Banking sector in Q3 2025: Wema Bank tops industry in turnover and profit growth

The performance of Nigerian banks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) for the third quarter of 2025 presents a mixed picture, with Tier 1 banks largely underperforming while their Tier 2 counterparts posted impressive gains.

Among the Tier 1 giants – First Holdco, GTCO, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank – all recorded year-on-year declines in profit after tax (PAT), except for United Bank for Africa (UBA), which managed a marginal 2.33% increase.

Conversely, Tier 2 institutions such as Wema Bank, Sterling Financial Holdings, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) showed strong double-digit growth in both revenue and profit, signalling robust performance in an otherwise challenging operating environment.

With Fidelity Bank and FCMB yet to release their Q3 2025 results, this ranking is based on available filings on the NGX. The analysis draws on key performance metrics, including turnover, PAT, turnover growth, PAT growth, earnings per share (EPS), price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, earnings yield, and profit margin.

Turnover growth

Turnover (gross earnings) represents the total revenue a company generates before expenses or deductions.

Wema Bank Plc led the pack in turnover growth, reporting gross earnings of ₦458.51 billion, up 58.59% from ₦289.12 billion in the same period of 2024.

Sterling Financial Holdings Plc ranked second with gross earnings of ₦341.67 billion, a 44.06% rise from ₦237.16 billion the previous year.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings took third place, recording ₦815.26 billion in gross earnings – a 25.06% increase from ₦651.89 billion.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated came fourth, posting ₦3.55 trillion in gross earnings, up 21.04% from ₦2.93 trillion a year earlier.

Zenith Bank rounded off the top five with gross earnings of ₦3.37 trillion, representing 16.29% growth from ₦2.90 trillion in Q3 2024.

Profit after tax (PAT) growth

Wema Bank again led the industry in PAT growth, reporting ₦127.41 billion, up 141.59% from ₦52.74 billion in the corresponding period of 2024.

Sterling Financial Holdings ranked second with PAT of ₦62.30 billion, marking 126.98% growth from ₦27.45 billion last year.

Stanbic IBTC followed, posting PAT of ₦278.48 billion, a 58.28% rise from ₦182.87 billion in 2024.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated achieved PAT of ₦702.40 billion, up 42.80% year-on-year from ₦491.88 billion.

UBA placed fifth with a modest 2.33% increase in PAT to ₦537.53 billion, from ₦525.31 billion in Q3 2024.

Earnings per share (EPS), P/E ratio, and earnings yield

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated emerged the most attractive stock based on valuation metrics. Trading at ₦38.95, its Q3 2025 EPS stood at ₦19.86, translating to a low P/E ratio of 1.96x and a high earnings yield of 50.99%.

First Holdco Plc traded at ₦31.50 with EPS of ₦10.82, a P/E ratio of 2.91x, and earnings yield of 34.35%.

UBA’s share price of ₦40.05 and EPS of ₦13.56 translated to a P/E ratio of 2.95x and earnings yield of 33.86%.

Access Holdings traded at ₦24.45, EPS ₦8.00, P/E ratio 3.06x, and earnings yield 32.72%.

Zenith Bank traded at ₦63.00 with EPS ₦18.60, giving a P/E ratio of 3.39x and earnings yield of 29.52%.

Wema Bank’s share price of ₦20.45 and EPS of ₦5.54 yielded a P/E ratio of 3.69x and earnings yield of 27.09%.

GTCO traded at ₦89.50 with EPS ₦20.71, P/E ratio 4.32x, and earnings yield 23.14%.

Sterling Holdings stood at ₦7.75, EPS ₦1.28, P/E ratio 6.05x, and earnings yield 16.52%, while Stanbic IBTC traded at ₦112.00, EPS ₦17.31, P/E ratio 6.47x, and earnings yield 15.46%.

Profit margin

Profit margin measures how efficiently a company converts revenue into profit. It is calculated as profit after tax divided by turnover, multiplied by 100.

GTCO led the industry with a profit margin of 42.62%, reflecting strong cost control and operating efficiency.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings followed with 34.16%, while Wema Bank recorded 27.79%, Zenith Bank 22.66%, and UBA 21.77%.