ABSTRACT: The Nigerian consumer and industrial goods sector has experienced persistent fluctuations in market value, raising concerns among managers and investors regarding optimal asset allocation. This study examined the effect of total inventories (TINV) and long-term investment (LTINV) on  market value of listed consumer and industrial goods firms in Nigeria. The study adopted the Longitudinal panel research design and relied on secondary data from audited annual report of firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) over the period 2015–2024. A purposive sampling technique was employed to draw 25 sample firms from a population of 33 listed consumer and industrial goods firms in Nigeria. Data were analysed with Driscoll-Kraay  fixed-effects regression in STATA (version 19). The findings revealed that total inventories have a positive and insignificant effect on Tobin’s Q, suggesting that while inventory holdings support operational continuity, they do not constitute a credible valuation signal to investors. Similarly, long-term investment exhibit a negative but significant relationship with Tobin’s Q, indicating that increase in long-term investment leads to a decline in market value of sampled firms. The study concluded that inventories and long-term investment do not significantly shape market valuation and therefore recommended that firms should improve inventory management efficiency and adopt stricter investment techniques that ensure that only value-enhancing long-term investments are undertaken in line with Tobin’s Q investment theory.

Keywords: Long-Term Investment, Market Value, Nigerian Consumer and Industrial Goods Firms, Total Inventories and Tobin’s Q