Grab's AI-Driven Growth: CFO Reports 3x Faster Shipping as Company Raises 2026 Financial Performance Outlook

AI is helping Grab ship products 3 times faster, CFO says, as company raises forecasts

Grab, Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing and delivery firm, raised its full-year outlook on Tuesday as it reported record second-quarter results, with resilient consumer demand across the region holding up despite macroeconomic headwinds. Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company rose 4.86% in extended trading. "AI is now embedded in the Grab way of life, whether it's in our products or the way we work," Grab CFO Peter Oey told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia", adding that the technology has helped the company ship products three times faster translating into better margins and a more efficient cost structure. The company saw a 28% year-on-year jump in the number of rides in the second quarter, Oey said. "It's one of the highest that we've seen." The company's revenue grew 22% year on year to $997 million and its operating profit came at $19 million for the quarter ended in June, up 186%. Grab lifted its full-year revenue outlook to $4.10 billion-$4.15 billion from $4.04 billion to $4.10 billion forecast earlier, and raised it's EBITDA estimates to $720 million-$740 million, from $700 million-$720 million. "We're seeing demand continue to be very strong in the business in the month of July itself, and our financial services continue to scale and are at an inflection point today," Oey said, expressing confidence in the business outlook. On Grab's agreement to buy Delivery Hero's foodpanda business in Taiwan, Oey said the company was working closely with regulators and has not yet closed the transaction, and hopes to complete it in the second half of this year. "A lot of the products that the Southeast Asian community has been seeing and using day in and day out, we want to bring to the Taiwan market as well," he said.

Grab Says AI Helps Company Move Items 30% Faster | PYMNTS.com

"AI is now embedded in the Grab way of life, whether it's in our products or the way we work," Peter Oey, chief financial officer of the ride-hailing and delivery platform, told CNBC in an interview published Tuesday (Aug. 4). He said AI has helped Grab ship goods more than 30% faster, which means better margins and a more efficient cost structure, the report said. Oey added that Grab recorded a 28% increase year over year in the number of rides in the second quarter, "one of the highest that we've seen." According to the report, revenues were up 22% year on year to $997 million with Grab's operating profit at $19 million, a 186% increase. "We're seeing demand continue to be very strong in the business in the month of July itself, and our financial services continue to scale and are at an inflection point today," Oey said. During Grab's earnings call in May, management discussed the rewards the company had reaped from other AI tools. For example, Grab's "Turbo" mode, an AI-powered tool for drivers, reportedly boosted hourly earnings by 23% by optimizing routes and timing. In Grab's retail business, a digital assistant named "Mai" has been adopted by half of Grab's single-store merchants, helping lead to a 15% increase in sales for those users. Meanwhile, the CNBC report said Oey also discussed Grab's agreement to purchase Delivery Hero's foodpanda business in Taiwan, saying the company was working with regulators but had not yet closed the deal, something it hopes will happen in the latter half of 2026. "A lot of the products that the Southeast Asian community has been seeing and using day in and day out, we want to bring to the Taiwan market as well," he said. In other news from the intersection of AI and delivery, PYMNTS wrote about the technology's use in helping eCommerce retailers figure out box sizes. "Getting the box-fit estimate right before checkout is a conversion question as much as a fulfillment efficiency one," that report said. "As more of eCommerce fulfillment becomes automated end to end, the accuracy of the shipping estimate shown at checkout is becoming a competitive variable in its own right, alongside price and delivery speed."

