One stock costs Tk 245. The other costs Tk 29. One yields nearly 9% in dividends. The other has doubled its earnings in a single year. Both sell mobile minutes to the same 13 crore Bangladeshis. And right now, each one is making the other’s investors uncomfortable for entirely different reasons.
Grameenphone and Robi Axiata are the only two listed telecom operators on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Comparing them is not optional — it is the only way to know whether the price you are paying for one reflects value, momentum, or habit. The data as of April 23, 2026, tells a story more nuanced than most DSE investors expect. It also reveals a framework you can apply to any two stocks in the same sector.
The Revenue and Margin Gap
Start where every comparison should start: the business itself.
GP generated Tk 15,729 crore in trailing twelve-month revenue. Robi generated Tk 9,963 crore. That 58% revenue premium for GP is significant, but it is not the real story. The real story is what each company keeps.
GP’s gross margin stands at 75.5%. Robi’s is 41.6%. For every Tk 100 in revenue, GP retains Tk 75 before operating expenses while Robi retains Tk 42. That is a 34-percentage-point structural advantage built on GP’s larger subscriber base of 8.43 crore versus Robi’s estimated 5 crore, its superior network economics, and decades of scale.
But margins tell you where a company has been. Trajectory tells you where it is going. GP’s net income fell 18.5% in FY2025 to Tk 2,958 crore as revenue flatlined. Robi’s net income surged 119% in FY2024 to Tk 703 crore, then climbed again to a record Tk 937 crore in FY2025 — its fifth consecutive year of profit growth.
GP earns more. Robi is earning faster. That distinction matters enormously for what you pay.
The Valuation Paradox
GP trades at a trailing P/E ratio of 11.09. Robi trades at 16.09. On the surface, GP is the cheaper stock. A DSE investor screening for low P/E would pick GP every time and never look at Robi.
That surface reading misses everything.
GP’s EPS trajectory is flat to declining — Tk 24.49 in FY2023, Tk 26.89 in FY2024, then Tk 21.90 in FY2025. The Q1 2026 result of Tk 662 crore in profit offered some stabilisation, but the direction over three years is clear. Robi’s EPS trajectory is a different shape entirely: Tk 0.35 in FY2022, Tk 0.61 in FY2023, Tk 1.34 in FY2024, and Tk 1.77 trailing. That is a fivefold increase in three years.
A low P/E on shrinking earnings is not value. It is the market pricing in further decline. A high P/E on rapidly growing earnings is not expensive. It is the market pricing in continuation. Whether either market assumption proves correct is unknowable. But the framework for reading these numbers is not.
The 52-week returns make the divergence visceral: GP has lost 23.3% of its value. Robi has gained 13.4%. Same sector, same economy, opposite outcomes.
The Dividend Equation
This is where GP’s case strengthens considerably — and where the comparison reveals something about investor profiles rather than company quality.
GP pays Tk 21.50 per share annually, producing a dividend yield of 8.88%. That yield exceeds most DSE banking stocks and rivals fixed deposits. For an income-focused investor who needs quarterly cash flows and can tolerate capital depreciation, GP’s dividend is a serious proposition.
The concern is sustainability. GP’s payout ratio sits at 126.5% — it is paying more in dividends than it earns. In 2024, the total Tk 33-per-share payout (330% cash dividend) exceeded annual profit. A company can do this temporarily using accumulated reserves and free cash flow — GP generates Tk 35.21 per share in FCF — but it cannot do it indefinitely if earnings continue to compress.
Robi’s dividend is modest at Tk 1.75 per share and 5.21% yield, but it is growing. From Tk 0.20 in 2022 to Tk 0.70, then Tk 1.00, Tk 1.50, and now Tk 1.75 — an eightfold increase in four years. The payout ratio of 83.7% is within sustainable range. If earnings continue their trajectory, the dividend follows.
GP is the income stock. Robi is the growth stock. That is not a judgment — it is a description of two different capital allocation strategies serving two different investor needs.
What the Comparison Actually Teaches
The point of a sector comparison is not to declare a winner. It is to force yourself to ask the right questions before committing capital. Revenue tells you scale. Margins tell you efficiency. EPS trajectory tells you momentum. P/E tells you what the market already believes. Dividend policy tells you how management allocates cash. And 52-week returns tell you whether the market’s belief has been rewarded.
GP and Robi provide identical services to the same customer base in the same regulatory environment. Every difference in their stock performance traces back to differences in these six metrics — not rumours, not tips, not what your broker’s cousin thinks.
The next time someone asks whether GP or Robi is the better stock, the honest answer is another question: better for what? An 8.88% yield with capital risk, or a 5.21% yield with earnings momentum? The data does not choose for you. It just makes sure you are choosing with open eyes.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.