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Puregold Outmuscles 7-Eleven in Retail’s First-Half Numbers

Philippine Seven grew faster in the first half of 2026, but Puregold’s wider margins, larger profit and stronger balance sheet showed the value of scale Philippine Seven Corp. is putting a 7-Eleven on seemingly every available corner. Puregold Price Club Inc. is doing something less visible but more consequential for shareholders: turning a much larger sales base into substantially more profit. The two retailers' first-half results offer a study in contrasting growth models. Philippine Seven, the local operator of 7-Eleven stores, delivered faster revenue growth as it continued an aggressive nationwide expansion. Puregold, whose businesses include supermarkets, smaller neighborhood stores, and S&R Membership Shopping warehouses, produced stronger margins, higher earnings, and a more resilient balance sheet. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, Puregold posted ₱121.48 billion in net sales , up 10.6% from a year earlier. Philippine Seven reported ₱53.48 billion in revenue , ...

Philippine Seven’s Growth Engine Accelerates, With Profits Rising at a Slower Pace

The 7-Eleven operator is opening stores and ringing up more purchases, but rising costs, lease payments and heavy investment are limiting profit and draining cash MANILA, Philippines : Philippine Seven Corp. is selling more goods through more stores, but a smaller share of those additional sales is reaching the bottom line. The Philippine operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores reported ₱54.15 billion in total income for the first half of 2026, including ₱53.48 billion in revenue from contracts with customers. Yet the company earned net income of only ₱1.84 billion, underscoring the rising costs of its nationwide expansion. Revenue from contracts with customers rose 14.9% from a year earlier, while operating income increased a more modest 7.9% and net income gained just 3.8%. The divergence was even clearer in the second quarter: Operating revenue climbed 15.4%, but operating income rose 7.6%, and net income increased only 3.3%. The results point to a business that is succeeding ...

Ayala Land vs. Megaworld: Two Philippine Property Giants, Two Different First-Half Stories

Megaworld’s modest growth and lighter debt load contrasted with Ayala Land’s revenue decline and greater reliance on borrowing. The first half of 2026 divided two of the country’s biggest property developers along an increasingly important fault line: the ability to convert a sprawling real-estate portfolio into growth without adding financial strain. Ayala Land Inc. remained the larger company by nearly every measure. Its first-half revenue of ₱74.98 billion was roughly 70% higher than Megaworld Corp.’s ₱44.20 billion, while its asset base of more than ₱1 trillion was about twice the size of its rival’s. But size wasn’t the advantage it once appeared to be. Ayala Land’s revenue fell 9.7% from a year earlier as property-development income weakened, while Megaworld’s revenue increased 2.6%, helped by rising contributions from offices, malls and hotels. Net income at Ayala Land declined 15.1% to ₱14.57 billion. Megaworld’s net income rose 5% to ₱12.70 billion. The result was an unu...

Megaworld’s Stronger Balance Sheet Adds Weight to Its Growing Dividend Story

The property developer entered the second half with more cash, less bank debt and stronger coverage ratios, providing greater support for its 5.1% indicated dividend yield. Megaworld Corp.’s first-half results offered investors something that has sometimes been difficult to find among large property developers: a dividend story supported by a balance sheet moving in the right direction. The Philippine township developer ended June with ₱22.76 billion in cash and cash equivalents , an increase of 9.4% from ₱20.79 billion at the end of 2025. At the same time, interest-bearing loans and borrowings declined 6.4% to ₱77.75 billion , reflecting repayments of maturing obligations during the period. That combination of rising cash and falling borrowings strengthened Megaworld’s financial position even as the company continued investing in residential projects, offices, shopping centers and hotels. The improvement is particularly relevant for income-oriented shareholders. Megaworld ...

Ayala Land’s Cash-Flow Squeeze Puts Its Debt-Fueled Development Model in Focus

The Philippine property giant remains profitable and has ample access to financing, but weak residential sales and a sharp decline in operating cash flow show why outside capital remains essential. MANILA | Ayala Land Inc. is still making billions of pesos from building homes, operating malls and leasing offices. The harder question is how much of that growth it can finance on its own. The answer from the first half of 2026 is: not nearly enough. The property developer generated ₱4.51 billion of cash from operations during the six months ended June, down 64% from ₱12.65 billion a year earlier. At the same time, it used ₱19.21 billion in investing activities, leaving a roughly ₱14.70 billion gap between internally generated operating cash and reported investment outlays. Financing activities supplied ₱12.99 billion, while cash and cash equivalents still declined by ₱1.72 billion to ₱16.95 billion. That combination captures the central tension in Ayala Land’s development model. Th...

Dividend Investors May Need to Avoid Bank Stocks as Capital Pressures Build

EastWest’s planned ₱9 billion rights offering highlights a difficult trade-off for Philippine lenders: preserve dividends, finance loan growth, or prepare for a longer period of high rates and elevated credit losses. Philippine bank stocks have long appealed to income investors for a straightforward reason: They combine regular cash dividends with exposure to an economy that, over time, should require more mortgages, business loans, credit cards and wealth-management services. That proposition is becoming more complicated. East West Banking Corp.’s plan to raise as much as ₱9 billion through a stock-rights offering has put a new question before dividend investors. If inflation stays high, the peso remains under pressure, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas keeps monetary policy restrictive, will other banks eventually have to conserve earnings or raise fresh capital? EastWest’s move isn’t evidence of a systemwide capital shortage. Philippine banks entered 2026 with substantial b...