Big names stumble as earnings diverge in sluggish 2025 market
Among the top companies by market capitalisation, BRAC Bank stood out as a rare outperformer
The performance of Bangladesh's largest listed companies in 2025 has highlighted a growing disconnect between corporate earnings and share prices, as weak investor sentiment and subdued trading activity continued to weigh on the broader market.
Even companies with strong earnings growth failed to escape the impact of prolonged market pessimism, according to a research report by BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage.
In its report titled "Performance Review 2025", the brokerage said that despite a relatively strong third quarter, overall trading activity during the year remained anaemic. Market turnover reflected shifting and often fragile sentiment driven by a combination of global and domestic factors, including US tariff imposition on Bangladeshi products, international geopolitical conflicts, stress in the banking sector and ongoing local political developments.
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Among the top companies by market capitalisation, BRAC Bank stood out as a rare outperformer. Its share price rose 45% in 2025, supported by robust earnings growth of nearly 39% during the January to September period. Marico Bangladesh also delivered a positive return of 17%, alongside earnings growth of 14.3%, making it one of the few large-cap stocks to reward investors.
In contrast, several heavyweight stocks saw sharp price declines despite mixed earnings outcomes. Grameenphone's share price fell over 20% during the year, while its earnings declined by more than 23%. British American Tobacco Bangladesh suffered one of the steepest corrections, with its share price dropping 32.4% amid a 45.5% fall in earnings. Berger Paints also underperformed, with its share price sliding nearly 20% alongside a sharp earnings contraction.
Square Pharmaceuticals posted earnings growth of 18.4%, yet its share price still declined by 8.8%, underscoring the market's reluctance to reward fundamentals. Robi Axiata delivered strong earnings growth of 54.5% but saw its share price remain almost flat. Walton, United Power and other large caps also failed to attract sustained buying interest.
The report noted that while some macroeconomic indicators such as interest rates, inflation and the foreign exchange market have shown signs of improvement, concerns over banking sector reforms and rising non-performing loans continued to dampen investor confidence. As a result, the benchmark DSEX index fell 6.7% in 2025, while overall equity market capitalisation declined by 9.9%.
Sector-wise, ceramics and general insurance outperformed the benchmark, while non-bank financial institutions were the worst performers. Among large-cap sectors, textiles, fuel and power, and pharmaceuticals fared better than the market, whereas telecommunications, food and allied industries and engineering lagged behind.
