Published: October 14, 2026
5 Key Facts
- Naspers is Africa's most profitable company. The South African tech investor reported $5.24 billion in profit attributable to shareholders for the year ended March 2025, powered by Tencent-linked investment gains and a newly profitable ecommerce portfolio.
- Gold miners are the profit story of this cycle. Gold Fields ($3.57 billion) and AngloGold Ashanti ($2.64 billion) both posted record full-year profits as gold prices surged to new highs.
- Nigeria's NNPC declared ₦5.4 trillion (about $3.5 billion) in profit after tax for 2024, the largest annual profit ever reported by a Nigerian company, boosted by the naira float.
- Banks claim three of the ten spots (Standard Bank, FirstRand and Banque Misr), and four more banks sit just outside the top ten, a sign of how wide lending margins have become across the continent.
- South Africa dominates the ranking with seven of the ten entries. Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt take one spot each.
| # | Company | Headquarters | Net profit (USD, approx.) | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naspers | South Africa | $5.24B | FY2025 (ended Mar 2025) |
| 2 | Gold Fields | South Africa | $3.57B | FY2025 (ended Dec 2025) |
| 3 | NNPC Limited | Nigeria | $3.52B | FY2024 (₦5.4T) |
| 4 | Standard Bank | South Africa | $2.90B | FY2025 (R49.2B) |
| 5 | AngloGold Ashanti | South Africa* | $2.64B | FY2025 (ended Dec 2025) |
| 6 | FirstRand | South Africa | $2.38B | FY2025 (ended Jun 2025, R43.5B) |
| 7 | OCP Group | Morocco | $2.08B | FY2024 (MAD 20.9B) |
| 8 | Harmony Gold | South Africa | $1.64B | FY2026 (ended Jun 2026, R29.3B) |
| 9 | Banque Misr | Egypt | $1.63B | FY2024 (EGP 81.3B) |
| 10 | Vodacom | South Africa | $1.26B | FY2026 (ended Mar 2026, R20.6B) |
* AngloGold Ashanti redomiciled from South Africa to the United Kingdom in 2023 but remains operationally rooted in African mines; it is included for continuity with our market-capitalization ranking. Figures are net profit attributable to shareholders, converted to US dollars at average exchange rates for each fiscal year. See Methodology below.
Together, the ten companies earned about $26.9 billion in net profit across their latest full financial years. That is a useful reminder that Africa's corporate profit pool is concentrated: seven of the ten are South African, and no company headquartered in East, Central or West Africa outside Nigeria makes the cut.
Selected Details
1. Naspers: Africa's profit king, with one big asterisk
Naspers reported profit attributable to equity holders of $5.24 billion for the year ended March 2025. The number needs context. On a consolidated basis the group earned $12.26 billion, but $7.01 billion of that belongs to minority shareholders in its Amsterdam-listed subsidiary Prosus. Most of the profit comes from Tencent-linked investment gains rather than operations, though the ecommerce portfolio (iFood, Takealot, classifieds) turned profitable for the first time and core headline earnings rose to $3.1 billion.
2. Gold Fields: riding the gold boom
Gold Fields posted attributable profit of $3.57 billion for 2025, nearly triple the $1.25 billion of 2024. Production rose 18 percent to 2.44 million ounces as the Salares Norte mine in Chile reached steady production, and the average gold price did the rest. All-in sustaining costs held at $1,645 an ounce, leaving a wide margin on every ounce sold.
3. NNPC: Nigeria's profit machine
NNPC Limited reported profit after tax of ₦5.4 trillion on revenue of ₦45.1 trillion for 2024, up 64 percent year on year. Management credits the Central Bank of Nigeria's naira float, which lifted the naira value of dollar-linked oil earnings. The company has paired the result with a $60 billion investment pipeline and targets of 2 million barrels per day of crude production by 2027.
4. Standard Bank: Africa's biggest lender keeps winning
Standard Bank reported headline earnings of R49.2 billion (about $2.9 billion) for 2025, up 11 percent, with return on equity of 19.3 percent. The bank added clients to reach 19.6 million, grew deposits 11 percent to R2.4 trillion, and benefited from trading revenue as African currency volatility picked up. Its rest-of-Africa business now contributes 40 percent of earnings.
5. AngloGold Ashanti: record profit from a new home
AngloGold Ashanti earned net income attributable to shareholders of $2.64 billion in 2025, up from $1.0 billion in 2024, on revenue of $9.9 billion. The company redomiciled from Johannesburg to the United Kingdom in 2023, but its mines, including the Geita flagship in Tanzania, keep it firmly in Africa's profit table.
6. FirstRand: strong despite a British headache
FirstRand reported profit attributable to equity holders of R43.5 billion (about $2.4 billion) for the year ended June 2025. The result absorbed a £518 million provision for potential customer redress in the UK motor finance commission probe. FNB and RMB both delivered double-digit profit growth, and return on equity reached 21.5 percent.
7. OCP: Morocco's phosphate giant
State-owned OCP Group posted net profit of MAD 20.9 billion (about $2.1 billion) for 2024, up 46 percent, on record revenue of MAD 97 billion. OCP controls more than 70 percent of the world's phosphate rock reserves and used the bumper year to fund a MAD 130 billion green investment program through 2027.
