PLDT Inc.’s Earnings Call Contradictions: Maya’s Profitability Roadmap and IPO Timing Clash with Affiliate Funding Plans

Date of Call: Feb 26, 2026

Financials Results

• Revenue: PHP 196.2B, up 1% YOY (PHP 1.5B increase), or up 3% excluding legacy services (PHP 5.5B increase).
• Operating Margin: EBITDA margin steady at 52% YOY, with EBITDA up 3% to PHP 111.2B.

Guidance:

• CapEx guidance for 2026 is in the mid-PHP 50 billion range (PHP 53B to PHP 57B).
• VITRO data center capacity take-up is expected to increase following potential government data sovereignty orders.
• Maya's IPO timing is uncertain but potential discussions are underway with banks, possibly in the second half of 2026 or spilling into 2027.
• Aiming for positive free cash flow in 2026 and working toward a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of around 2.0x.

Business Commentary:

Revenue and EBITDA Performance:

• PLDT reported gross service revenues of PHP 212.2 billion, up 2% or PHP 3.8 billion, and net service revenues of PHP 196.2 billion, marking a record.
• EBITDA, excluding MRP costs, rose 3% to PHP 111.2 billion.
• The revenue growth was driven by the shift towards fiber, wireless data, and ICT services, offsetting declines in legacy services.

Home and Fiber Growth:

• Home revenues reached an all-time high of PHP 61 billion, up 3%, with fiber revenues growing 6% to PHP 59.4 billion.
• Fiber net adds reached 392,000 in 2025, up 98% year-on-year.
• Growth was attributed to faster installs, improved service reliability, and more affordable fiber options.

Wireless Consumer Revenues:

• Wireless consumer revenues were PHP 85 billion, steady year-on-year, with mobile data traffic growing 7% to 5,900 petabytes.
• 5G devices increased by 35% to 11.2 million, and 5G data traffic rose 88%.
• This was driven by hyper-personalization, 5G adoption, and fixed wireless access.

Enterprise and ICT Expansion:

• Enterprise revenues grew to a record PHP 48.4 billion, with ICT revenues up 25% for the full year.
• Managed IT services jumped 211%, and data center colocation expanded by 15%.
• The growth was supported by ICT contract wins and better delivery momentum.

Sustainability and ESG Efforts:

• PLDT was included in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook with a score of 77, and earned a B rating from CDP for both climate and water.
• The company is focused on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction objectives, and has implemented policies on water and energy management.

Sentiment Analysis:

Overall Tone: Positive

• Management highlights 'record' Home and Enterprise revenues, 'steady' EBITDA, and 'improving contribution from our digital business.' They state, 'we remain confident in our market position, supported by our improving operational fundamentals, strategic investments in digital infrastructure and the promising growth trajectory of Maya.'

Q&A:

• Question from John Te (UBS Investment Bank): First on Mobile, what drove the 5% quarter-on-quarter growth, which differed from Globe's subscriber growth?
  Response: Growth driven by hyper-personalization offers that upsold customers (increasing ARPU) and higher gross activations (subscriber base growth), with churn held firm.

• Question from John Te (UBS Investment Bank): On broadband, what drove the flat quarter-on-quarter performance and soft ARPU?
  Response: Calamities (earthquakes, super typhoons) in Q4 led to resource diversion for repairs, impacting installation activity and ARPU, but trust was maintained with 73% customer retention.

• Question from John Te (UBS Investment Bank): Update on Konektadong Pinoy and potential data center IPO for Maya.
  Response: Konektadong Pinoy initial access list expected in March; no basis for reference access offer yet. On Maya IPO, no comment at this time.

• Question from John Te (UBS Investment Bank): Update on data center stake sale and spectrum loss provisions under Konektadong Pinoy.
  Response: REIT IPO for data centers is being considered with an international bank, timing not disclosed. Spectrum management policy framework to be released by NTC by end 2026 or late 2027; PLDT has no issues as it is utilizing its spectrum.

• Question from Paolo Manansala (COL): How can broadband revenues be up 3% but fiber up 6%?
  Response: Fiber growth offset by a PHP 1.7 billion reduction in legacy service revenues (e.g., copper facilities, voice-only lines).

• Question from Zhiwei Foo (Macquarie): Why did Maya's Q4 profits decline quarter-on-quarter despite higher loan disbursements?
  Response: Decline driven by non-operating onetime items (fair value adjustments, FX movements, new product investments, credit card provisioning), not structural issues; Maya achieved full-year profitability in 2025.

