Investing.com -- Grab Holdings (NASDAQ:GRAB) issued a full-year revenue forecast on Wednesday that fell short of analysts' expectations, as it faces strong competition in both its food delivery and ride-hailing segments. The outlook sent its US-listed shares tumbling more than 8% in premarket trading Thursday.
The company expects fiscal 2025 revenue to range between $3.33 billion and $3.40 billion, with the midpoint coming in below the analysts' consensus estimate of $3.40 billion, according to LSEG data.
For the fourth quarter, Grab reported total revenue of $764 million, slightly above the projected $757.6 million.
Deliveries revenue for the quarter reached $407 million, just below the average estimate of $408 million, while mobility revenue also fell short of analyst expectations.
While it is yet to report a full-year net profit, Grab recorded positive full-year adjusted EBITDA–a key profitability metric–for the first time.
Evercore ISI analysts led by Mark Mahaney reiterated the Outperform rating on Grab stock after the report and maintained their estimates and the $8 price target.
They view the post-earnings sell-off "as an expectations correction and not a fundamentals correction. And we would be buyers of this correction."
Grab has been ramping up its AI efforts as it explores self-driving cars while continuing its push toward sustained profitability.
In a Thursday interview with the Wall Street Journal, Grab CFO Peter Oey said that AI-driven operational efficiencies have allowed the company to redeploy certain roles while keeping overall headcount stable. However, Grab is prioritizing hires in AI and data-related fields.
“We’ve been very selective, though in terms of who we bring in,” Oey said, emphasizing that “data scientists are critical pillars of our business today.”
When asked about using Chinese AI firm DeepSeek’s technology, Oey said Grab is “very agnostic” about large language model providers. “We’re very focused on ensuring that our team has the right tools at the end of the day…and what’s the most cost-efficient,” he said, adding that the company is “dealing with multiple partners.”
AI investments are included in Grab’s regional corporate costs, which declined 13% for the quarter, while variable and staff expenses fell 15%.
Oey remains cautious with guidance, noting that “in the early part of the year, because there’s just a lot of uncertainty, we don’t know what’s ahead of us.”
He added that share buybacks remain a priority and that dividend payments are not on the table yet. Grab has repurchased $226 million in shares from its $500 million buyback program.
This content was originally published on Investing.com
