Globe stocks pick up on bargain hunting, stock split announcement

SHARES of Globe Telecom, Inc. rose last week as investors showed renewed interest following news of GCash operator Mynt’s stock split approval to increase the number of shares.

Globe was the fifth most actively traded stock last week, with 639,330 shares worth a total value of P1.15 billion traded from June 2 to 5, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed.

Trading was cut short in observance of the Eid al-Adha celebration on June 6.

Globe shares closed at P1,810 apiece on Friday, up 2.3% from P1,770 on May 30. The services index rose 3.1%, while the benchmark PSE index gained 0.6%.

Year to date, the telecommunications company’s shares lost 17.1%, reversing the 5.9% growth in its sector but outperforming the PSE’s 2.3% decline.

Unicapital Securities, Inc. Equity Research Analyst Peter Louise D.C. Garnace said in an e-mail the stock rebounded last week after trading near its 52-week low, weighed down by soft first-quarter earnings and broad weakness across its business segments.

“We think that the stock’s recovery last week was mainly driven by bargain hunting as Globe has been trading near oversold levels, as well as renewed optimism on GCash’s IPO prospects fueled by Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt)’s stock split announcement,” Mr. Garnace said.

Last week, Mynt, operator of G-Xchange, Inc. (GCash), approved a stock split to increase its common shares ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO).

In separate disclosures, Globe Telecom, Inc. and Ayala Corp. said Mynt’s board approved an amendment to its articles of incorporation reducing the par value of common shares from P1 each to three centavos per share. This increases the number of authorized common shares to 71.66 billion from 2.15 billion.

The company’s authorized capital stock remains at P2.15 billion, the disclosures said.

Ayala-led Globe owns a 36% interest in Mynt, which owns GCash.

“Globe became one of the most active stocks last week after Mynt’s board approved a stock split, which may increase authorized shares while lowering the potential stock price for GCash’s planned IPO,” Jash Matthew M. Baylon, analyst at First Resources Management and Securities, said in an e-mail.

Mr. Baylon added that Globe’s disclosure of activating 235 new 5G sites in 2025 for artificial intelligence (AI) adoption added volatility to its stock movement last week.

Globe said in a statement it had activated 235 new 5G sites as of the first quarter of 2025, supporting over 9.5 million devices nationwide.

The telecom company said its human resources group fully integrated AI into its recruitment process using HireVue, an AI-powered platform that combines video interviews. AI is essential in providing live operational dashboards, building prioritization, and enabling predictive maintenance across network assets.

Net income attributable to the owners of the parent company rose 2.5% to P6.98 billion in the first quarter, from P6.81 billion in the same period last year.

Mr. Garnace said the recent stock split by Mynt was done in preparation for GCash’s upcoming IPO and to boost market sentiment for Globe, reinforcing expectations of a potential listing in the second quarter or full-year 2026.

“In our view, the substantial increase in the number of shares at a lower par value will provide Mynt the flexibility to issue shares at a more affordable and attractive price to investors. This will make the IPO more accessible to a broader range of investors,” Mr. Garnace said.

“Investors are looking forward to GCash’s IPO. The stock split may be viewed as a way to make the firm more attractive and could add liquidity for its planned IPO. Furthermore, the additional shares may benefit Globe, which received a P1.8 billion revenue contribution from Mynt in the first quarter of 2025,” Mr. Baylon added.

Mr. Baylon said Globe’s revenue for the second quarter is expected to decline by 1% to P44.14 billion due to lower contribution from home broadband services as the market shifts after most customers migrated from fixed broadband to fiber connection.

“For the week, we see Globe trading within the range of P1,750 to P1,850, with P1,750 as support and P1,850 as resistance,” Mr. Baylon said.

“We expect Globe to continue trading sideways with support around P1,750 and resistance at P1,850,” Mr. Garnace said. — Lourdes O. Pilar