• Question from Mackie Carunungan (FPF Securities): IRR/payback expectations for AI-ready data center investments vs. traditional data centers.
  Response: Pilipinas AI offers customers a sovereign on-premise AI stack option at VITRO Santa Rosa, complementing colocation and connectivity; returns not compared.

• Question from Gregg Ilag (BPI Securities): Why is interest expense growth faster than total debt growth?
  Response: Increase due to interest rates (35%), loan balances (40%), and lease liability accretion (25%). Negotiating with banks for better rates and plan to pay down debt in late 2026.

• Question from Gregg Ilag (BPI Securities): What drove Mobile's 5% QoQ growth vs. weak GDP?
  Response: Hyper-personalization upsold customers, network resiliency helped during calamities, and improved targeting drove subscriber and ARPU growth.

• Question from Arthur Pineda (Citigroup Inc.): Any revenue/EBITDA growth guidance for 2026 and VITRO capacity take-up?
  Response: No specific revenue/EBITDA guidance provided; CapEx guidance is mid-PHP 50 billion. VITRO's older data centers are at ~80% capacity utilization; VITRO Santa Rosa has sold 6MW of 36MW total capacity.

Contradiction Point 1

Financial Projections for Maya's Profitability

Contradiction on the pace and nature of Maya's profitability turnaround, impacting future financial expectations.

Unknown Analyst - Unknown Analyst

2025Q4: Maya's 2025 profit was PHP 1.7 billion, a turnaround from a PHP 2.5 billion loss in 2024... subsidies related to credit card launches will flow into the P&L in subsequent years (2026 and beyond). - [Manuel Pangilinan](CEO)

Okay, let's see. The user wants me to rewrite the input into a concise earnings-call question. The input is "What is Maya's recurring net income for 2025, excluding one-offs?" First, I need to make sure I follow all the rules. The output has to be exactly one line, only the final question text, end with a question mark if possible. No explanations or prefaces.The original input is already a question. The task is to make it more concise. Let me check if "recurring net income" is the correct term. In earnings calls, they often use terms like "recurring revenue" or "non-GAAP net income." But the user specified "excluding one-offs," which usually refers to non-recurring items. So maybe "recurring net income" is acceptable. Is there a more standard phrasing? Maybe "What is Maya's net income for 2025 excluding one-time items?" But the original says "recurring net income," which is a bit redundant because net income can be recurring or not. Wait, maybe "recurring" here refers to the core operations, excluding one-time events. So "recurring net income" is correct in that context.I need to make it as concise as possible. The original is already pretty concise. Maybe "What is Maya's 2025 recurring net income, excluding one-offs?" But that's the same as the input. Wait, the user wants it rewritten into one concise question. Maybe combine "excluding one-offs" into the term. For example, "What is Maya's non-GAAP net income for 2025?" But the input doesn't mention non-GAAP. Alternatively, "What is Maya's 2025 net income excluding one-time charges?" But the original input uses "recurring net income" and "excluding one-offs." If I have to keep the meaning but make it concise, perhaps "What is Maya's 2025 recurring net income, excluding one-time items?" But the user might prefer shorter. Maybe "What is Maya's 2025 recurring net income, excluding one-offs?" is already concise. Since the original is a valid question and the user wants it rewritten into a single line, maybe the original is acceptable. However, the user might want it even more concise. Let me check the rules again: output exactly one line, only the final question text. If the input is already a clear question, maybe the answer is the same. But the user says "rewrite the input into ONE concise earnings-call question." So perhaps there's a way to make it shorter. Earnings-call questions often use terms like "guidance," "projection," or "forecast." But the question is about net income. The original is "What is Maya's recurring net income for 2025, excluding one-offs?" Maybe rephrase to "What is Maya's 2025 recurring net income, excluding one-time items?" That's slightly more concise. But "one-offs" is acceptable. Alternatively, "What is Maya's 2025 recurring net income, excluding one-time charges?" Wait, the original uses "one-offs," which is a common term. So maybe the best concise version is "What is Maya's 2025 recurring net income, excluding one-offs?" which is the same as the input. But the user wants a rewrite. If the input is already a clear question, perhaps the answer is the same. But maybe the user wants to make sure it's in the correct format. Let me check the rules again: if the input is a question and can be rewritten, output the rewritten version. Otherwise, output as-is. Since the input is a valid question and can be made concise, but the user might consider it already concise enough. Alternatively, maybe the user wants to combine "recurring net income excluding one-offs" into a single term. But I don't think there's a standard term for that. So the best approach is to present the original input as the answer since it's already a clear and concise question. Wait, but the user says "rewrite the input into ONE concise earnings-call question." So perhaps the original is acceptable, but maybe the user wants a slight rephrase. For example, "What is Maya's 2025 recurring net income, excluding one-time items?" But the original uses "one-offs," which is acceptable. Given that, the original input is already a valid and concise question. Therefore, according to the rules, if the input is a clear question, we can output it as is. But the user says "rewrite," so maybe we need to adjust it. However, the user also says "if the input is NOT a question, is too vague, or lacks enough information to form a clear earnings-call question, output the input EXACTLY as-is." Since the input is a valid question, we can rewrite - Arthur Pineda (Citi)

