Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has overtaken KCB Group to become the third most valuable company on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), with its market capitalisation reaching Sh275.33 billion on Thursday, October 29, 2026, as investors keep piling into the stock after Aliko Dangote’s reported acquisition of a 25 percent stake.
The latest gain puts KPC about Sh2.2 billion above KCB, whose market value stood at Sh273.14 billion in the most recent figures I found. It lifts KPC past Co-operative Bank (Sh215.33 billion) and East African Breweries (Sh213.11 billion), and leaves it behind only Safaricom (Sh1.33 trillion) and Equity Group (Sh361.33 billion).
The rally began after news of Dangote’s entry. KPC shares rose 9.96 percent to a record Sh13.80 on Wednesday, October 28, extending gains to five consecutive sessions.
That session added Sh86.14 billion to the company’s value, taking the gain over the rally to 52.32 percent and its market capitalisation to Sh250.79 billion, at which point it ranked fourth. The Sh275.33 billion figure implies a share price of about Sh15.15, which is roughly 68 percent above the Sh9.02 at which it traded on October 20.
KPC listed on the NSE on March 10, 2026, after the government sold 65 percent of the company at Sh9 per share in an offer that raised about $825 million and was oversubscribed by 105.7 percent. It debuted as the sixth most valuable stock at about Sh163.6 billion, with institutions and sovereign funds taking up about 97 percent of the shares sold and retail investors only about 2.6 percent. Analysts say such a tight tradable portion can exaggerate price moves when demand surges.
The company owns and operates about 1,342 kilometres of pipeline that carry refined petroleum products from Mombasa to Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu, and runs fuel depots at airports. Dangote, who has just broken ground on a $16 billion refinery in Lamu, would become a major shareholder in the pipeline that moves the fuel Kenyans use.
Analysts caution that the price jump reflects expectations about Dangote’s plans and not a change in earnings, so the stock could swing sharply if the buying slows.
