the Outsider - PSE Points to Ponder

  In the Philippines’ crowded casual-dining market, Figaro’s smaller pizza empire looked sharper than Shakey’s larger machine In the restaurant trade, size is meant to confer advantages. Bigger chains buy cheaper cheese, bargain harder with landlords, and spread marketing pesos across more stores. Yet the first quarter of 2026 offered a reminder that scale is not the same as momentum. In the latest round of the Philippines’ pizza wars, Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures , listed as PIZZA , remained the heavyweight. It booked ₱4.0bn in revenue and ₱133.8m in net income for January to March 2026. But the nimble challenger, Figaro Culinary Group , or FCG , looked more efficient: it grew revenue faster, expanded gross profit more strongly, and delivered much fatter margins. FCG’s revenue rose 14.9% year on year to ₱1.50bn , while PIZZA’s revenue rose about 13% to ₱4.00bn . The contrast is striking because both companies are chasing similar appetites. PIZZA owns a portfolio built around S...

  In the Philippine food business, growth often arrives wrapped in cheese, discounts, and delivery fees. Figaro Culinary Group, Inc. seems to understand this better than most. In the quarter ended March 31, 2026, the company’s revenue climbed to ₱1.496bn , up 14.9% from a year earlier, while nine-month revenue rose 13.5% to ₱4.697bn . The expansion story remains intact. But the more interesting question is not whether FCG is growing. It is whether that growth is becoming more expensive to produce. The answer, for now, is yes. Gross profit in the March quarter rose 16.0% to ₱674.0m , nudging gross margin upward to 45.1% from 44.6% a year earlier. For the nine-month period, gross margin improved more meaningfully, to 46.6% from 44.2% . On the surface, that is encouraging: the company is selling more while keeping direct costs under reasonable control. But below the gross-profit line, the picture becomes less flattering. Operating expenses in the quarter rose 18.2% , faster than...