8. The $1.6 billion tie: Harmony Gold and Banque Misr
Two very different companies land in a dead heat. Harmony Gold earned R29.3 billion (about $1.64 billion) for the year ended June 2026, nearly doubling profit as the average gold price jumped 35 percent to $3,811 an ounce. Banque Misr earned EGP 81.3 billion (about $1.63 billion) for 2024, with total assets reaching EGP 3.6 trillion, cementing its place as Egypt's second-largest bank by profits.
9. Vodacom: telecom profits scale up
Vodacom reported net profit attributable to equity holders of R20.6 billion (about $1.26 billion) for the year ended March 2026, up 24 percent. The group added 26 million customers to reach 237 million across eight markets, and its financial services arm processed about $525.6 billion in transaction value during the year.
10. Just outside the top ten
The cutoff was crowded. MTN Group earned about R20 billion attributable (roughly $1.1 billion) in 2025 as Nigeria recovered. Egypt's CIB posted EGP 55.2 billion (about $1.1 billion) in 2024, the first billion-dollar bottom line by a private Egyptian bank. Morocco's Attijariwafa earned MAD 10.6 billion in group share (about $1.1 billion) for 2025. Capitec earned R16.8 billion (about $1.0 billion) for the year ended February 2026. Angola's Sonangol closed 2025 with $946 million in net profit, and Airtel Africa earned $813 million for the year ended March 2026.
Two notable absences are deliberate. The National Bank of Egypt earned EGP 132.2 billion in just the first nine months of 2025, which would likely place it near the top, but it has not published audited full-year statements, so it cannot be ranked honestly. Algeria's Sonatrach publishes no audited net profit figure at all, so it is excluded on the same principle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most profitable company in Africa in 2026?
Naspers of South Africa, with $5.24 billion in profit attributable to shareholders for its 2025 financial year. Gold Fields ($3.57 billion) and Nigeria's NNPC (about $3.5 billion) complete the top three.
How is "most profitable" measured in this ranking?
Companies are ranked by net profit attributable to shareholders from their most recently reported full fiscal year as of October 2026. Local-currency figures are converted to US dollars at average exchange rates for the relevant fiscal year, and the figures are rounded. The table notes each company's fiscal year because year-ends differ.
Why are banks so prominent in Africa's profit rankings?
Three of the top ten are banks, and four more sit just outside. High interest rates across much of the continent in 2024 and 2025 widened net interest margins, while growing customer bases lifted fee income. Standard Bank, FirstRand, Banque Misr, CIB, Attijariwafa and Capitec all posted record or near-record profits.
Why does South Africa dominate the list?
Seven of the ten companies are South African, reflecting the depth of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the continent's largest, and the global scale of its miners and banks. Nigeria (NNPC), Morocco (OCP) and Egypt (Banque Misr) take the remaining three spots. No East or Central African company makes the top ten on current reported profits.
How does this compare to your market-cap and revenue rankings?
Profit and size tell different stories. See our biggest companies by market capitalization and largest companies by revenue rankings. AngloGold Ashanti tops the market-cap table but sits fifth here, while NNPC, which is not listed, ranks third on profit but appears on neither listed-company table.
Data Sources
- Naspers annual financial statements, year ended 31 March 2025 (PDF)
- Gold Fields reviewed financial results, year ended 31 December 2025 (company announcement)
- NNPC Limited press release on 2024 full-year results, November 2025 (nnpcgroup.com)
- Standard Bank FY2025 annual results presentation, March 2026 (Financial Gazette)
- AngloGold Ashanti 2024 annual report (SEC filing) and 2025 income statement data
- FirstRand analysis of financial results 2025 (PDF)
- OCP Group 2024 results via North Africa Post
- Harmony Gold FY2026 results via Reuters
- Banque Misr 2024 business results (banquemisr.com)
- Vodacom consolidated financial statements, year ended 31 March 2026 (PDF)
- MTN Group FY2025 results via Business Day
- CIB FY2024 earnings release (Investegate)
- Attijariwafa Bank 2024 results via Reuters; 2025 press release (IR site)
- Capitec FY2026 results via Reuters
- Airtel Africa final results, year ended 31 March 2026 (Investegate)
- Sonangol 2025 results via Reuters
- National Bank of Egypt 9M 2025 statements via Business Tech News
- Ethiopian Airlines 2023/24 annual report (PDF)
Methodology
This ranking uses net profit attributable to ordinary or equity shareholders from each company's most recently reported full fiscal year as of October 2026. For South African banks, headline earnings are shown where they are the industry's standard profit measure and track attributable profit closely. Local-currency figures are converted to US dollars at the average exchange rate for the relevant fiscal year, and all dollar figures are rounded to two significant digits.
Only companies headquartered in Africa are ranked. AngloGold Ashanti is included although it redomiciled to the United Kingdom in 2023, because its operations remain African and for continuity with our market-cap ranking. State-owned companies are included where they publish audited or officially declared profit figures (NNPC, OCP, Sonangol, Banque Misr); where no credible full-year net profit figure is published (Sonatrach, National Bank of Egypt), the company is excluded and the reason is stated rather than estimated.
For Naspers, the attributable figure ($5.24 billion) is used rather than consolidated profit ($12.26 billion), because most of the consolidated profit belongs to minority shareholders in Prosus. Fiscal year-ends differ across companies, and each row of the table states the year used.
