The NGX Consumer Goods Index emerged as the best-performing index on the Nigerian Exchange in 2025, delivering a 129.57% full-year return and more than doubling the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gain of 51.19%.
This is according to NGX year-end index performance data, which shows the index rising from 1,731.67 points at the start of the year to 3,975.48 points at year-end.
The outsized performance firmly placed consumer goods stocks at the centre of investor focus in 2025, reflecting renewed confidence in pricing power, margin recovery, earnings rebound, and post-restructuring balance sheet improvements across major FMCG names.
A comparison with other sectoral indices shows that the 2025 equity rally was highly uneven, with investors clearly favouring earnings recovery stories and operational turnarounds over structurally mature or FX-exposed sectors.
The NGX Consumer Goods Index’s 129.57% return made it the clear outperformer among all sectoral indices in 2025. Unlike previous cycles where gains were driven by a handful of speculative names, the rally was broad-based, supported by multiple triple-digit gainers across food, beverages, and household products.
Guinness Nigeria (+398.08%), Vitafoam (+300.00%), Champion Breweries (+267.45%), Honeywell Flour (+247.62%), and NASCON (+242.90%) led the surge, benefiting from aggressive cost restructuring, FX revaluation gains, improved operating leverage, and renewed investor confidence following recapitalisation and ownership changes.
Importantly, large-cap bellwethers were not left behind. Nestlé Nigeria (+123.77%), Nigerian Breweries (+135.31%), Unilever Nigeria (+118.51%), and Cadbury Nigeria (+178.60%) all posted strong gains, confirming that the rally extended beyond small- and mid-cap stocks. Even relatively defensive food producers such as BUA Foods (+92.51%), NNFM (+92.03%), and Dangote Sugar (+84.62%) delivered solid upside, supported by price increases and easing input cost pressures.
The NGX Insurance Index ranked second with a 65.64% gain, outperforming the ASI on the back of renewed speculative interest in low-priced, high-beta stocks. Mutual Benefits Assurance (+408.20%), Sovereign Trust (+241.07%), and AIICO (+165.03%) anchored the rally, while NEM Insurance (+144.75%) and AXA Mansard (+67.07%) added support. However, sharp declines in SUNU Assurances (-48.84%) and LASACO (-20.71%) highlighted wide valuation dispersion within the sector.
The NGX Industrial Goods Index rose 58.91%, slightly ahead of the ASI, but performance was driven largely by mid-cap names rather than cement majors. Beta Glass (+470.11%), Berger Paints (+140.00%), Austin Laz (+133.52%), and Tripple Gee (+115.61%) led gains, while Dangote Cement (+27.19%), BUA Cement (+91.94%), and Lafarge Africa (+92.28%) delivered more moderate returns amid cost pressures and slower volume growth.
The NGX Banking Index posted a 39.77% gain, underperforming the ASI despite strong performances from select stocks. Wema Bank (+124.18%), Stanbic IBTC (+73.61%), First HoldCo (+70.77%), and GTCO (+59.12%) stood out, but heavyweight names such as Zenith Bank (+35.82%), UBA (+22.50%), Sterling NG (+25.89%), and Access Holdings (-11.95%) capped index-level upside.
The NGX Oil & Gas Index was the only sector to close the year in negative territory, declining by 1.54%. Losses in TotalEnergies Nigeria (-51.65%), Seplat Energy (-39.09%), and Oando (-8.31%) outweighed modest gains in Aradel Holdings (+17.28%), Conoil (+12.68%), and Eterna (+12.04%).
The 2025 sectoral performance highlights a clear investor preference for earnings recovery, restructuring success stories, pricing power, and balance sheet repair. Sectors exposed to FX volatility, regulatory uncertainty, or mature valuations were largely penalised.
The dominance of the Consumer Goods Index underscores a decisive rotation toward real-sector companies capable of absorbing macroeconomic shocks and restoring profitability, making consumer stocks the primary drivers of overall market performance in 2025.
The NGX Consumer Goods Index delivered the strongest sectoral return on the Exchange in over ten years.