Prime Business Africa
In 2025, MTN Nigeria shares were more profitable than those of the telecommunications rival, Airtel Africa, in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), also known as the stock market, according to Prime Business Africa’s analysis.
It was learnt that equity traders who held MTN’s shares recorded threefold growth in their investments between January and December last year, compared to the single increase recorded by shareholders of Airtel.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to Prime Business Africa’s breakdown, investors who held MTN Nigeria’s shares for the 12-month period recorded a 155.5 percent increase in their investments after the company’s share price rose by N311.
The stock market found MTN’s shares to be investible; as a result, demand pushed the price of a share to N511 at the end of the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, significantly above the N200 it was traded for at the start of the first quarter (Q1).
The increase recorded by MTN shareholders also represented a combined gain of N6.52 trillion and raised the network providers’ market valuation on the Nigerian Exchange to N10.72 trillion as of December 31, 2025, from N4.19 trillion as of January 2, 2025.
However, the case was different for Airtel Africa’s shareholders, as they recorded only a paltry 5.24 percent within the period under review, representing a N425.04 billion combined gain.
The gain was driven by a N113.1 kobo increase in Airtel’s share price, as equity traders in the bourse were willing to pay N2,270 for a share in the Bharti Airtel subsidiary at the end of December 2025, compared to the N2,156.90 kobo they were willing to part with at the beginning of January last year.
While the increase marginally lifted the value of shares held by the company’s equityholders, Airtel Africa’s market valuation also took a flight from N8.10 trillion to N8.53 trillion between Q1 and Q4 2025.
For press releases, tip-offs, and corporate information, call 08149575257 (hotline), email: [email protected], and [email protected]
Prime Business Africa is a business, economy and policy news platform founded in 2021 by veteran journalist and media scholar, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, after he left The Guardian as Editor.
Dr Mbamalu, who serves as Founder and Publisher, set up Prime Business Africa to deliver sharp, data-driven reporting on Nigeria’s markets, trade, investment, and governance trends for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
He also writes The Bottom Line, a backpage column for Punch Newspaper every Thursday.
Under his leadership, Prime Business Africa combines deep newsroom experience with a focus on accountability journalism, aiming to bridge information gaps between Africa’s private sector and the global economy.
