best performing JSE South Africa stocks 2025Johannesburg Stock Exchange 2025JSE top performers 2025South Africa stock market 2025

Best Performing JSE South Africa Stocks in 2025: The Full-Year Rankings

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange had a remarkable 2025. South Africa's main equity index climbed above 128,000 points during the year, delivering approximately 50% in rand terms — and even more impressively, roughly 51% in US dollar terms, making it one of the best performing stock markets in the world in 2025. The JSE's own financial performance reflected this: the exchange reported a record annual profit of R1.07 billion — the first time it has exceeded R1 billion — with trading volumes surging across equities, derivatives, and commodities.

March 20, 2026 · 8 min read · Mansa Markets

The story behind the numbers was gold. South Africa's precious metal miners were the dominant driver of JSE returns in 2025, with gold prices rising approximately 62% and platinum prices up roughly 84% year-to-date through November. That commodity supercycle combined with domestic tailwinds — lower inflation, interest rate cuts, a strengthening rand, and returning foreign portfolio inflows — to produce a bull market that few predicted at the start of the year.

## JSE South Africa 2025 at a Glance

Metric	2025 Figure
JSE All Share Index peak	128,000+ points
Full-year rand return	~+50%
Full-year USD return	~+51%
JSE record annual profit	R1.07 billion
JSE headline EPS growth	+17.7%
Gold price gain (YTD through Nov)	~+62%
Platinum price gain (YTD through Nov)	~+84%
JSE special dividend declared	100 cents/share

Three macro forces combined to drive the JSE in 2025. Interest rate cuts from the South African Reserve Bank improved domestic economic conditions and made equities more attractive relative to bonds. A stronger rand — for significant parts of the year — attracted foreign portfolio investors who had been underweight South Africa since 2022. And global commodity prices for gold, platinum, and palladium rose strongly, directly lifting the large mining sector that anchors JSE valuations.

## Top Performing JSE South Africa Stocks in 2025

Rank	Stock	Ticker	Sector	Full-Year Return
1	Wesizwe Platinum	WVR	Materials	~+150%
2	Trans Hex	THA	Materials	~+125%
3	Harmony Gold	HAR	Gold Mining	~+91%
4	MTN Group	MTN	Telecom	~+77–87%
5	Grindrod	GND	Transportation	~+78%
6	Telkom	TKG	Telecom	~+70%
7	AVI Ltd	ARL	Food & Beverage	~+70%
8	ACS	ACS	Real Estate	~+66%
9	Standard Bank	SBK	Banking	~+54%
10	JSE Limited	JSE	Financials	~+41%
11	Momentum Metropolitan	MTM	Insurance	~+36%
12	FirstRand	FSR	Banking	~+31%

Approximate full-year 2025 returns compiled from available market sources. Track live JSE prices at Mansa Markets South Africa.

Gold Miners — The Year's Defining Sector

The JSE's mining sector was the single biggest driver of 2025 returns. With gold prices rising approximately 62% globally and platinum up roughly 84% through the year, South Africa's precious metal producers delivered exceptional returns.

Harmony Gold (HAR) gained approximately 91% for the full year, making it one of the best performing large-cap miners on the JSE. Harmony operates a diversified portfolio of South African gold mines and benefits significantly from rand-dollar dynamics: when the dollar gold price rises and the rand is even modestly weaker, rand-denominated profits surge.

Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, and DRD Gold all delivered strong performances in the first eleven months of 2025 before some late-year profit taking. The sector as a whole — gold and platinum miners combined — rose approximately 13% in November 2025 alone.

MTN Group (MTN) — ~+77–87%

MTN Group was the year's standout large-cap non-mining performer. Africa's largest mobile network operator — present in 19 countries with over 280 million subscribers — delivered approximately 77-87% for the full year. MTN's 2025 rally reflected the market recognising the company's recovery from years of currency headwinds in Nigeria, its largest single market. As Nigeria's foreign exchange situation stabilised, MTN's ability to repatriate earnings improved, directly unlocking value that had been trapped in the stock's discount.

MTN also accelerated its fintech and mobile money services across Africa, building a recurring revenue base that re-rated the stock from a pure telecoms multiple toward something closer to a financial services multiple.

