Twenty-four companies have emerged as the most valuable stocks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) year-to-date (YtD) as of August 17, 2026, collectively accounting for 74.8 per cent of the total market capitalisation of the equities market. The 24 companies, drawn largely from the banking, consumer goods, industrial goods and energy sectors, have a combined market capitalisation of N117.01 trillion, underscoring the high concentration of value among a relatively small number of companies on the NGX. The market capitalisation of the NGX has risen by N57.141 trillion, or 57.5 per cent YtD, to N156.517 trillion from N99.376 trillion at the close of trading on December 31, 2025. The sharp increase in market value reflects the strong rally recorded by several large-cap stocks, although analysts said the concentration of market value in a few companies also means that movements in these stocks could have a disproportionate impact on the overall market index. A review of the top-valued stocks showed Dangote Cement Plc overtaking MTN Nigeria Plc to emerge as the most capitalised company. The 24 companies include nine banks, six consumer goods companies, three industrial goods companies, three energy companies, one consumer services company and one telecommunications company. The companies are Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Plc, BUA Foods Plc, BUA Cement Plc, Aradel Holdings Plc, First Holdco Plc, HBM Nigeria Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, GTCO Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Transcorp Hotels Plc, Presco Plc, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Geregu Power Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, International Breweries Plc, Transcorp Power Plc, Access Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Wema Bank Plc. Banks dominate high-capitalised stocks Among the banks, First Holdco led with a market capitalisation of N6.37 trillion, followed by Zenith Bank with N5.04 trillion and GTCO with N4.70 trillion. Stanbic IBTC followed with N2.56 trillion, while UBA recorded N1.99 trillion. Access Holdings recorded N1.45 trillion, while Fidelity Bank had N1.38 trillion. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Wema Bank recorded market capitalisations of N1.27 trillion and N1.16 trillion respectively. The strong showing of the banks reflects the substantial repricing of banking stocks following the sector’s recapitalisation exercise and improved investor sentiment towards the financial sector. Top capitalised consumer goods coys In the consumer goods segment, BUA Foods led with N13.69 trillion in market capitalisation. Presco followed with N2.40 trillion, while Nestle Nigeria recorded N2.22 trillion. Nigerian Breweries and International Breweries ranked fourth and fifth with N2.10 trillion and N1.79 trillion respectively. The performance of some consumer goods stocks has been supported by expectations of improved operating conditions, although high production costs, inflation and weak consumer purchasing power remain major concerns for the sector. Top capitalised industrial goods coys Dangote Cement topped the industrial goods category with N17.15 trillion market capitalisation, followed by BUA Cement with N13.69 trillion and HBM Nigeria with N5.38 trillion. The dominance of the industrial goods companies further illustrates the extent to which large-cap stocks are driving the expansion in the NGX’s overall market value. Top capitalised energy coys Seplat Energy led with N6.72 trillion, followed by Aradel Holdings, also recording N6.72 trillion. Geregu Power recorded N2.06 trillion, while Transcorp Power posted N1.65 trillion. Analysts’ ratings Beyond market capitalisation, analysts have also maintained varying views on the investment prospects of 32 stocks among the 138 companies listed on the NGX. Seventeen stocks were rated Buy or Strong Buy, 12 were rated Sell or Strong Sell, while three received Neutral ratings. The ratings are intended to guide investors based on analysts’ assessment of earnings prospects, valuation, business fundamentals and expected share-price performance. Among the stocks rated Buy or Strong Buy are Aradel Holdings, Access Holdings, Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, FCMB, GTCO, Guinness Nigeria, HBM Nigeria, Honeywell Flour Mills, Nigerian Breweries, Nestle Nigeria, UACN, Transcorp Corporation, UBA, Zenith Bank and Cadbury Nigeria. Stocks rated Sell or Strong Sell include BUA Cement, BUA Foods, Conoil, First Holdco, International Breweries, Julius Berger, Okomu Oil, Presco, PZ Cussons, Stanbic IBTC, TotalEnergies Marketing and Unilever Nigeria. Fidelity Bank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and NASCON Allied Industries received Neutral ratings. Market gainers YtD, August 17, 2026 The market’s strong Yt
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