As we exit 2025, analysts have diverging views on which stocks were winners and which are the ones to watch next year.
ITWeb asked analysts for their top picks, as well as what shares disappointed this year. Unsurprisingly, Naspers and its international arm, Prosus, were darlings, with the companies heading for a combined more than $7.3 billion (R124.5 billion at today’s exchange rate of R17.06) revenue in the 2026 year.
Peter Takaendesa, chief investment officer at Mergence Investment Managers, points out the Technology, Media & Entertainment, and Telecommunications sector on the JSE “outperformed the JSE All Share index’s stellar 37% total return so far in 2025 – one of the few non-resource sectors on the JSE to do so”.
Telecoms surge
Simply Wall Street figures indicate the telecoms sector has gained 51% over the past year, while technology stocks have gained 42%. Investors are pessimistic about both sectors going forward, seeing long-term growth rates lower than historical levels.
In telecoms, Simply Wall Street’s top performing share this week is Blu Label Unlimited (BLU), with a 1.2% gain, within a week after having spun out Cell C on the local bourse. Cell C listed last week Thursday at R26.50 and was at R30 this morning. BLU is up 75% year-to-date.
Takaendesa tells ITWeb that MTN has taken over from BLU as the leading major TMT stock in 2025 on a total return basis, which is defined as the share price gain and dividends received over the period.
“MTN has recovered from the US Department of Justice investigation news a few months ago, as its earnings growth from the rest of Africa operations have remained strong,” says Takaendesa. “It was recently investigated over its former Afghan subsidiary and Irancell. It stressed it has not been charged.”
Takaendesa says MTN’s African results remain solid, although its local figures have weakened in line with those of Vodacom, South Africa’s largest mobile network operator. MTN’s stock is up 93.5% year-on-year.
Tencent boost
Naspers and Prosus, probably the JSE’s darlings, are cited by both Takaendesa and Sean Culverwell, investment analyst at Anchor Capital, as having done well this year.
Takaendesa says they have “been great contributors to the JSE All Share index over the past 12 months”, largely driven by their shareholding in Tencent as Chinese technology shares catch up with their US tech peers’ returns of the past few years.
This is despite share dilution after a share split and the companies buying back stock to return value to shareholders.
“We expect Naspers and Prosus to recover from the recent sell-off driven by global artificial intelligence (AI) bubble fears and to remain some of the fastest growing South African-listed companies over at least the next three to five years,” says Takaendesa.
Since around mid-November, investors have been selling major AI stocks such as NVIDIA, Meta Platforms, and Oracle. As of Monday, the world’s top AI stocks – the so-called Magnificent Seven – were worth a combined $20 trillion (R344.4 trillion).
Culverwell tells ITWeb that “Naspers and Prosus have clearly benefited from Tencent’s strong rally this year”, adding the rest of the portfolio is also performing well.
Simply Wall Street sees Naspers as undervalued. Over the past year, the company is up 26.87% and 63.7% over five years.
“Excluding the Tencent dividend, free cash flow swung from a $104 million outflow to a $59 million inflow. This matters: consistent positive free cash flow from the non-Tencent portfolio is essential for the market to ascribe meaningful standalone value to those assets and reduce the discount,” says Culverwell.
Strategic pivot
Culverwell’s other winner is Datatec as “it has been an excellent year for CEO Jens Montanana and his team”. He points to robust results for the six months to August with revenue up, “while strong operating leverage drove a 43% increase in underlying earnings”.
Management’s strategic pivot is clearly paying off, says Culverwell. “The shift toward higher-margin, recurring software and services, and away from once-off hardware sales, has materially improved the group’s product mix. Importantly, momentum was broad-based across the portfolio.”
Simply Wall Street’s tracker shows Datatec has driven the market over the past week, with a year-to-date gain of 83%.
Culverwell notes Datatec may be positioning itself for corporate action.
Management troubles
The loser for both analysts is Bytes Technology Group, down 27.66% year-to-date. Culverwell says the sudden resignation of former CEO Neil Murphy – after a large number of undisclosed share trades came to light – sharply dented investor confidence and triggered a material share-price decline.
Although the board responded by appointing Sam Mudd as the new CEO, its first half interim performance failed to restore sentiment, says Culverwell. “The most concerning trend was margin pressure: gross profit was roughly flat despite a 9% increase in gross invoiced income.”
Takaendesa is cautiously optimistic about Bytes. “The business has a strong position in its market and could be the next turnaround story.”
Potential turnaround
Culverwell has Karooooo, which “had a mixed year” on his radar. While it continues to deliver solid results at headline level, South African subscriber growth dipped below 15% year-on-year for the first time since the fourth quarter of last year.
“While we do not believe the slowdown is structural, the market appears uncertain about the appropriate valuation multiple for the business,” says Culverwell. Yet under the right circumstances, “Karooooo is the name that could potentially reverse its recent share-price underperformance,” he says.
Both Culverwell and Takaendesa are keen on Naspers and Prosus in the year ahead.
* This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Readers should conduct their own research and consult with qualified financial advisors before making investment decisions.
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