Naspers and Prosus Share Prices Plummet, CEO's $168bn Target in Jeopardy

Naspers and Prosus, two of South Africa's largest companies, have seen their share prices plummet by over 30% this year, resulting in a loss of over R800bn in value. This significant decline has dealt a major blow to CEO Fabricio Bloisi's ambitious target of growing the group's market capitalization to $168bn by 2028. The target, which was announced two years ago, had come with a $100m "moonshot" award for Bloisi if he was able to meet it.

Despite the decline in share prices, Naspers and Prosus still carry significant market valuations on the JSE. Naspers is currently valued at R540bn, down 33% year to date, while Prosus has shed 34% of its value this year, dragging its market capitalization to R1.44-trillion. Interestingly, Naspers has now been surpassed by Capitec, whose market value has shot up to R570bn after a 17% rally this year.

According to Allan Gray portfolio manager Rory Kutisker-Jacobson, Naspers and Prosus are two of the worst-performing shares year to date. Kutisker-Jacobson notes that the companies are effectively the same, with Chinese technology group Tencent as their primary asset. Despite reporting strong full-year earnings, investors have become skeptical of Tencent's AI spending and the long-term risks AI poses to its business model.

Tencent's share price has declined significantly in 2026, sliding roughly 35% amid a broader selloff driven by aggressive AI capital expenditures and looming US semiconductor restrictions. However, Morningstar views Tencent shares as undervalued at roughly a 40% discount to its estimate. Naspers's $32m investment in Tencent in 2001 has grown to a stake worth more than $100bn, making it one of the most successful venture capital and private equity deals in history.

Bloisi has been making moves to reshape the portfolio, clinching some of the group's largest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals in its history. The group completed the $1.7bn purchase of Latin American online travel agency Despegar last year, taking total M&A spending under Bloisi to about $6bn since he was appointed in 2024. This move is part of Bloisi's efforts to unlock the value trapped in the group's portfolio outside Tencent.

In his annual letter to shareholders, Bloisi expressed confidence in the group's growth story, highlighting that all of the company's ecosystems are now profitable. He outlined plans to continue investing in key areas, making trade-offs to drive growth, and increasing investment to compete more aggressively. Bloisi's previous success in growing Prosus's Latin American food delivery business, iFood, has been a highlight of his tenure.

To achieve his ambitious target, Bloisi will need to rally the group's share price dramatically in the next two years, with much depending on how Tencent's shares perform in this period. The board's "moonshot" promise of a $100m reward for Bloisi will be granted if "truly extraordinary net new value is created in the market capitalization of the group". Similar lucrative deals have been offered to CEOs of other JSE-listed companies, including Woolworths and Old Mutual.

Key points

• Naspers and Prosus share prices have plunged over 30% this year, shedding over R800bn in value.
• CEO Fabricio Bloisi's target of growing the group's market capitalization to $168bn by 2028 is in jeopardy.
• The decline in share prices has been driven by investor skepticism of Tencent's AI spending and the long-term risks AI poses to its business model.