Singapore's equity market has delivered a notable performance this year.
The SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3), which mirrors the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), has generated a 16.3% return year-to-date.
Most investors would be satisfied with such a result.
However, eight blue-chip stocks have surpassed that benchmark.
Their total returns have ranged from over 40% to just above 20%, each exceeding the market's performance.
Their paths to these gains, however, have differed.
For three of these companies, fundamental business performance was the primary driver.
For the others, market sentiment appears to have priced in expectations not immediately evident in the latest quarterly reports.
The Top Performers
Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68) led the group with a total return of 43.3%.
OCBC (SGX: O39) followed with a 36.2% return, and Singapore Technologies Engineering (SGX: S63) delivered 33.7%.
A second tier of outperformers included Wilmar International (SGX: F34) at 26.2%, DBS Group (SGX: D05) at 25.2%, Singapore Airlines (SGX: C6L) at 21.2%, United Overseas Bank (SGX: U11) at 20.6%, and SATS (SGX: S58) at 20.3%.
A rising market lifts many stocks, but this general trend alone cannot account for a 43.3% return or explain how a company with declining profits still managed to beat the market.
The explanations lie in the specifics of each business.
Companies Driven by Earnings Growth
As the operator of Singapore's sole securities exchange, Singapore Exchange benefits directly from increased trading activity.
For the first half of its fiscal year ending 30 June 2026, the group's net revenue rose 7.6% year-on-year to S$695.4 million.
Reported net profit was nearly flat at S$342.7 million, impacted by a S$15.0 million goodwill impairment and lower non-operating gains.
Excluding these items, adjusted net profit increased by 11.6% to S$357.1 million.
Management has committed to raising the quarterly dividend by 0.25 cents annually through FY2028.
The combination of revenue growth and a committed, rising dividend is a formula the market often rewards.
OCBC achieved record income in a challenging interest rate environment.
Total income reached S$3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 5% year-on-year, even as net interest income fell 5% and the net interest margin compressed by 28 basis points to 1.76%.
The bank offset this pressure through other income streams.
Non-interest income surged 23% to S$1.6 billion, net fee income rose 24%, and insurance income jumped 34%.
Net profit increased 5% to S$2.0 billion.
The market seems to have judged that OCBC can sustain growth amid falling rates by shifting its focus towards fee-based, wealth management, and insurance businesses.
Singapore Technologies Engineering operates in the defence, aerospace, and urban solutions sectors across more than 100 countries, with two of these markets currently performing strongly.
Group revenue grew 11% year-on-year to S$3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026, with contributions from all three business segments.
A key highlight for investors was the order book: new contract wins of S$4.8 billion boosted the closing order book to S$34.5 billion, of which S$8.0 billion is scheduled for delivery within the current year.
A note of caution is warranted, as first-quarter updates provide only a snapshot; the group does not disclose full profit or cash flow figures at this stage.
While management stated that net profit growth outpaced underlying revenue growth, the detailed financials supporting this claim will only be available with the half-year results.
How did stocks with declining profits perform?
SATS presents the clearest example within this category.
For its fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, the company's revenue increased by 9.0% year-over-year to a record S$6.3 billion, while net profit grew 17.0% to S$285.2 million.
Growth was led by Gateway Services, which saw revenue rise 10.8% and its cargo volumes exceed IATA benchmarks for ten consecutive quarters.
The total dividend was raised by 40% to S$0.07 per share.
In this instance, both earnings performance and share price movement have been aligned.
The case of DBS is more complex.
For the first quarter of 2026, total income increased marginally by 1% to a record S$5.95 billion, and net profit also rose 1% to S$2.93 billion, with return on equity at 17.0%.
Net interest income declined 5% due to narrowing margins, but non-interest income grew 10%, driven by record wealth management fees.
The board declared a first-quarter dividend of S$0.81 per share, consisting of an ordinary dividend of S$0.66 and a capital return of S$0.15, representing an 8% increase from the prior year.
The market's response seems to reward the bank's stability rather than its growth rate.
UOB illustrates a more pronounced tension.
Total income fell 6% year-over-year to S$3.4 billion, and net profit decreased 4% to S$1.4 billion.
The bank did not declare a first-quarter dividend, which is consistent with its semi-annual payment schedule; this should not be misinterpreted as a dividend reduction.
Instead, the market focused on the bank's reaffirmed full-year guidance and stable asset quality, with the non-performing loan ratio improving to 1.5%.
Singapore Airlines reported a 57.4% decline in net profit to S$1.2 billion for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2026.
This headline figure obscures the underlying operational strength.
Revenue reached a record S$20.5 billion, operating profit surged 39.0% to S$2.4 billion, and free cash flow was S$2.5 billion.
Nearly the entire profit decline is attributable to the absence of a S$1.1 billion one-time gain from Vistara recorded a year earlier, combined with losses from its share in Air India.
The dividend was reduced to S$0.37 per share from S$0.40.
Investors appear to have distinguished between the one-time distortion in the headline profit and the company's solid operational momentum, although elevated jet fuel costs remain a significant challenge for the 2026/2027 fiscal year.
Wilmar concludes this series as the most intricate case.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2026 rose 21.9% year-over-year to US$19.8 billion, driven by higher sales volumes and the consolidation of AWL, yet net profit fell 22.8% to US$265.6 million.
This decline was primarily due to unrealized mark-to-market hedging losses, which management anticipates will reverse in the coming quarters.
Net debt decreased to US$18.6 billion, and the net gearing ratio improved to 0.84 times.
The market likely interpreted the profit drop as temporary and largely non-cash in nature.
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