momentum and improving sector fundamentals.
The “Tariff Catalyst”: Fueling a ₦3.7 Trillion Revenue Machine
The primary driver of the sector’s re-rating is the full-year impact of the 50% tariff increase approved by the NCC in early 2025. This move has fundamentally shifted the industry’s unit economics:
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Revenue Surge: MTNN reported a 57.4% increase in service revenue to ₦3.73 trillion for the nine months ended September 2025.
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ARPU Expansion: Combined with Airtel Africa, the sector saw a 31.6% jump in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), as data consumption continues to grow alongside higher voice rates.
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Margin Recovery: The tariff hike allowed MTNN to expand its EBITDA margin to 51.4%, providing the cash flow needed to repair a balance sheet that was previously hammered by Naira devaluation.
Financial Resurrection: Exiting the “Negative Equity” Trap
Perhaps the most significant milestone for institutional investors was MTNN’s exit from its technical insolvency position in 2025:
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Positive Equity: After suffering a ₦656 billion loss in 2024, the company recorded a ₦750.2 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) by 9M-2025.
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Retained Earnings: MTNN successfully restored positive retained earnings (₦142.7 billion) and shareholders’ equity (₦293.1 billion), effectively clearing the legal hurdle for dividend payments.
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Interim Reward: This turn-around allowed the Board to declare an interim dividend of ₦5.00 per share in late 2025—the company’s first payout since the 2023 crisis.
Infrastructure War Chest: The 5G and Rural Push
MTN isn’t just coasting on price hikes; it is aggressively “buying the future”:
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CAPEX Intensity: Capital expenditure (excluding leases) surged 248% to ₦757.4 billion in the 9 Months, 2025 period.
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5G Dominance: The company is leading the rollout of 5G infrastructure, targeting 40% national coverage by the end of 2026 to capture the high-value data segment.
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Rural Penetration: With 85.4 million subscribers, MTNN is focusing on suburban and rural “underpenetrated” markets, where voice and basic data adoption are still in the early growth phases.
“Overall, we believe the combination of tariff-led revenue growth, network expansion, subscriber base growth, and improving balance sheet metrics supports further upside and potential re-rating for telecoms stocks in 2026,” Chapel Hill Denham analysts said, in a February 12 note to investors.
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