Standard Bank (SBK) — ~+54%

Standard Bank, Africa's largest bank by assets, gained approximately 54% in 2025. The stock benefited from improving South African economic conditions, higher net interest income, and strong performance from its African subsidiaries. Standard Bank's pan-African footprint — present in 20 African countries — means it captures growth across the continent, not just South Africa.

Telkom (TKG) — ~+70%

Telkom gained approximately 70% in 2025, recovering from a period of significant underperformance in prior years. The company benefited from improved mobile subscriber growth, cost reduction under its restructuring programme, and a re-rating as South Africa's broadband infrastructure investment accelerated.

Grindrod (GND) — ~+78%

Grindrod, South Africa's diversified logistics and port services group, gained approximately 78% in 2025. The company operates across southern African ports, rail logistics, and financial services. Recovering regional trade volumes and improving South African port efficiency — after years of Transnet underperformance — benefited Grindrod directly.

JSE Limited (JSE) — ~+41%

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange itself was one of the more predictable 2025 winners — a direct proxy for the bull market it was facilitating. Higher trading volumes across equities, derivatives, and commodities drove record operating income of R3.5 billion, record net profit of R1.07 billion, and a special dividend of 100 cents per share on top of the ordinary dividend.

## Sector Performance in 2025

Sector	Performance
Gold & Platinum Mining	Dominant — both commodities up 60%+ YTD
Telecoms	Strong — MTN and Telkom both up 70%+
Banking	Strong — rate environment and recovery
Transportation & Logistics	Strong — Grindrod, others
Financial Services	Solid — JSE Limited, insurance recovery
Food & Consumer	Mixed — some names recovered, others flat
Retail	Lagged — Shoprite -3%, consumer pressure

Mining dominated. Gold and platinum miners were the backbone of JSE returns in 2025 in a way not seen since the commodity supercycles of the mid-2000s.

Retail underperformed. Shoprite fell approximately 3% for the year and several other major retailers delivered flat or negative returns. South African consumer spending remained under pressure from high living costs and debt servicing, limiting the retail sector's participation in the broader rally.

Naspers/Prosus were notable detractors. Naspers fell approximately 12% in November alone and Prosus fell 10% in the same month, dragging on the broader index during a period when most stocks were rising. Their performance — tied largely to Tencent — disconnected from the domestic South African bull market.

## What Drove the 2025 JSE Rally

Gold and platinum prices. The commodity tailwind was decisive. Gold prices rising 62% and platinum prices rising 84% directly lifted the JSE's large mining sector, which carries significant weight in the All Share Index.

Interest rate cuts. The South African Reserve Bank began cutting rates, improving domestic economic sentiment and making equities more attractive relative to bonds and money market funds.

Rand strengthening. The rand strengthened during key parts of 2025, attracting foreign portfolio inflows that had avoided South African markets during prior years of currency weakness. When the rand strengthens, dollar-denominated returns for foreign investors improve, creating a self-reinforcing buying cycle.

MTN's Nigerian recovery. MTN Nigeria's improving foreign exchange situation removed a structural overhang that had weighed on the parent company's stock for two years. When that resolved, MTN Group re-rated quickly.

## The Laggards of 2025

Not everything rallied. Several JSE names ended 2025 in negative territory:

Naspers (NPN) — significant underperformer driven by Tencent headwinds
Shoprite (SHP) — approximately -3% as consumer pressure persisted
RCL Foods — approximately -12% amid input cost pressure
Bidvest (BVT) — flat to negative on mixed industrial demand

## What 2025 Tells Us About 2026

South Africa enters 2026 on strong footing but with a market that is no longer cheap. The key question for 2026 is whether commodity prices — gold specifically — can sustain the elevated levels that drove 2025's mining sector outperformance. If gold holds above $2,500/oz, South African miners remain significantly profitable.

Banking stocks may offer the more durable 2026 story. Standard Bank, FirstRand, and Absa all delivered solid but not spectacular 2025 returns — leaving room for a further re-rating as domestic economic recovery deepens.

MTN faces the question of whether its 2025 re-rating was a catch-up trade or the beginning of a new earnings cycle. Its African fintech momentum argues for the latter.