(Feb 12): Grab Holdings Ltd predicted full-year revenue that trailed estimates, a sign of strain in a Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food-delivery market pressured by weaker consumer sentiment.
Sales will be US$4.04 billion ($5.10 billion) to US$4.10 billion this year, the Singapore-based company said in a statement. Analysts predicted roughly US$4.13 billion on average. While fourth-quarter revenue missed projections, Grab posted its first annual net profit in 2025, defying analysts’ forecasts. The stock fell more than 7% in late US trading after the report was released. Already, it had declined roughly 35% from a peak last September.
After years of spending to gain market share in Southeast Asia, Grab still faces tough competition from rivals such as GoTo Group. The company is attracting users with products such as shared rides and deliveries in a sluggish economy, while curtailing a once-frenetic pace of expansion. Grab also issued new forecasts until 2028, projecting group revenue to grow at a 20% compounded annual rate.
“We believe, like previous practice, the first set of full year guidance given at the beginning of the year could prove to be conservative,” Citigroup analyst Alicia Yap said in a note on Thursday.
As part of the quarterly report, Grab announced plans to buy back as much as US$500 million of stock. The move — its second such programme — seeks to reward investors and take advantage of the cheaper share price.
Grab, backed by Uber Technologies Inc, has seen growth slow dramatically from triple-digit rates in years past as it takes steps to focus on profitability. An increased customer base has left Grab with less room for user gains, prompting it to introduce novel offerings to entice consumers who are less willing to hail a ride or get food delivered to their door in a challenging economy.
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In a bid to alleviate the cut-throat competition, Grab has been exploring a combination with Jakarta-based GoTo. The years-long effort has been delayed by regulatory scrutiny as well as differences over perceived valuation. In the latest hurdle for a deal, negotiations have snagged over wireless carrier Telkomsel’s roughly 2% stake in GoTo.
Grab’s shares remain far below their initial price in its 2021 listing. The company has also taken steps to expand beyond ride hailing and delivery, betting on new initiatives in areas such as digital finance.
“Financial services revenue is going to be the fastest-growing pillar of our business,” chief financial officer Peter Oey said in an interview. “We are aiming to more than double our lending portfolio by the end of the year to over US$2 billion and add new products across areas such as investing, lending and insurance.”
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