The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended 2025 with little to show for the year, closing near where it began as investors navigated sticky inflation, cautious consumers, and uneven earnings growth. The benchmark failed to sustain rallies that briefly lifted it earlier in the year, leaving performance broadly flat to lower compared with end-2024 and reinforcing a market defined by selectivity rather than breadth.
That stagnation masked sharp divergences beneath the surface. While infrastructure, utilities, and a handful of conglomerates delivered outsized gains, several high-profile growth and consumer names suffered steep declines.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) emerged as the index’s top performer, while DigiPlus Interactive sank to the bottom, illustrating how company-specific catalysts—not the broader market—determined winners and losers in 2025.
TOP 5 WINNERS
1) International Container Terminal Services Inc.
Ports operator ICTSI led the PSEi leaderboard, climbing roughly 48% to record all-time highs near ₱615. Strong throughput growth, disciplined cost management, and improved global trade activity underpinned results, with nine-month revenues and margins expanding in 2025 on higher tariffs and throughput. Investors rewarded ICTSI’s evident operating leverage and diversification across 30+ international terminals, including key Southeast Asian trade gateways.
2) LT Group Inc.
Lucio Tan-led LT Group jumped about 41%, marking its best year in several cycles. Shares reached six-year highs as stronger banking earnings from Philippine National Bank and a recovery in distilled spirits drove earnings expansion. Despite strong gains, LTG still trades below global peer multiples, suggesting persistent structural undervaluation that continued to draw value investors in 2025.
3) Puregold Price Club Inc.
Puregold received a lift as consumer staples continued to outperform in defensive market environments, climbing about 23% and achieving multi-year price levels. Strong domestic consumption and inventory turns helped underpin resilience despite broader market caution.
4) Manila Electric Co.
Meralco delivered an 18% gain, buoyed by utility sector stability and steady earnings growth. Profit taking after previous rallies crimped short-term momentum, but continued network investment and rate base expansion helped maintain investor interest.
5) JG Summit Holdings Inc.
JG Summit rounded out the winners with a circa 15% advance, recovering from extended lows after the conglomerate finally addressed losses in its petrochemical portfolio, reducing investor drag and stabilizing earnings prospects.
TOP 5 LOSERS
1) DigiPlus Interactive Corporation
Emerging gaming powerhouse DigiPlus Interactive was the year’s worst large-cap performer, falling around 41% after a highly volatile run that saw the stock surge to ₱65 earlier in the year before collapsing. The stock’s sharp fall coincided with its PSEi debut in August 2025—when it replaced Bloomberry—which briefly boosted sentiment before regulatory and legal issues surfaced. Late-year declines were triggered by an ongoing legal dispute and regulatory pressures in the online gambling segment, exacerbating investor caution about growth sustainability.
2) Jollibee Foods Corporation
Despite posting solid same-store sales growth and international expansion, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) slumped about a third of its value in 2025. Growth in system-wide sales and EBITDA was offset by languid domestic consumption and mixed earnings beats, leaving investors wary of stretched valuations amid slowing macro sentiment. Operational improvements in markets like Vietnam and North America helped show resilience, but the stock remained range-bound as muted consumer demand weighed on multiples.
3) ACEN Corporation
ACEN, a key renewable energy player, was among the steepest decliners with roughly –32%, as the sector contended with soft electricity demand and financing cost pressures. Earnings volatility from intermittent generation assets and extended permitting timelines weighed on confidence, leaving the stock under pressure throughout 2025.
4) Monde Nissin Corporation
Monde Nissin, a major branded foods maker, slid about –31% amid pressure on staples valuations and profit taking in consumer names. Although core brands and dividend support provided some cushion, negative current earnings metrics and tepid sector sentiment limited a recovery.
5) Globe Telecom Inc.
Telecommunications stalwart Globe dropped nearly –28%, reversing gains from the prior year. The reversal underscores leadership rotation in the PSEi: after posting stellar returns in 2024, Globe lagged in 2025 as investors rotated into infrastructure and financials, and as competitive pressures tempered earnings growth.
WINNERS AND LOSERS SET THE 2026 BACKDROP
The divergence in 2025 showed how narrow market leadership had become. Stocks with steady cash flows, regulated returns, and offshore earnings drew buyers, while names exposed to leverage, margin pressure, or regulatory risk were sold down. With rates elevated and domestic demand uneven, investors favored earnings certainty over growth narratives.
That bias is likely to persist into 2026. Even if policy easing lifts sentiment, analysts expect stock picking to matter more than index direction. Companies with clear earnings paths and disciplined capital spending are better placed to attract flows, while risk-heavy names may continue to lag.
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