Ruth Ibikunle
The Nigerian stock market last week closed on a bearish note as the All-Share Index sheds 2.99%. Year to date the market has returned 45.27% with the All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation at 149,524.81 points and N94.998 trillion respectively.
In a stock market review with Mr. Gilbert Ayoola, a seasoned capital market analyst, the following were discussed:
The stock market last week closed on a bearish note, shedding 2.99%. What is the outlook for the new week?
The Nigerian stock market ended last week on a bearish note, shedding 2.99% as investors rotated funds toward fixed-income instruments. The Q3 corporate earnings spurred portfolio realignments and profit-taking across key sectors. Rising yields in the fixed-income space have continued to suppress risk appetite for equities.
In the new week, market sentiment is expected to remain mixed, driven by cautious bargain-hunting in fundamentally sound stocks and continued selling pressure from profit-takers. While attractive valuations may stimulate selective buying, the elevated yields in money-market instruments will likely keep overall market momentum subdued.
Moreso, trading is projected to remain range-bound as investors balance opportunities in undervalued equities against compelling risk-free returns. The near-term outlook thus leans toward a cautious and selective recovery, shaped largely by liquidity trends and yield movements.
What is responsible for the current down trend?
The market pullback reflects a combination of profit-taking, rising fixed-income yields, and cautious positioning ahead of macroeconomic developments.
The recent surge in NT-Bills and bond yields has diverted attention from equities, as investors seek safer, higher-yielding assets. This shift, coupled with tight liquidity conditions, has reduced buying momentum in the market. Additionally, uncertainties around inflation, interest rate direction, and fiscal policy have heightened risk aversion, leading to weak investor confidence.
Overall, the market’s downturn is largely attributed to portfolio rebalancing toward fixed income, macro policy uncertainty, and profit-taking after earlier gains.
What is driving the growth in Honeywell and Livestock Feeds?
Honeywell
Honeywell’s current growth trajectory is underpinned by strategic repositioning and operational efficiency, signaling a sustained turnaround in performance. Despite a slight dip in group revenue for its unaudited Q2 2025 results, the company achieved a strong rebound in profitability, driven by significant reduction in foreign exchange losses and improved cost management.
While stiff operational pressures from imported raw materials and inflation persist, Honeywell continues to leverage its scale, distribution strength, and renewed brand appeal to navigate market headwinds. The company’s focus on optimising production and controlling finance costs has bolstered investor confidence and positioned it favourably within the consumer goods sector’s recovery trend.
Livestock Feeds
Livestock Feeds is gradually regaining momentum, supported by a steady revenue uptick and renewed investor interest in agribusiness and feed manufacturing. The company’s growth outlook aligns with broader expectations of demand recovery and margin improvement across the livestock value chain. Although cost pressures and supply challenges remain a concern, the renewed confidence in Nigeria’s consumer and agricultural segments is driving positive sentiment around Livestock Feeds.
Its ongoing market expansion and focus on efficiency signal a potential rebound as input costs stabilise and demand strengthens.
In the broader consumer goods sector, improving investor sentiment and selective buying are lifting companies like Honeywell and Livestock Feeds. With easing FX volatility and anticipated demand recovery, both firms stand to benefit from renewed optimism in Nigeria’s manufacturing and agribusiness landscape.
How attractive are the following stocks: Oando, Champion Breweries, Tantalizer and Japaul?
Oando: Oando continues to display strong operational momentum, underscored by its recent acquisition of NAOC’s upstream assets and improved production uptime, which jumped to 82%. This has driven a 59% year-on-year surge in crude oil and
gas output, averaging 38,121 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). The company’s renewed focus on upstream efficiency, coupled with higher oil prices, provides a solid platform for earnings expansion. Oando’s value proposition lies in its asset upgrades, expanding production base, and stronger balance sheet. However, its performance remains sensitive to global oil price movements and regulatory dynamics. For investors with a moderate-to-high risk appetite, Oando offers compelling long-term growth potential within Nigeria’s energy sector.
Champion Breweries: Champion Breweries maintains robust earnings, reflecting operational resilience in a challenging consumer market. In Q3 2025, gross profit rose to N2.41 billion from N2.15 billion, supported by higher sales volumes and improved cost efficiency. Finance income of N225.3 million further strengthened the bottom line, positioning the company on a firmer financial footing. Trading at N13.00, below its 52-week high of N21.49 and with a 50-day moving average of N15.81, the stock presents an attractive entry opportunity for investors seeking value in Nigeria’s consumer-goods and brewing segment. Assuming consumer demand remains steady, Champion Breweries stands out as a steady-growth, dividend-potential play in the mid-tier beverage market.
Tantalizer: Tantalizer’s strategy reflects bold diversification and expansion ambition. The company targets N50 billion in revenue by 2026 through ventures into fisheries, aquaculture, and entertainment, extending beyond its traditional quick-service restaurant operations. While the vision is commendable and the QSR sector holds long-term potential, Tantalizer still operates from a small revenue base and faces execution and cost-management challenges amid high inflation and supply-chain disruption. As such, the stock remains speculative attractive mainly to investors seeking high-risk, high-reward growth prospects tied to Nigeria’s evolving consumer-lifestyle market.
Japaul: Japaul’s strategic pivot from oil-servicing to gold mining and mineral ventures has positioned it within a new growth frontier. The company boasts significant inferred gold reserves and has lined up contracts that could unlock long-term value. However, Japaul remains in the early stage of monetising its assets, and success will depend heavily on project execution, funding, and operational stability. For investors, Japaul offers exposure to Nigeria’s nascent mining industry, a sector with substantial upside but equally high risk. Its attractiveness lies in its potential transformation story rather than near-term earnings strength.
What are the possibilities in banking stocks?
The banking sector continues to command investor attention, driven by robust revenue growth, balance sheet expansion, and improved capital buffers. Amid a tightening monetary environment and rising yields, banks have demonstrated strong earnings resilience, supported by higher interest income, effective cost management, and strategic capital outlays to strengthen liquidity and meet regulatory threshold.
Recent financial disclosures from Tier-1 institutions such as GTCO, Access Holdings, Zenith, First HoldCo, Stanbic-IBTC, and UBA reveal double-digit growth in gross earnings largely propelled by interest rate hikes, foreign-exchange revaluation gains, and improved digital transaction volumes. Many banks have also embarked on capital-raising initiatives to align with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new recapitalisation directive, ensuring sustainability and future expansion capacity.
In the current landscape, banking stocks offer compelling value propositions: attractive dividend yields, low price-to-earnings multiples, and exposure to a sector benefiting from interest-rate-driven margin expansion. Investor sentiment has
turned cautiously optimistic, with foreign and institutional investors gradually increasing exposure to fundamentally sound lenders with strong asset quality and regional diversification.
However, challenges remain FX volatility, high operating costs, and credit risks tied to inflationary pressures could temper short-term gains. Yet, the sector’s earnings outlook remains positive, buoyed by ongoing digital transformation, balance sheet growth, and enhanced risk management frameworks.
For medium-to-long-term investors, Nigerian banking stocks represent a resilient and income-generating play in a volatile market environment.
What are the stocks to watch?
Likely stocks to watch as we look forward are Access, TIP, UCAP, NEM Insurance, UBA, Honeywell, Coronation Insurance, Zenith Bank, Cornerstone Insurance, Chams, Ellah Lakes, Guinness, GTCO and many others.