December 28, (THEWILL) — The Nigerian equities market in 2025 delivered one of its most polarised performances in recent memory, as trading activity between January and December produced extraordinary gains in a select group of stocks while simultaneously exposing deep structural weaknesses in others.
An analysis of the market’s top gainers and laggards shows that investors decisively rewarded companies with pricing power, earnings recovery and balancesheet resilience. On the other hand, they punished firms burdened by weak capitalisation, regulatory constraints and prolonged operational challenges. This widening gap reflects a more discerning investment climate compared with 2024, with capital flowing selectively rather than broadly across the market.
Top Gainers: Strong Price Rallies Define Market Leadership
The list of top gainers in 2025 comprising 15 stocks was dominated by telecommunications, industrial goods, consumer goods, agriculture and select insurance names, many of which recorded tripledigit price appreciation over the year.
NCR Nigeria emerged as the market’s top percentage gainer, opening the year at N5.00 and closing at N54.65 in December. Despite its price surge, NCR’s market capitalisation stood at N7.85 billion, highlighting that its rally was driven largely by low base effects and speculative repositioning rather than deep institutional flows.
Beta Glass delivered one of the strongest industrial rallies, rising from N64.90 in January to N370.00 in December. The run lifted its market capitalisation to about N221.99 billion.
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc also featured prominently. The stock opened at N6.92 on January 2, 2025 and advanced to N18.25 by early December, reflecting improved operational performance and renewed investor confidence in the consumer goods sector. Honeywell’s market capitalisation stands at an estimated N43.45 billion.
In the insurance space, Mutual Benefits Assurance climbed from N0.54 to N3.27, while Sovereign Trust Insurance rose from N0.40 to N2.87, supported by speculative positioning ahead of recapitalisation expectations.
Breweries staged a notable comeback: Champion Breweries surged from N3.81 to N12.95, pushing its market capitalisation to about N151.67 billion. Guinness Nigeria recovered from N70.25 to N167.00, contributing to a market cap near N635 billion following aggressive pricing adjustments and margin recovery.
Other notable advancers included Eunisell Interlinked, which climbed from N19.27 to N81.00, and Ellah Lakes, which rose from N2.85 to N13.85, lifting its market cap to about N50.3 billion amid strong interest in agriculturelinked stocks.
Vitafoam Nigeria rallied from N23.00 to N83.40, translating into an estimated market cap of N118.25 billion, while NASCON Allied Industries gained from N31.35 to N103.60, bringing its capitalisation to about N300 billion.
Among agriculture stocks, Presco Plc recorded one of the most dramatic rallies, soaring from N150.00 in January to N1,450.00 by December, a performance that placed its market cap at approximately N1,450 billion. Neimeth Pharmaceuticals increased from N1.90 to N5.40, with a market cap near N26.3 billion, and The Initiates Plc (TIP) rallied from N0.90 to N11.65, holding a market cap around N11.2 billion.
At the top end of the market, MTN Nigeria Communications reinforced its status as the NGX’s most valuable listed company, rising from N200.00 to N470.00 and commanding a market capitalisation of about N11.16 trillion. MTN’s performance played a stabilising role for the broader index through the year.
Top Laggards: Persistent Weakness Weighs on Select Sectors
In contrast, the laggards’ list showcased prolonged underperformance across insurance, media, real estate and diversified conglomerates.
Living Trust Mortgage declined from N4.38 in January to N3.58 in December, grappling with subdued mortgage demand and liquidity constraints. John Holt Plc fell from N7.79 to N5.40, with its market capitalisation near N2.10 billion, continuing a multiyear struggle with profitability.
Sunu Assurance saw its share price drop from N10.75 to N3.92, leaving a market cap of about N22.75 billion. Universal Insurance plunged from around N4.20 to N1.15, cutting its capitalisation to roughly N18.40 billion amid persistent solvency concerns.
In the media sector, DAAR Communications weakened from about N1.70 to N0.90, shrinking its valuation to around N0.90 billion as structural challenges weighed on traditional broadcasting revenues.
RTBriscoe collapsed from roughly N40.60 to N3.25, leaving its market cap at around N3.81 billion before trading disruptions further eroded investor confidence. UPDC Plc slid from around N6.10 to N5.10, reflecting ongoing headwinds in the real estate sector, with a market cap near N95.6 billion.
Additional laggards included Regal Insurance, with a market cap of about N0.61 billion, and Guinea Insurance, at roughly N0.40 billion, both underscoring deep value erosion across weaker insurance names. Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc also featured among laggards; although exact opening prices for January are unavailable, its share price remained subdued relative to earlier highs, and the company’s market capitalisation is approximately N17.76 billion as at yearend.
Sectoral Performance: Fundamentals Drive Clear Winners, Losers
Sector performance in 2025 revealed a market sharply divided along fundamental lines. Telecommunications stood out, with MTN Nigeria benefiting from tariff adjustments, FX repricing and sustained demand for data and digital services.
Industrial goods and manufacturing stocks such as Beta Glass, NASCON, Vitafoam and Honeywell benefited from their ability to pass rising costs onto consumers, protecting margins in an inflationary environment.
Consumer goods stocks, particularly breweries, staged a recovery after a difficult 2024, while agriculture outperformed on the back of favourable global commodity prices and strong local demand.
Conversely, insurance remained the weakest sector, weighed down by capital adequacy concerns, weak underwriting performance and regulatory pressure. Media and real estate stocks also struggled with declining revenues, rising costs and limited access to growth capital.
Earnings recovery, FX repricing and pricing power were the dominant drivers behind the market’s top performers. Low base effects amplified gains in smallcap stocks, while institutional capital gravitated toward largecap names with predictable cash flows.
For laggards, weak balance sheets, governance concerns, regulatory actions and prolonged structural challenges triggered sustained selloffs. Investor sentiment became increasingly selective, with liquidity concentrating in fundamentally strong stocks and highmomentum names.
Looking ahead, the outlook for top gainers remains cautiously positive, particularly for stocks with strong earnings momentum and solid balance sheets. Telecommunications, industrial goods and agriculture are expected to remain resilient if macroeconomic stability improves.
For laggards, however, the outlook remains fragile. Without meaningful recapitalisation, restructuring or regulatory clarity, many insurance, media and real estate stocks may continue to struggle. The sharp divergence between winners and losers is likely to persist, reinforcing selectivity as the defining theme of the Nigerian equities market in 2026.
Ogochukwu Onwaeze
