Something remarkable happened on Wednesday, 29 October 2025 which the world did not take much notice of. At the end of trading on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), a technology heavy exchange, a 32 year old company that is not so well known became worth $5 trillion. It is nVIDIA, the world’s biggest company by valuation. Its chief executive, Taiwanese-American Jensen Huang, who is the exact opposite of Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is running a company that was largely unsung until Artificial Intelligence (AI) became the dominant force in today’s technological world. And nVIDIA holds the ace in the production of computer chips that AI runs on. The valuation of the company was based on its stock price nearing $210 per share. No company in human history had been worth this much.
I like interpretative journalism! So, let’s put this in context. nVIDIA, one company based in the United States of America, is nearly twice the size of the entire African economy. Normally, African economy is valued at $2.83 trillion while its projected GDP at $10.83 trillion is twice the size of Nvidia.
As it is happening in far away America with little global cognizance, the Nigerian stock market is experiencing a boom that many may not be paying attention to. Sometime in August I told a friend and colleague that at the rate the market was going, it would reach the N100 trillion valuation mark by the end of this year. It nearly did two full months ahead of year-end. Few days to nVIDIA’s rally, the stock market in Nigeria peaked when the all share index, a number that indicates the state of a stock market, reached 155,640.55 on Friday, 24 October 2025. Market capitalisation of that day was N98.7923 trillion with a year-to-date performance of 51.22%. It ended the month at N97.84 trillion and a year to date of 49.64%.
Year to date (31 October 2025), the capital market has delivered 49.64% increase. In simple terms, the average performance of all the companies quoted on the stock exchange have delivered 49.64% (approximate it to 50% for those of us who still hold grudges against mathematics!) increase on their valuations. Based on this average performance, it translates to the fact that if one invested N100,000 in the market on the first day of trading this year, the worth of that investment today is N150,000. Assuming it was N1 million that was invested, the value of the investment in ten months is N1.5 million (N10 million investment is now worth N15 million; and N2 billion translates into N3 billion) and so on and so forth.
Given inflation and exchange rate variations, this is a very good investment. On the average, the market has delivered twice the rate of inflation in the country.
But this average return on investment belies many other facts about the capital market in Nigeria this year. Majority of the 146 quoted companies delivered more than the average return. If you had the good fortune to invest the hypothetical N1 million, N10 million and N2 billion at the start of trading in January say in WAPCO, which has done 100% (Year-to-Date (YTD), you would be going home with N2 million, N20 million and N4 billion respectively today. Presco Plc has delivered 212 per cent YTD; ABC Transport chalked up 245 per cent. The most impressive performance came from an unlikely company, Beta Glass, which delivered 574 per cent increase; closely followed by Mutual Benefits at 570%. So, do your math!
Conversely, if you had the misfortune of investing same amounts in Conoil, your money worth would be N500,000, N5 million and N1 billion. That’s a colossal loss. Much worse if the investment was in Sunu Insurance or VFD Group which have lost 58% and 75.8% respectively this year already. But that is the nature of the market. The capital market is not the safest place to invest in. In fact it is seen as a medium to high risk investment field. But it is also, as has been demonstrated this year, a vehicle that delivers higher returns than say money market investment vehicle.
Which explains why tact is needed to invest wisely in the market. For instance, it is not tactful to invest all your money in one stock (company) no matter how promising the company may be. It is also more tactful to spread your investments across more than one economic sector. What do I mean? Not all your money should be in the banking sector of the capital market no matter the returns from that sector. It’s better to invest across three or more sectors to hedge against losses. Those who invested in the insurance sector before the fall of the market in 2008 have not recovered from it nearly 20 years after.
But on the average, the market has been a veritable source of wealth for many who have been consistent. Last year, the market delivered an impressive annual growth of 37.65% with a N62.76 trillion capitalization. For instance, if you invested in MTN Nigeria when it debuted in the market at N100 per share in 2019, the share is now worth N520. BUA Foods, the most capitalised stock on the exchange at N12.5 trillion went public at N40 per share in January 2022. It is now worth N692.50 per share. That is phenomenal by any standard.
As at close of trading yesterday 31 October 2025, 20 companies are now worth a N1 trillion or more each in their valuations. BUA Foods, MTN, Dangote Cement, Airtel Africa and Seplat Energy are the leaders in that order. It shows the lopsided nature of the market as the twenty companies worth N1 trillion plus each have combined capitalisation of N81 trillion versus the full market capitalisation of N98 trillion.
As at the start of the year, just over ten companies were worth a trillion Naira each. Given the current market environment, the number has muffed up to 20, and growing.
Next year, at least two behemoths are expected to be listed on the main bourse in Nigeria. Dangote Refinery and Flutterwave, a foremost fintech company, owned by Nigerians but based in San Francisco, United States, plan to go public thus further deepening the capital market.
Interestingly, it is this same robust market that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants to stunt with its ill advised revised Capital Gains Tax (CGT) which increases the tax from 10% to 30 per cent. Investors are already on edge over this new tax as it seeks to tax a whopping 30% of gains made by high net worth and institutional investors when they sell their shares. The usual desire to compare apples to oranges (to align our tax system with what obtains in the western world) is in itself suspect. Do Nigerians see the benefits of paying tax? Our public schools, hospitals, roads and bridges are in shambles. Our environments are unlivable, hardly any community has access to public water, insecurity is rampant everywhere, yet Nigerians are being forced to pay more taxes.
Just last week, the government announced that imported petroleum products will attract a 15% tax, thus effectively strengthening Dangote Refinery monopoly since, pre-tax, imported petrol is cheaper than locally produced gasoline, even though part of the crude is sold in Naira.
All said, the CGT, if implemented as is, will throw spanner in the wheel of the growth of the capital market which had been growing at a snail pace for the years preceding 2023.
Short take
The decamping frenzy
A few of my readers have voiced their concerns about my not commenting on the mad rush by governors from the opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress. There is nothing to write about what is already very disgusting; and that is putting it mildly. History is repeating itself. We saw it under the late maximum ruler, General Sani Abacha, where presidential candidates ‘stepped down’ for the gap-toothed general to stand as an unopposed candidate.
The late Chief Bola Ige called that charade ‘the five fingers of a leprous hand’. It is possible that in our current situation, the leprosy has spread to the feet!
Esiere is a former journalist!