2025Q1: Profitability achieved in Q1 2025 after consistent loss reduction. Expect steady, gradual margin improvement due to operating leverage, not a sudden "hockey stick" growth. - [Patricio Pineda III and Alfredo Panlilio](Executive)

Contradiction Point 2

Legal Strategy and Outlook for the Konektadong Pinoy Bill

Contradiction on the desired legal outcome regarding the KP bill, signaling a shift from hoping for presidential rejection to preparing for implementation.

John Te (UBS Investment Bank) - John Te (UBS Investment Bank)

2025Q4: The crucial Initial Access List (IAL) by DICT, PCC, and NTC is expected in March. - [Joan De Venecia-Fabul](CLO)

Can you provide an update on the Konektadong Pinoy (KP) initiative and the status of the data center IPO for Maya? - Arthur Pineda (Citigroup Inc. Exchange Research)

2025Q2: The telco hopes the President vetoes it, allowing Congress to enact a replacement bill. - [Anastacio Roy Martirez and Joan A. De Venecia-Fabul](CFO and CLO)

Contradiction Point 3

Enterprise Segment Revenue Outlook and POGO Impact

Contradiction on the persistence of POGO-related revenue drag, affecting the perceived growth trajectory of the Enterprise segment.

Blums Pineda (Senior VP & Head of Enterprise Business Group) - Blums Pineda (Senior VP & Head of Enterprise Business Group)

2025Q4: It is a mix of both. There were significant contract wins (e.g., the emergency 911 national contract) in Q3/Q4, which will deliver recurring revenues in 2026. The growth is anchored on ICT and digital infrastructure... - [Blums Pineda](Head of Enterprise Business Group)

Is the Enterprise business momentum driven by recurring revenue or large one-time deals, and how sustainable is it? - Arthur Pineda (Citi)

2025Q1: POGO shutdown in July last year; revenue drag expected to continue, especially year-on-year comparisons, likely into Q3. - [Patricio Pineda III and Alfredo Panlilio](Executive)

Contradiction Point 4

VITRO Data Center Capacity Take-up and Contribution

Contradiction on the scale of signed capacity versus the facility's total capacity, affecting expectations for revenue contribution from the data center.

Arthur Pineda (Citigroup Inc.) - Arthur Pineda (Citigroup Inc.)

2025Q4: The new VITRO Santa Rosa has sold 6 MW out of 36 MW total capacity. - [Victor S. Genuino](First Vice President, President of ePLDT and VITRO)

What is VITRO's current capacity utilization and expected contribution? - Question on Data Center Revenue Uplift & AI Workloads

2025Q1: One major hyperscale customer has signed, availing 4 MW capacity. - [Boy Martirez](CFO)

Contradiction Point 5

PLDT's Direct Investment Plans in Maya vs. IPO Plans

Contradiction on the future capital structure for Maya, switching from affiliate investment to planning a public offering.

Manuel Pangilinan (President, CEO & Chairman) - Closing Remarks - Manuel Pangilinan (President, CEO & Chairman) - Closing Remarks

2025Q4: Maya's potential IPO is being discussed with banks... with terms and timing still being finalized, possibly in the second half of 2026 or spilling into 2027. - [Manuel Pangilinan](CEO)

What is the 2026 cash flow and debt reduction outlook? - Question on PLDT Stake in Maya

2025Q1: Any further investment in Maya would likely come from other affiliates of First Pacific, not directly from PLDT. - [Danny Yu](CFO)