First HoldCo Stock Dip: Is This the Investment Opportunity Investors Have Been Waiting For?
On Lagos’ bustling Custom Street, one name has been on every investor’s lips this week: First HoldCo. Once seen as an untouchable financial giant, the company’s shares recently hit a 52-week high of N55.3 after a bold rebranding and strategic overhaul. Yet, the 2025 earnings season brought a shock: First HoldCo’s stock plunged to a low of N41, triggering a flurry of questions and excitement among market watchers.
The sudden drop came after a record 8.89 percent daily decline, marking one of the steepest falls in recent memory. For casual observers, the headline of a “profit crash” might seem alarming, but insiders view it differently. Analysts had already recommended adding First HoldCo to investment portfolios for 2026, and this dip is now seen as a potential window of opportunity.
The catalyst for the decline was a bold, clean-slate move by Femi Otedola, the company’s group chairman. On January 31, First HoldCo revealed a one-time N748.13 billion impairment charge to cover non-performing loans—a sharp increase from N426.29 billion the previous year. The decision, aimed at meeting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s stricter recapitalisation rules, caused reported profits to fall 92 percent to N44.98 billion. Rather than a failing business, this was a deliberate effort to eliminate risky legacy loans and strengthen the company’s balance sheet.
Despite the headline-grabbing profit dip, the bank’s core operations remained resilient. Interest income rose 23.6 percent to N2.96 trillion, and net interest income climbed to N1.91 trillion, showing that the underlying business continues to perform strongly. Otedola defended the move as a necessary step for long-term stability, noting that the cleanup restored transparency, reassured regulators, and de-risked the bank’s future.
Market sentiment is now shifting from panic to opportunity. Investors who understand the strategy see this as a chance to enter before the market fully prices in the benefits of a “clean” First HoldCo. In the story of this Nigerian financial institution, what looks like a dip may in fact be the calm before a profitable surge, offering a rare opening for those willing to bet on resilience over headlines.
source: Business day