Which publicly traded company is the largest in the Philippines in terms of market capitalization?
If you answered PLDT (TEL) — don’t be surprised, but you’re wrong.
PLDT is not the largest company in the country right now, well, at least not as of the end of June 2014. Before we reveal the answer to you, let’s first discuss: what is market capitalization?
Market capitalization explained
Market capitalization or market cap is simply the market value of a company’s total outstanding shares. Companies with large market caps are said to be “most valuable” in the exchange since they are the ones with the highest market values.
To determine the market cap, take the current stock price of a company and multiply it with the total number of shares outstanding and you get the total “market value” of the firm.
The actual market cap formula is:
- Current price of a stock x Number of outstanding shares of the company
For example, if Company A’s stock is currently trading at P5.00 per share and the company’s total shares outstanding is 1 million, then the company’s market capitalization or market value is P5 million.
Most newbie investors think that share price alone determines the “value” of a company. This is not entirely accurate.
Let’s say another company, Company B, has a stock trading at a relatively higher price, for example, P30.00 per share. If Company B has issued 100,000 shares only, its market value or market capitalization is only P3 million.
Company B’s stock price may be higher than Company A’s but Company A actually has a bigger market value compared to Company B.
Most Expensive PSE stocks
In our previous article on Most Expensive Stocks in the PSE, we reiterated that price per se does not and cannot say if a firm is a blue chip company or if it is well-managed. High price is also not tantamount to the “value” of the company. Several factors could have contributed to a high or low stock price — including stock splits, stock dividends, low or high initial IPO price, etc.
Which brings us to our point. Even if PLDT is the most expensive stock to buy in the PSE, one other company actually has a bigger market cap than PLDT — even if its share price is merely one-third of PLDT’s stock price.
So which company is larger than PLDT in terms of market value?
It is, in fact, SM Investments Corp. (SM), currently with P649.758 billion market value. Although SM currently trades at just a third of TEL’s price, there are almost four times total outstanding shares of SM versus PLDT. Which is why SM’s market cap is higher than PLDT’s market capitalization of P645.575 billion as of the end of June 2014.
Here is a list of the country’s biggest companies, ranked by market value using their stock closing prices as of June 30, 2014.
Top 30 Largest Companies in the Philippines, by Full Market Capitalization
| Rank | Company | Stock Code | Closing Price (June 30, 2014) | Outstanding Shares | Market Capitalization (in billion PHP) | % Weight in the PSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SM INVESTMENTS CORPORATION | SM | 816.00 | 796,272,268 | 649.758 billion | 5.92% |
| 2 | PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE COMPANY "COMMON" | TEL | 2988.00 | 216,055,775 | 645.575 billion | 5.88% |
| 3 | SM PRIME HOLDINGS, INC. | SMPH | 15.86 | 27,819,137,294 | 441.212 billion | 4.02% |
| 4 | AYALA LAND, INC. | ALI | 30.50 | 14,185,891,152 | 432.670 billion | 3.94% |
| 5 | AYALA CORPORATION | AC | 647.50 | 600,351,221 | 388.727 billion | 3.54% |
| 6 | JG SUMMIT HOLDINGS, INC. | JGS | 51.25 | 7,017,191,657 | 359.631 billion | 3.28% |
| 7 | BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS | BPI | 91.00 | 3,929,090,393 | 357.547 billion | 3.26% |
| 8 | UNIVERSAL ROBINA CORPORATION | URC | 154.30 | 2,181,501,933 | 336.606 billion | 3.07% |
| 9 | BDO UNIBANK, INC. | BDO | 93.50 | 3,580,875,328 | 334.812 billion | 3.05% |
| 10 | ABOITIZ EQUITY VENTURES, INC. | AEV | 56.00 | 5,521,871,821 | 309.225 billion | 2.82% |
| 11 | ALLIANCE GLOBAL GROUP, INC. | AGI | 29.10 | 10,269,827,979 | 298.852 billion | 2.72% |
| 12 | MANILA ELECTRIC COMPANY | MER | 255.80 | 1,127,098,705 | 288.312 billion | 2.63% |
| 13 | ABOITIZ POWER CORP. | AP | 36.65 | 7,358,604,307 | 269.693 billion | 2.46% |
| 14 | METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST COMPANY | MBT | 87.40 | 2,744,801,066 | 239.896 billion | 2.19% |
| 15 | INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL SERVICES, INC. | ICT | 111.00 | 2,036,062,860 | 226.003 billion | 2.06% |
| 16 | GLOBE TELECOM, INC. | GLO | 1600.00 | 132,680,427 | 212.289 billion | 1.93% |
| 17 | SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION | SMC | 83.00 | 2,378,034,220 | 197.377 billion | 1.80% |
| 18 | DMCI HOLDINGS, INC. | DMC | 74.00 | 2,655,494,000 | 196.507 billion | 1.79% |
| 19 | JOLLIBEE FOODS CORPORATION | JFC | 176.00 | 1,055,036,007 | 185.686 billion | 1.69% |
| 20 | EMPERADOR INC. | EMP | 11.82 | 15,000,000,000 | 177.300 billion | 1.62% |
| 21 | LT GROUP, INC. | LTG | 14.76 | 10,821,388,889 | 159.724 billion | 1.46% |
| 22 | GT CAPITAL HOLDINGS, INC. | GTCAP | 870.00 | 174,300,000 | 151.641 billion | 1.38% |
| 23 | MEGAWORLD CORPORATION | MEG | 4.50 | 32,029,154,905 | 144.131 billion | 1.31% |
| 24 | TRAVELLERS INTERNATIONAL HOTEL GROUP, INC. | RWM | 8.91 | 15,755,874,850 | 140.385 billion | 1.28% |
| 25 | PAL HOLDINGS, INC. | PAL | 5.40 | 24,836,512,096 | 134.117 billion | 1.22% |
| 26 | SEMIRARA MINING CORPORATION | SCC | 366.40 | 356,250,000 | 130.530 billion | 1.19% |
| 27 | METRO PACIFIC INVESTMENTS CORPORATION | MPI | 5.01 | 26,040,960,752 | 130.465 billion | 1.19% |
| 28 | PUREGOLD PRICE CLUB, INC. | PGOLD | 43.40 | 2,766,406,406 | 120.062 billion | 1.09% |
| 29 | PETRON CORPORATION | PCOR | 12.74 | 9,375,104,497 | 119.439 billion | 1.09% |
| 30 | ENERGY DEVELOPMENT (EDC) CORPORATION | EDC | 6.30 | 18,750,000,000 | 118.125 billion | 1.08% |
View here the latest and updated Market Capitalization of Philippine companies:
