<p>In this comparative study between South Africa and Nigeria, we investigate the moderating role of profitability in the relationship between intellectual capital performance and firm market value in the ICT and financial sectors of the two countries. For our novel estimations, we employ fixed-effects models with Driscoll-Kraay robust standard errors and dynamic panel data models through the Baron-Kenny hierarchical regression framework. Our results show a direct positive effect of human capital efficiency and overall intellectual capital efficiency (ICE) on the share price of technology-driven firms in South Africa. In Nigeria, however, both direct and indirect effects are detected for human capital efficiency on firm value, but only a direct effect for ICE on firm value. Furthermore, our results reveal indirect positive and negative effects of structural capital efficiency and capital employed efficiency, respectively, on the share price of the Nigerian technology-driven firms. Our findings imply that the employees of technology-driven firms in South Africa are incentivised to contribute inventive inputs in enhancing market value without necessarily giving much emphasis to profitability. Conversely, in Nigeria, profitability appears to be a key driver of human and structural capital performance in boosting technology-driven firms’ market value. This suggests that intellectual capital efficiency, as a driver of firm market value for technology-driven firms in South Africa, is propelled by incentives rather than profitability, which on the contrary appears to be a key driver of intellectual capital performance in advancing ICT firm market value in Nigeria.</p>