the Outsider - PSE Points to Ponder

  In Philippine telecoms, the contest between Manny Pangilinan’s PLDT and the Ayalas’ Globe is no longer only about whose network is faster, whose fiber reaches farther, or whose mobile brand occupies more Filipino pockets. It is increasingly a quieter struggle: who can carry the heavy debt of the 5G and fiber era with less strain? The first-quarter 2026 numbers show two giants trying to normalize after years of capital intensity. PLDT remains the larger machine, with ₱56.5bn in revenues and ₱28.3bn in EBITDA , against Globe’s ₱45.7bn in revenues and ₱22.2bn in EBITDA . Yet size is not the same as comfort. PLDT’s earnings engine is bigger, but its leverage and liquidity metrics look more stretched. Globe, smaller but nimbler, presents the cleaner deleveraging story. PLDT’s advantage is obvious at first glance. Its EBITDA base of ₱28.3bn in the first quarter exceeded Globe’s ₱22.2bn , giving Pangilinan’s group a broader cash-profit cushion to absorb interest, lease, depreciation,...

  The Ayala Group may find it harder to squeeze higher dividends from Globe Telecom Inc. as the phone carrier’s latest quarterly results show rising financial strain beneath otherwise resilient operating numbers. Globe, one of the Philippines’ largest telecommunications companies and a key dividend contributor to Ayala Corp., reported a 20% drop in first-quarter net income to ₱5.55 billion , even as service revenues climbed 5% to ₱41.97 billion . The divergence points to a growing challenge for shareholders: Globe’s core business is still expanding, but more of its cash and earnings are being absorbed by debt costs, capital spending, and foreign-exchange volatility. For investors counting on rising payouts, the message from the March quarter was mixed. Globe’s core net income rose 9% to ₱4.93 billion , and EBITDA increased 7% to ₱22.17 billion , with margin improving to 52.8% from 52.1% a year earlier. Yet reported net income fell sharply, reflecting the absence of prior-year one...

In the Philippine telecom market, the contest for investors’ loyalty has long been measured in signal strength, subscriber counts, and fiber kilometers. But in 2026, another battlefield is taking shape: the dividend crown . On one side stands Manuel V. Pangilinan , the “MVP” of Philippine corporate life, whose PLDT Inc. remains the country’s telecom cash machine—large, entrenched, and disciplined in its dividend framework. On the other hand is Dennis Anthony Uy of Converge ICT Solutions Inc., whose younger fiber challenger is beginning to look less like a growth-only broadband insurgent and more like a credible dividend-growth story. Their first-quarter 2026 results tell a nuanced story. PLDT looks better equipped to defend its dividend. Converge looks better placed to grow one. PLDT: The incumbent with the cash engine PLDT’s first-quarter numbers still carry the heft of an incumbent. Revenue rose 2% year-on-year to ₱56.5 billion , while EBITDA increased 2% to ₱28.3 billion , with EBI...

  For years, PLDT was treated by income investors as something close to a utility with a generous cheque attached. Its networks carried calls, data, and broadband traffic; its shares carried the promise of yield. But the first quarter of 2026 suggests that Manny V. Pangilinan’s telecoms flagship is entering a more austere dividend age: not one of abrupt retreat, but of careful, deliberate trimming. The evidence is hiding in plain sight. PLDT declared a regular common dividend of ₱46 per share for the first quarter of 2026, down from ₱47 per share a year earlier. The decline is only one peso, hardly dramatic. Yet it matters because it confirms the direction of policy. PLDT’s dividend is not being abandoned; it is being rationed. The company’s own numbers explain why. PLDT reported telco core income of ₱8.58 billion in the first quarter, down 2% from ₱8.78 billion in the same period last year. This is the critical measure. Since 2019, PLDT has based its regular dividend payout o...

In the first quarter of 2026, two of the Philippines’ most closely watched food-and-beverage empires delivered a study in contrasts: Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. showed the strength of scale, while Betty Ang’s Monde Nissin Corp. showed the power of margin recovery and faster growth. Ramon S. Ang is chairman of San Miguel Food and Beverage and chairman and CEO of San Miguel Corp., while Betty T. Ang has been Monde Nissin’s president and director for more than 45 years. SMFB remained the heavyweight. Its first-quarter sales reached ₱103.1 billion , more than four times Monde Nissin’s ₱22.8 billion net sales, underscoring San Miguel’s commanding position across beer, spirits, and food. But the smaller Monde Nissin moved faster: sales rose 9.1% , outpacing SMFB’s 4.3% growth, as demand across its Asia-Pacific branded food business and a rebound in meat alternatives lifted the top line. The divergence was sharper at the profit line. Monde Nissin’s net income jumped 34.1% ...

  San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., one of the core consumer arms of the San Miguel group led by Ramon S. Ang, opened 2026 with a performance that does not scream acceleration — but does signal durability. For the first quarter ended March 31, SMFB reported ₱103.1 billion in consolidated sales, up 4% from a year earlier. Net income rose 2% to ₱11.8 billion , while net income attributable to the parent increased 4% to ₱7.8 billion . The numbers reinforce SMFB’s role as a defensive pillar of the broader San Miguel empire: a branded consumer franchise that can still expand revenues, protect margins, and generate cash even as households face inflation, fuel-price pressure, higher excise taxes, and softer discretionary spending. Yet the quarter also showed the limits of defensive growth. SMFB is not immune to a tougher environment. Its beer business saw volume pressure, operating cash flow weakened relative to last year, and overall profit growth was more measured than the stronger...