Globe is most valuable PH telco amid digital solutions platform pivot

Globe has emerged as the most valuable telecommunications company in the country as of October this year.  Its market capitalization in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) soared to a record P456 billion amid its pivot to become a digital solutions platform.

Globe’s stock price zoomed to an all-time high of P3,410 last October 6.  This reflects a 69 percent year-to-date jump from P2,018 last January 4.

The robust increase in share price reflects investor confidence in Globe’s growth prospects in the coming years.  The company is not only committed to improving its network and offering better products and services but is also expanding into the technology-based solutions space.

“Telco will continue to be our main and most important business but we now view ourselves as a digital platform that builds one business upon others. We will continue to enhance our telco business and keep an eye on maintaining our number one spot in mobile, as we compete heavily in the fixed-line business and expand our services to other fields of technology and digital solutions,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.

Globe is going beyond telco and is now actively growing its healthtech, adtech, edutech, fintech, and e-commerce businesses.  Analysts believe these new businesses, particularly GCash, will continue to provide great value to Globe in the future. They also expect the share price momentum of Globe to continue.

Investors have been picking up telco stocks over the past few months amid the massive demand for data-related services.  During the pandemic, more Filipinos embraced the benefits of digitalization due to the shift to work-from-home and distance learning arrangements.

GCash is on track to triple its gross transactions to P3 trillion this year from about P1 trillion last year, making it the undisputed e-wallet market leader in the Philippines. It has 48 million registered users, three million digital touchpoints, over 700 billers, and 69,000 cash-in and cash-out agents nationwide. GCash is operated by Mynt, the lone Philippine startup in Credit Suisse’s Southeast Asia 35 Unicorns list.

Aside from GCash, Globe’s corporate builder 917Ventures has several other portfolio companies under its wing.  They are telehealth companies KonsultaMD and HealthNow, digital marketing solutions firm AdSpark, online grocery platform PureGo, and loyalty and e-commerce solutions provider RUSH.

917Ventures also helps with innovations such as online learning platform EdVenture, online marketplace FanLife, online study-now-pay later bootcamp KodeGo, A2P messaging platform M360, online seller platform BentaTV, and self-service dashboard Inquiro.

Globe is also scaling up its information technology solutions through multi-payment platform Electronic Commerce Payments Inc. (ECPay) and its corporate venture capital arm, Kickstart Ventures.

To ensure that its network can accommodate the demand for digitalization, Globe has earmarked an unprecedented P76 billion for its capital expenditures this year to support the connectivity needs of Filipinos and provide the country with a #1stWorldNetwork.

Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly UN SDG No. 9, highlighting the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributes to 10 UN SDGs.

To know more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.