Airtel Nears N20trn Market Cap, Overtakes BUA Foods as Nigeria’s Most Valuable Firm
Airtel Africa has overtaken BUA Foods to become the most valuable company on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), after a sharp rally pushed the telecommunications firm’s market capitalisation close to N20 trillion.
Analysis of the NGX data by MarketReporters showed that the telecommunication giant’s market value rose by 10 percent to N18 trillion on June 30, 2026, from N16.4 trillion the previous day. The company has retained the top spot, with its market capitalisation rising further to N19.8 trillion on Tuesday. It now ranks ahead of Dangote Cement, BUA Foods, and MTN Nigeria, whose market values stood at N17.1 trillion, N16.9 trillion, and N16.4 trillion, respectively.
The telco rise comes as the broader Nigerian equities market rebounds from a June sell-off that erased nearly ₦12 trillion in investor wealth.
The NGX’s total market capitalisation rose for a third consecutive trading session to N152.1 trillion on Tuesday, from N143.9 trillion on Thursday. The benchmark All-Share Index also climbed to 237,083.3 points. The recovery follows a difficult June, when investors wiped N11.5 trillion off the market’s value, reducing total capitalisation from N158.7 trillion at the start of the month to N144.8 trillion by month-end.
Last month marked the market’s first monthly decline this year after several months of sustained gains. April recorded the strongest rally, with market capitalisation increasing by N26.1 trillion.
The correction was largely driven by profit-taking after a prolonged rally that pushed Nigerian equities to record highs. However, the recent rebound suggests investors are returning to selected large-cap stocks, including Airtel Africa.
Despite the June pullback, Nigeria remains Africa’s best-performing equity market in US dollar terms. Data from African Markets, a real-time market intelligence platform, showed that the NGX delivered a 56.9 percent return in dollar terms as of June 26, outperforming 16 other African exchanges tracked by the platform.
The market’s year-to-date dollar return improved to 58.8 percent as of July 6, underlining the resilience of Nigerian equities despite recent volatility.
