MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTNN) added 9.3 million mobile subscribers over the past year, pushing its total active base past 94 million connections nationwide.
That number would earn a strong headline in most earnings seasons, but the company’s nine-month results released in October point elsewhere.
The real signal in MTN Nigeria’s third quarter sits inside the revenue breakdown, where a structural shift has reshaped how the company generates its earnings.
Whether you hold MTNN shares or track the broader Nigerian Exchange, the profit composition in these results matters more than the subscriber total.
MTN Nigeria now earns 80% more from data than from voice services
Data revenue reached ₦2.68 trillion in the nine months ended September 2026, climbing 35.8% from a year earlier, the company’s Q3 2026 earnings release showed.
That figure represented 58% of total service revenue, roughly 1.8 times the ₦1.5 trillion voice services contributed during the same reporting period.
Profit after tax (PAT) climbed 55.3% to ₦1.165 trillion, while earnings per share (EPS) rose at the same rate to ₦55.60 for the nine months.
The EBITDA margin widened to 56.9% from 51.4% a year earlier, and free cash flow rose 57.5% to ₦1.17 trillion, the release noted.
The company paid ₦860.8 billion in dividends during the period, covering both the 2025 final payout and the 2026 interim distribution to shareholders.
MTN Nigeria stands apart on the exchange for its blend of consistent revenue growth and top-tier margins, investment management analyst Abdulrauf Bello noted in a September post on X, as reported by ThisDay.
“It is the only company that gives you a mix of sustainable top-line growth, top-tier margins” combined with steady cash generation and a predictable dividend, Bello said.
How MTN Nigeria became the NGX’s biggest data earner
Five years ago, voice revenue dominated MTN Nigeria’s earnings and data was still a secondary contributor to the company’s overall revenue mix.
That dynamic flipped in 2024 when data overtook voice for the first time, and the gap has widened over the two years since.
Nigerians consumed more than four billion gigabytes of data in the first quarter of 2026 alone, with MTN controlling over half the subscriber base, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showed.
The appetite for connectivity has turned data into the dominant earnings driver across the telecom sector, reshaping how operators invest and compete.
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Active data users reached 57.2 million in the third quarter, a 12% increase year on year, while smartphone penetration among subscribers climbed to 66%.
Average monthly data consumption per subscriber reached 15.3 gigabytes, up 16.2% from a year earlier, reflecting heavier use of streaming and banking apps.
The balance sheet strengthened in step with the earnings improvement, as total borrowings fell to ₦333.3 billion from ₦527.7 billion at the end of 2025.
The NGX itself saw heavy trading volume during the same week, with investors repositioning ahead of Q3 earnings releases from companies across several sectors on the exchange.
MTN Nigeria’s fintech setback and what the guidance signals for investors
Fintech was the one segment that moved against the grain, with revenue falling 25.9% to ₦97.5 billion in the nine-month period.
The third quarter alone saw fintech revenue decline 58.1%, after MTN Nigeria temporarily suspended its airtime and data credit service from April through June.
Core mobile money revenue, stripped of the suspended product, rose 102.2% during the same period, suggesting the underlying fintech business is still growing steadily.
MoMo monthly active users climbed 11.6% to 3.2 million, part of a broader expansion of digital financial services across Nigeria.
What MTN Nigeria’s guidance and analyst coverage signal going forward
Management reaffirmed its medium-term guidance of average service revenue growth of at least the low twenties and an EBITDA margin in the mid-to-high fifties range.
CardinalStone Research, which covers the stock, set a target price of ₦933.33 and projected a five-year average EBITDA margin of 58.4% in an April update.
The company also continued expanding its enterprise digital offerings, including its recently launched Y’ello Y’Fi platform targeting small businesses with Wi-Fi analytics and marketing tools.
With data revenue accelerating, borrowings shrinking, and margins widening, the nine-month results suggest the subscriber count is the least interesting number in the release.
Key data from MTN Nigeria’s nine-month 2026 results
- Total revenue: ₦4.6 trillion, up 23.6%, the earnings release showed
- Profit after tax: ₦1.165 trillion, up 55.3%, the company reported
- Data revenue: ₦2.68 trillion, up 35.8%, the release noted
- Free cash flow: ₦1.17 trillion, up 57.5%, MTN Nigeria disclosed
- Fintech revenue: ₦97.5 billion, down 25.9%
- Capex (excl. leases): ₦864.8 billion, up 14.2%
- Mobile subscribers: 94.7 million, up 10.9%
