GCash powers nearly a third of Globe’s pre-tax income as telco profit slips

Mynt, the parent company of digital wallet GCash, accounted for 30% of Globe Telecom Inc.’s pre-tax income in the first three months of 2026, the company reported, a sharp rise from a 22% share a year earlier that underscores how heavily the telecommunications giant now leans on a fintech affiliate it does not majority-own.

Globe’s equity share in Mynt rose to PHP 1.9 billion for the quarter ended March 2026, up 8% from PHP 1.8 billion a year earlier and 120% higher than the previous quarter, according to Globe’s financial and operating results.

Mynt is a partnership among Globe, Ayala Corporation, and Ant International, the Singapore-based digital payments and financial technology firm. It operates through two wholly owned subsidiaries: G-Xchange Inc., which runs the GCash app, and Fuse Financing Inc., which provides lending products.

Globe holds an equity stake rather than majority control, meaning Mynt’s earnings reach Globe’s books as equity income from an affiliate.

The disclosure came as Globe posted PHP 42.0 billion in consolidated service revenues, up 5% year-on-year, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of PHP 22.2 billion, up 7%. Yet net income after tax fell 20% to PHP 5.6 billion from PHP 7.0 billion in the same period of 2025.

Globe attributed the profit decline to one-off gains booked a year earlier — the dilution of its Mynt stake following an investment by Japan’s MUFG, along with tower-sale gains — and to higher net interest expense, rather than to any weakening of its core business. Core net income, which excludes foreign exchange and mark-to-market movements, rose 9% to PHP 4.9 billion.

Globe directed PHP 12.7 billion to cash capital expenditures during the quarter, up 51% year-on-year, with roughly 91% allocated to data-related infrastructure. The company said it deployed 43,084 new fiber-to-the-home lines and 408 new 5G sites, expanding 5G service to 21 additional towns. Globe maintained its full-year capex guidance at below USD 1 billion.

Among consumer milestones, Globe said GFiber Prepaid, its no-contract prepaid fiber product, reached one million subscribers as of end-March, a milestone the company framed as evidence of growing household demand for affordable home internet.

Beyond payments, GCash extends credit through products such as GCredit, GLoan, and GGives, with Mynt saying the majority of its borrowers come from lower socio-economic classes — a reach that has made the fintech a fixture in everyday Filipino financial life and a growing share of Globe’s earnings story.

President and CEO Carl Raymond R. Cruz cited “the ongoing Middle East crisis” as a challenge to the macroeconomic environment, saying Globe’s priority moving forward is execution — expanding its 5G network, deepening its fiber footprint, and scaling its digital platforms.