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Nigerian Breweries Plc and Nestlé Nigeria Plc, two consumer goods giants listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), have released their 2025 audited results, showing impressive recoveries in 2025, with strong momentum carrying into Q1 2026.

After struggling through the Naira devaluation-induced crisis of 2023 and 2024, the companies have returned to profitability, and investors are taking notice.

But the big question is: Is this recovery sustainable, and is it still time to buy and/or hold these stocks?

First, let us look at the crisis years, recovery, and what led to them.

Both companies faced major headwinds in 2023 and 2024, primarily from foreign exchange volatility and rising borrowing costs.

Despite consistent consumer demand for their products, both companies struggled to turn revenue growth into profits due to:

These financial pressures wiped out profits and led to heavy accumulated losses, forcing both companies to suspend dividends after their 2022 financial year.

In 2025, Nigerian Breweries posted a profit after tax of N99 billion, a stark turnaround from the N145 billion loss recorded in 2024.

The company not only recovered from its deep losses but continued its upward momentum, achieving N55.9 billion profit in Q1 2026, a 26% increase compared to Q1 2025. This represents more than half of its total 2025 profit in just one quarter.

A key factor in the recovery was the significant reduction in FX losses.

Deleveraging: The company aggressively reduced its debt, cutting total borrowings from N341.6 billion in 2023 to N59.7 billion in 2025, and by Q1 2026, its debt stood at N56.1 billion.

Although top-line performance was never a challenge during the crisis years, notwithstanding revenue growth is still a contributing factor.

Nestlé Nigeria mirrored Nigerian Breweries’ recovery, posting a profit after tax of N104.97 billion in 2025, compared to a loss of N164.6 billion in 2024.

Just like Nigerian Breweries, Nestlé’s recovery was driven by zero foreign exchange losses.

Another factor was the deleveraging of the balance sheet, which contributed to the decline in finance costs.

Both companies have seen their stock prices recover significantly:

At current share prices and 12-month trailing earnings per share:

These multiples reflect the market’s optimism and the companies’ return to profitability.

This suggests that investors are no longer pricing them as distressed companies but are starting to value them based on their growth potential and recovery.

Despite the strong price gains, neither stock is in oversold or overbought territory: