SINGAPORE, March 25, 2026, 19:41 SGT
Shares of Grab Holdings jumped 4.1% to finish at $3.79 on Tuesday, after the Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery firm announced plans to repurchase up to $400 million of its stock over the next four months. The buyback includes a $250 million accelerated share repurchase — a method that quickly reduces the outstanding float — and a separate agreement with Morgan Stanley to buy back up to another $150 million.
This matters for Grab right now, as the company works to shore up sentiment after its February 2026 guidance on revenue and adjusted EBITDA fell short of Wall Street’s mark and sent shares sliding—even though it notched its first full-year net profit. Management later told Reuters they’re sticking to targets: annual revenue growth topping 20% for the next three years, plus $1.5 billion of EBITDA by 2028.
Grab’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey described the “current share price dislocation” as a chance to boost shareholder value. The company plans to use existing cash for the buybacks; it reported $7.4 billion in gross cash liquidity and $5.4 billion in net cash liquidity by the end of 2025. JPMorgan is lined up to deliver roughly 54.9 million shares upfront in the program’s initial phase. Securities and Exchange Commission
Grab picked up a boost after unveiling a $600 million cash deal this Monday to acquire Delivery Hero’s foodpanda Taiwan unit. With this move, Grab steps into its ninth market and—crucially—its first beyond Southeast Asia. The company expects the purchase to contribute a minimum of $60 million to adjusted EBITDA, that is, its stripped-down profit figure, by 2028.
Chief Executive Anthony Tan called it “a natural next step for Grab,” saying the company’s Southeast Asian experience lines up well with this market. Grab reported that foodpanda Taiwan pulled in around $1.8 billion in gross merchandise value—total orders processed—during 2025, and said the unit was profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis before factoring in Delivery Hero group costs. Securities and Exchange Commission
Analysts wasted little time responding. Maybank’s Hussaini Saifee described Taiwan as a “structurally attractive” entry, noting the local market boils down to a face-off between foodpanda and Uber Eats. He bumped up his target price on Grab, taking it to $6.48 from $6.44. DBS’s Sachin Mittal held his Buy rating, saying the acquisition would have an “almost negligible” impact on 2026 earnings. The Business Times
Buybacks at home, fresh bets overseas — that’s Grab signaling it can hand cash back to shareholders and keep expanding, even after years of pressure to show a profit. The company’s moved past just rides and food delivery, now leaning into groceries, financial services, and a stack of other tools aimed at locking in users across Southeast Asia.
Plenty could still trip this up. Regulatory sign-off for the Taiwan deal remains outstanding. Maybank is projecting that costs tied to integration, migration, and tech unification will drag on earnings up to 2027.
Governance could remain a key issue. Grab said shareholders signed off on March 24 to boost each Class B share’s voting power to 90 votes, up from 45, further consolidating the founders’ grip just as the company ramps up both buybacks and dealmaking.
Grab shares, despite gaining ground on Tuesday, are still trading far under their 52-week peak of $6.62, market data shows.
