FirstHoldCo Plc has become the first Nigerian banking group to surpass the N6 trillion market capitalisation threshold, following a strong rally in its share price during trading on August 3, 2026.
At a share price of N136.50 and with approximately 45.48 billion shares outstanding, the company’s market value rose to about N6.21 trillion, reinforcing its position as Nigeria’s most valuable listed banking group.
The latest milestone comes less than two weeks after FirstHoldCo crossed the N5 trillion market-capitalisation mark for the first time on July 22, 2026.
At the time, the stock traded between N112 and N113 following the release of its strong half-year financial results.
The company’s shares have gained 184.97 per cent year-to-date and 143.53 per cent since the end of June.
FirstHoldCo began the year with a share price of N47.90 and a market capitalisation of approximately N2.13 trillion.
The stock declined to N45 in January before recovering to N70 by the end of May.
That recovery lifted the group’s market value to N3.11 trillion.
However, the stock experienced a setback in June, falling by 19.93 per cent month-on-month to N56.05.
The decline erased about N562.91 billion from the company’s valuation and reduced its market capitalisation to N2.55 trillion.
The most significant rally occurred after June.
By the close of trading on August 3, the share price had risen to N134, representing a 139.07 per cent increase from its end-June level and a 179.75 per cent gain since the beginning of the year.
Over the same period, market capitalisation increased by N3.54 trillion from the end of June and by N3.96 trillion since the start of 2026, reaching N6.09 trillion.
This means that nearly 90 per cent of FirstHoldCo’s market-capitalisation growth this year occurred after June.
The increase in market value slightly exceeded the rise in the share price because the number of outstanding shares increased from about 44.45 billion in December 2025 to 45.48 billion.
However, the modest rise in shares means the growth in valuation was driven largely by strong price appreciation.
On August 3 alone, FirstHoldCo shares gained 3.43 per cent, closing at N134 compared with N129.55 on July 31.
About 27.64 million shares were traded during the session.
The company’s strong share-price performance appears to be supported by improved earnings and increased insider investment.
FirstHoldCo reported an 83.5 per cent increase in profit before tax to N653.54 billion in the first half of 2026.
Gross earnings rose by 16.7 per cent to N1.93 trillion, while operating income increased by 25.8 per cent to N1.38 trillion.
Interest income stood at N1.40 trillion, while net interest income reached N879.13 billion.
Net fee and commission income also increased to N178.51 billion.
The group’s cost-to-income ratio improved to 44.2 per cent from 50.5 per cent, while impairment charges declined by 37.4 per cent.
Management expects full-year profit before tax to exceed N1.2 trillion.
Analysts say investors are pricing in not only the company’s current earnings growth but also expectations of stronger future performance and improved shareholder control.
Investor interest has also been supported by increased share purchases by businessman Femi Otedola.
His July acquisitions, including 706.13 million shares through Calvados Global Services and another 1.779 billion shares purchased directly, represented nearly N300 billion in fresh investment.
The purchases increased his beneficial ownership in FirstHoldCo to 25.87 per cent.
In an exclusive interview with Nairametrics, Otedola said he intends to increase his stake to more than 51 per cent to strengthen shareholder control and support long-term reforms.
He also disclosed that he has invested more than N600 billion of his personal wealth in the banking group.
Market analysts believe the prospect of further share accumulation could tighten the stock’s free float and create an ownership premium, adding to investor demand beyond the company’s current earnings growth.
