In a landmark achievement, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has officially become the most capitalized stock on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), overtaking industry giants Dangote Cement and Airtel Africa.

MTN Nigeria’s share price rallied to ₦472, driving its market capitalization to an unprecedented ₦10.077 trillion. This historic valuation makes it the most valuable publicly listed company in Nigeria.

Strong Financial Comeback

MTN Nigeria’s rise to the top was fueled by a stellar financial performance in the first half of 2025. The telecom giant reported a pre-tax profit of ₦622.2 billion, a sharp rebound from the losses recorded in the previous year. Notably, in the second quarter alone, the company posted a profit of ₦419.6 billion, compared to a ₦13.5 billion loss in the same period of 2024.

Service revenue also experienced robust growth, increasing by 54.6 percent year-over-year, with data services now accounting for over half (51.7 percent) of total revenue. This surge was driven by a larger customer base and higher data usage per subscriber.

Improved Balance Sheet

MTN Nigeria has also made significant progress in strengthening its financial position:

Total assets grew by 13.7 percent to reach ₦4.77 trillion

Retained losses dropped to ₦193 billion, down from ₦607 billion at the end of 2024

Negative shareholders’ funds narrowed sharply to ₦42 billion, a major improvement from ₦458 billion

Industry analysts anticipate that the company will return to positive equity by Q3 2025, potentially paving the way for dividend payments or a fresh public offering from MTN Group.

Market Leadership

With this milestone, MTN Nigeria now leads the NGX market capitalization rankings:

Rank Company Market Cap (₦ Trillion)

1 MTN Nigeria 10.077
2 Dangote Cement 8.914
3 Airtel Africa 8.683

Collectively, the top five companies on the NGX MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Airtel Africa, BUA Foods, and BUA Cement now account for over 46 percent of the exchange’s total market capitalization, which stands at ₦41.385 trillion.

Outlook

MTN Nigeria’s ascent reflects growing investor confidence in the telecom sector and the company’s successful strategic repositioning amid macroeconomic challenges. Its improved profitability and operational efficiency position it strongly for sustained leadership in Nigeria’s capital markets.