Top 10 Nigerian companies add N6.4tr to revenue as economy stabilizes
By Victor Idajili
Nigeria’s 10 largest listed companies grew combined annual revenue by about N6.4 trillion in 2025, driven by stronger sales across manufacturing, telecoms, oil & gas and financial services.
Latest audited results show total revenue climbed from N18.53 trillion in 2024 to N24.92 trillion in 2025. The stronger top-line gave most firms room to improve profitability despite persistent cost pressures.
The list includes Dangote Cement, BUA Foods, MTN Nigeria, BUA Cement, Aradel, Seplat Energy, Lafarge Africa, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Geregu Power.
Key figures for year ended Dec 31, 2025:
Dangote Cement: Turnover rose from N3.58tr to N4.31tr
MTN Nigeria: Revenue jumped from N3.36tr to N5.20tr
Seplat Energy: Gross income quadrupled from N1.65tr to N4.14tr
Zenith Bank: Gross earnings grew from N3.97tr to N4.19tr
BUA Foods: Revenue up from N1.53tr to N1.77tr
BUA Cement: Turnover increased from N876.47bn to N1.18tr
Lafarge Africa: Sales surged 53% to a record N1.1tr from N696.8bn
Aradel: Revenue rose from N581.15bn to N697.30bn
GTCO: Marginal increase from N2.148tr to N2.150tr
Geregu Power: Turnover up from N137.13bn to N184.94bn
Analysts say macroeconomic reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration created a more stable operating environment, allowing companies to plan and execute growth strategies.
Dr Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, said reforms delivered “important stabilisation outcomes” that reflected in corporate performance and stock market gains. He cited improved external reserves nearing $50bn, a trade surplus, moderated exchange rate volatility, and 11 months of disinflation from early 2025 to February 2026.
Yusuf noted that disinflation was disrupted in March 2026 by the Iran–U.S.–Israel conflict, which spiked global crude prices and pushed up domestic energy and transport costs.
He added that ending Ways and Means financing improved monetary discipline, while reduced dependence on imported petrol helped conserve forex and support exchange rate stability.
Sola Oni, CEO of Sofunix Investment, said subsidy removal, forex liberalization, banking recapitalization and fiscal restructuring boosted investor confidence and activity on the Nigerian Exchange. APT Securities’ Alhaji Kasumu Kurfi said the reforms have strengthened institutions and market confidence, making reversal unlikely.
Yusuf provided context on the administration’s starting point: acute forex illiquidity, multiple exchange rates, reserves below $5bn, and subsidy-driven fiscal leakages. He said the two pillars of stabilization were subsidy removal and exchange rate unification.
“Subsidy removal halted a major drain on public finances and created the foundation for a more transparent downstream sector. Exchange rate unification removed arbitrage, improved transparency and discouraged investment distortions,” he explained.
The improved corporate results have helped fuel bullish sentiment at the stock market, where investors recorded about N132 trillion in capital gains during Tinubu’s first three years.
