This study investigates the effect of triple bottom line (TBL) reporting on the financial performance of quoted firms in Nigeria, using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics as proxies for TBL dimensions. Drawing on an unbalanced panel dataset of 148 firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) over the period 2010–2025, the study employs fixed-effects and random-effects panel regression models with robust standard errors, augmented by Hausman specification tests, variance inflation factor (VIF) diagnostics, and heteroscedasticity corrections. Financial performance is measured through return on assets (ROA), while TBL reporting is captured through environmental disclosure scores, social disclosure scores, and governance quality indices. Control variables include firm size, financial leverage, Big 4 audit firm dummy, industry dummies, and year dummies. Results reveal that governance quality exerts a statistically significant and positive effect on financial performance, while environmental and social disclosure scores demonstrate a positive but moderately significant relationship contingent on firm size and industry membership. Leverage is negatively associated with performance, and Big 4 audit engagement positively moderates the ESG–performance relationship. The findings contribute empirical evidence to the largely underexplored African context, challenge the normative assumption that TBL reporting universally impairs short-term financial performance, and offer actionable implications for regulators, investors, and corporate boards in Nigeria's evolving sustainability landscape.
Onipe Adabenege Yahaya (Thu,) studied this question.