Nine small stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) have shed Sh2.25 billion in valuation this year, bucking the trend in the general market rally that has handed investors in other companies Sh1 trillion in gains in paper wealth.

The market laggards primarily comprise small-cap stocks that are making losses and companies trading with negative shareholder equity, rendering them insolvent.

Others came into the year on a high share-price base after making large gains in 2025, meaning their losses this year represent a price correction.

The companies that have shed value this year include Eveready East Africa, Nairobi Business Ventures (NBV), Express Kenya, WPP ScanGroup, Umeme, Liberty Kenya Holdings, Home Afrika, Kurwitu Ventures and Olympia Capital Holdings.

Eveready has recorded the largest share price loss this year at 26.3 percent to trade at Sh1.01 per share on Wednesday, followed by WPP ScanGroup at 19.2 percent to Sh2.06 and Home Afrika at 17.2 percent to Sh1.11 per share.

In what has been a bumper year, the other 49 actively traded firms have made gains that have yielded a valuation increase of Sh1.03 trillion or 35.1 percent to Sh3.98 trillion for the NSE.

Top gainers in percentage terms include Car & General at 325 percent to Sh217 per share, Britam at 94 percent to Sh17.65 and Africa Mega Agricorp at 76.2 percent to Sh124.75.

The NSE’s top five firms by market capitalisation — Safaricom, Equity Group, KCB, EABL and Co-operative Bank—have gained between 2.9 percent and 56 percent this year, adding Sh517.5 billion in valuation.

This has seen equities beat other asset classes such as government securities, property, cash deposits and unit trusts in returns to investors.

Treasury bonds issued in the last seven months have paid investors annual interest of between 12 percent and 14.2 percent, while Treasury bills buyers have earned between 7.4 percent and 9.2 percent in annualised interest.

Interest rates on fixed deposit accounts in banks fell to 6.84 percent in June 2026 from 7.03 percent in December 2025.

In the property sector, average rental and sales prices in Nairobi and its satellite towns were in the single digits of up to 6.6 percent in the first half of the year on muted demand, while land sale prices grew at up to 5.2 percent, as per data compiled by real estate firm HassConsult.

Read: Dominance of big five NSE stocks cut to 62pc

The nine firms that have shed value have performed as follows:

Eveready East Africa

Eveready leads the market with a price loss of 26.3 percent to Sh1.01 per share, resulting in a Sh75.6 million decline in valuation to Sh212.1 million in the year to date.

Years of losses have left the company with a negative equity position of Sh101 million as at March 2024, the latest available financials show. Earlier this year, the company said it is pivoting from battery distribution to clean energy and electric vehicle financing in a bid to turn around its fortunes.

WPP ScanGroup

Marketing services firm WPP ScanGroup’s share price has fallen 19.2 percent to Sh2.06 this year, cutting its valuation by Sh211.8 million to Sh890.2 million. This decline has come as the firm’s net loss widened to Sh713.67 million in the year to December 2025 from Sh506.74 million in 2024.

The wider loss was largely due to the loss of key client Airtel Africa, which accounted for nearly a fifth of the company’s annual sales.

Home Afrika

The real estate firm has shed 17.2 percent of its value or Sh93.2 million this year to settle at Sh449.83 million, despite making a net profit for the last two years. The stock is, however, coming off a large gain of 262.2 percent in 2025, when it was among the top five gainers in the market.

Umeme

The cross-listed Ugandan power distributor has seen its share price fall by 11.5 percent to Sh6.92, reflecting its lack of revenue after its 20-year concession with the Ugandan government expired in March 2025. Its valuation has thus declined by Sh1.46 billion to Sh11.24 billion since January.

The company is also involved in an arbitration case in London against the Uganda government over terminal payments relating to the concession. Last month, Umeme issued a profit warning, saying that its loss in the half year to June 2026 will be wider than the loss of Sh5.8 billion in June 2025.

Kurwitu Ventures

The investment firm has seen only one price change since its listing nearly 12 years ago, having gone for years without registering a trade at the NSE.

On July 9, the company traded 111 shares, with its price falling by 9.7 percent to Sh1,355 from Sh1,500, marking the first price movement since its first day of listing on November 13, 2015. The company’s valuation has fallen by Sh14.8 million to Sh138.6 million after the price movement.

Nairobi Business Ventures

NBV has recorded a decline of 5.4 percent or Sh108.3 million in investor wealth to Sh1.88 billion this year on the back of challenging business conditions that forced it to halt its trading business last year. In the half-year to September 2025, the company reported a net loss of Sh78.3 million, compared to a loss of Sh99 million a year earlier.

Liberty Kenya Holdings

Similar to Home Afrika, the insurance firm has suffered from a price correction after recording large gains of 81 percent in 2024 and 43 percent in 2025.

Liberty’s valuation has fallen to Sh5.15 billion from Sh5.45 billion in January, after recording a 4.8 percent decline in share price to Sh9.62.

The company is the only one among this year’s losers that is currently paying a dividend, having maintained a distribution of Sh0.50 per share despite a 65 percent decline in net profit to Sh659 million in the year ended December 2025.

Express Kenya

Express Kenya’s net loss widened to Sh125 million in the year ended December 2025 from Sh108 million a year earlier. Its share price has fallen 4.1 percent to Sh7.10 in the year-to-date, cutting its valuation by Sh14 million to Sh338.8 million.

The firm is eyeing property developments and a sale of three acres in Nairobi valued at about Sh300 million to strengthen its financial position.

Olympia Capital Holdings

Valuation has fallen from Sh328.8 million to Sh320 million this year, following a 2.7 percent decline in share price to Sh8 per unit this year.

The stock was also coming from a large gain of 156 percent in market capitalisation in 2025, when prices on small cap stocks were boosted by demand from speculating local retail investors.

Lower revenue of Sh428.75 million in the year ended February 2026—from Sh457 million a year earlier— cut its net profit to Sh10.4 million in the period from Sh17.6 million.

→cmwaniki@ke.nationmedia.com

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