PLDT's H1: Recovery in Wireless, a Data Center REIT on the Horizon, and Pax Silica as a New Variable

Resilience in a Soft Environment

PLDT's first-half 2026 results are a study in measured optimism. Gross service revenues grew 2% to PHP 108.7 billion, while EBITDA held at PHP 56.1 billion with a stable 52% margin. More tellingly, CapEx fell to PHP 20.7 billion from PHP 27.4 billion a year earlier, lowering intensity to 19% from 26%. The company's focus on deleveraging is clear: net debt/EBITDA sits at 2.57x, and management reiterated a path toward 2x.

The wireless business, a perennial worry, showed signs of stabilization. “Monthly year-on-year top-ups moved from negative 3% in March to flat in April and May, and positive 1% in June.” — Menardo Jimenez, President and CEO · 2026-08-13 This improvement continued into July and August, as Orlando Vea noted: “So for July, we're looking at roughly a plus 3% top-ups. In August, we're trending somewhere between 2% and 3%.” — Orlando Vea, Executive · 2026-08-13 Management attributes half of this to structural factors like lower fuel prices and half to targeted marketing, including highly personalized offers. The company's ARPU resilience and a strong 5G network position it well as consumer spending recovers.

Enterprise, Data Centers, and the VITRO REIT

Enterprise remains the brightest spot, with revenues up 5% and ICT revenues surging 22%. The data center business, via VITRO, grew 13% in the half, and management unveiled plans to list a REIT covering eight of its nine data centers. Victor Genuino confirmed the timeline: “We're still targeting for a Q4 listing, but obviously, this will be subject to market conditions.” — Victor Emmanuel S. Genuino, President and CEO of ePLDT and VITRO · 2026-08-13 This matches a longer-term ambition first aired in February: “we're seriously considering a REIT IPO for our data center” — Danny Yu, CFO or Finance Executive · 2026-02-26 (prior call). Now the company is providing concrete details, suggesting confidence in the structure and in the demand for digital infrastructure assets.

The REIT's proceeds are earmarked for debt reduction — a move that could trim net debt/EBITDA from ~2.6x to ~2.4x. Management also highlighted a robust expansion pipeline: activated IT-ready capacity of 34 MW today could grow to 62.4 MW, driven by hyperscaler interest and government data-sovereignty mandates.

I think it's a good time. From our 9 data centers currently, we have 8 that we are injecting into the REIT. That's 24 megawatts in total. ... We are the largest data center platform in terms of number of sites. ... We are the home of the Philippine Internet.

Pax Silica: A New Geopolitical Variable

A fresh topic on the call was Pax Silica, the proposed U.S.–Philippines initiative for advanced manufacturing and rare minerals. When asked whether this could disrupt or boost PLDT's data center demand, Blums Pineda responded cautiously: “I think a lot of the Pax Silica focus is really on advanced manufacturing and rare mineral and that type of processing. So, I think data center and other digital infrastructure, particularly connectivity is much more of servicing those different industries.” — Blums Pineda, Senior Vice President, Head of Enterprise Business · 2026-08-13 The company sees it as a potential tailwind for connectivity and colocation, but details remain scarce. The keyword's emergence (momentum 160, rank 4 in Q2) signals that this is now a topic investors are watching.

This is not just idle chatter. PLDT's enterprise growth is increasingly tied to digital infrastructure, and any government push that accelerates onshoring of data — as Executive Order 119 already does — would reinforce VITRO's leadership. The REIT would give investors a pure-play vehicle on this trend while helping PLDT deleverage without sacrificing growth.

Asset Monetization and Maya's Contribution

Beyond data centers, PLDT continues to monetize legacy assets. Copper sales are under discussion, and tower sales could yield another PHP 2 billion. Maya contributed PHP 559 million to core income in H1, a steady improvement, though Q2 was hit by one-time accounting adjustments. Management dismissed concerns about credit quality, noting NPLs remain stable at 4.8%.

The overall narrative is one of a company in transition: maturing consumer businesses are being stabilized with better pricing and personalization, while enterprise and digital infrastructure take over as growth engines. The VITRO REIT and Pax Silica are the wildcards that could unlock further value. As the CEO summed up:

To wrap up, the first half showed a resilient performance despite a softer operating environment. ... We believe these trends give us a firmer base as we move into the second half of the year.

Investors will watch for two things: whether the wireless recovery holds and whether the REIT launches on schedule in Q4. If both land, PLDT could re-rate as a digital-infrastructure play rather than a legacy telco.