06/05/2026
Ayala Corporation has been operating since 1834. It has survived two World Wars, multiple Philippine recessions, currency crises, and four decades of political upheaval. At 490 pesos per share, the market is giving you a 191-year-old compounding machine at a price that implies it has stopped growing. The data says otherwise.
The Fundamentals
Full-year 2025 core net income — which strips out all one-off items — rose 7 percent to a record 48.3 billion pesos. Including one-time gains from Mynt revaluation and asset sales, reported net income surged 46 percent to 61.4 billion pesos. Two numbers. Two different stories. The 48.3 billion is the one that matters for long-term investors. It is the recurring engine. It is what compounds.
The Segment Breakdown
BPI — Ayala’s single largest earnings contributor — posted net income of 66.6 billion pesos, up 7 percent, driven by a 15 percent expansion in total revenues to 195.3 billion and a loan book that grew to 2.6 trillion pesos. This is not a sleepy regional bank. BPI’s return on equity held at 14.9 percent — institutional-grade performance by any regional standard.
Ayala Land’s core net income climbed 8 percent to 30.6 billion pesos, with leasing and hospitality revenues up 7 percent to 48.7 billion on the back of higher mall occupancy, stronger office leasing, and improving hotel performance.
Globe’s gross service revenues hit an all-time high of 165.1 billion pesos, though core net income slipped 3 percent to 20.9 billion as higher depreciation and interest costs offset that revenue record. The telecom engine is not broken. It is absorbing the capital expenditure cycle that built its current infrastructure advantage.
The emerging businesses — AC Health, IMI — both swung to profitability in 2025 after years of drag. AC Health posted net income of 34 million pesos, reversing a 607 million peso loss the year prior. IMI returned to profitability at 13.5 million dollars after a 49.8 million dollar loss previously. Two former loss-makers now contributing instead of subtracting. The portfolio is inflecting.
The Balance Sheet
Parent net debt fell 18 percent to 136.3 billion pesos, bringing the parent net debt-to-equity ratio down sharply to 0.76x from 1.06x a year earlier. This is the most important number in this entire analysis. A conglomerate actively deleveraging while simultaneously growing core earnings is the textbook setup for multiple expansion. Ray Dalio calls this the beautiful deleveraging. Ayala is executing it in real time.
Since 2019, Ayala has repurchased approximately 15.4 million shares worth nearly 9.8 billion pesos. Management buying back its own stock at scale is the most credible signal of undervaluation that exists. It costs real money. It cannot be faked.
The Valuation Case
At 490 pesos per share, AC trades at roughly 5x core earnings — for a conglomerate that owns the Philippines’ largest bank by market cap, its most profitable property developer, a top-two telco, a 20-gigawatt renewable energy platform targeting 2030, and an indirect stake in GCash — the most downloaded financial app in the country with over 100 million registered users.
Book value per share stands at 630.82 pesos. The stock is trading at a 22 percent discount to book. You are buying one peso of Ayala’s net assets for 78 centavos.
The Dividend Picture
Ayala pays 9.21 pesos per share annually in dividends, yielding approximately 1.88 percent at current prices, paid semi-annually. The yield is not the story here. The story is that a company trading at a discount to book, buying back its own shares, deleveraging aggressively, and printing record core earnings is still paying you while you wait.
The Honest Risk
ACEN’s reported earnings remain volatile — reported net income fell 60 percent in 2025 due to impairment charges on Vietnamese wind projects, weaker solar irradiance, and lower spot prices. Globe’s margin compression is structural, not temporary, as the telco absorbs a multi-year capex cycle. And the conglomerate discount — the market’s perpetual habit of underpricing holding companies relative to their sum-of-parts — has persisted for over a decade on the PSE.
The Conclusion
Peter Lynch said the best stock to buy is the one you already understand. Every Filipino over 30 has lived inside the Ayala ecosystem — BPI accounts, Ayala malls, Globe SIMs, ACEN power, GCash wallets. The business is not abstract. It is embedded in daily Philippine life at every income level.
Warren Buffett pays fair prices for wonderful businesses. At 490 pesos, trading at a discount to book with record core earnings, an actively deleveraging balance sheet, and a buyback program running since 2019, Ayala is not asking you to pay a fair price. It is asking you to pay less than one.
191 years of survival is not luck. It is the compounding of institutional discipline across generations. The question is not whether Ayala will still be here in 20 years. It is whether you will be a part of it.
Not financial advice. Always do your own due diligence.