Grab CFO says the company is using AI to widen its margins

Grab Holdings (GRAB) is using artificial intelligence to directly boost its operating margins. On Aug. 4, 2026, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey walked through how deeply AI now runs inside the company's cost structure. He did it a day after Grab posted record second-quarter results and raised its full-year targets. The market responded quickly. Grab stock traded higher after the report, closing around $3.76 and climbing about 9% over five trading days. For a company that spent years burning cash to win Southeast Asia, the pitch was simple: Grab can now grow without spending as heavily to do it. Here's what Oey said, why the profit number is misleading on its own, and what comes next for the AI bet. What Grab's CFO revealed about AI and margins Oey used specific numbers, which is what caught attention. He told CNBC that AI has helped Grab ship products more than 30% faster than a year ago, and that the gains flow straight into better margins and a leaner cost base. In a separate interview, Oey told Reuters the company is now shipping products three times faster than last year and has cut outnearly 40,000 hours of sales inefficiencies. Grab has also used AI in customer service and in credit scoring, where machine-learning models help it judge the creditworthiness of drivers and merchants who often lack formal banking records. Observability tools let engineers watch whether apps and systems are running correctly. That's the same category of software Grab uses to monitor its AI tools at scale. Why the numbers moved the stock The second quarter gave the AI claims some backing. Grab reported reported second-quarter revenue of $997 million, up 22% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of core operating profit before certain costs, rose 54% to $168 million. The margin on that figure expanded to 16.9% of revenue from 13.3% a year earlier. That margin jump is the part tied to the efficiency story. Grab grew its business while spending proportionally less to run it. The company also hit a record 54 million monthly transacting users, and mobility transactions grew 28% year-over-year even as it kept fares affordable. John Wreford / Getty Images The 1 caveat behind Grab's big profit figure Profit for the period reached$235 million, up from just $20 million a year earlier. Most of that increase came from a one-time $307 million gain Grab booked when it consolidated Indonesian digital bank Superbank in June 2026. Operating profit, which strips out that accounting gain, was a more modest $19 million, an improvement of $12 million from the prior year. Grab itself warned that second-half profit will keep swinging with fair-value measurements and other non-operating items. In plain terms, the $235 million figure is not a clean read on how the business runs day to day. The operating profit line is the cleaner signal, and it moved in the right direction. How Grab raised its 2026 outlook The efficiency gains gave management room to lift its targets. Grab now expects full-year revenue of $4.10 billion to $4.15 billion, up from a prior range of $4.04 billion to $4.10 billion. It raised its adjusted EBITDA target to $720 million to $740 million, from $700 million to $720 million. Oey said the upgrade reflects the strength of the core business plus the consolidation of Superbank and the July acquisition of U.S. wealth platform Stash. President and COO Alex Hungate noted the outlook also absorbs a 2% to 3% foreign-exchange headwind, Yahoo Finance reported. What the new buyback tells investors Grab paired the raised guidance with a fresh return of cash. The board authorized a new $750 million share repurchase program. That brings Grab's cumulative buyback authorization to $1.75 billion since 2024. Grab had already executed roughly $400 million of an earlier $500 million program, Oey said on the call. A buyback of this size signals management no longer feels it needs to hoard cash for survival. Grab held $7.4 billion in gross cash liquidity at quarter-end, so the return comes from a position of strength. Buybacks reduce share count, which can lift earnings per share over time. They are not a guarantee of a higher stock price, and they work against investors if the shares are already expensive. The next catalyst investors are watching One pending deal could shape Grab's next leg of growth. Grab is trying to acquire foodpanda's Taiwan operations from Delivery Hero for about $600 million, its first market outside Southeast Asia. The deal sits with Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission, which according to Taipei Times, extended its review deadline to Oct. 27, 2026. The FTC cited concerns about Uber's roughly 13% stake in Grab. If approved, Grab expects to close the deal in the second half of 2026 and finish moving foodpanda users onto its app by early 2027. If regulators block it, Grab loses its clearest near-term expansion outside its home region. What still has to go right for Grab The AI story is credible, and it is not finished. A few things need to hold for the bullish case to keep working: * Margins keep expanding. The 16.9% adjusted EBITDA margin has to trend higher, not stall, as AI savings compound. * Financial Services turns profitable. Management guided this segment to reach adjusted EBITDA profitability in the second half of 2026. * The foodpanda deal clears. A Taiwan approval opens a new market; a rejection removes a growth lever. * Lending stays healthy. Grab's loan book disbursed $1.2 billion in the quarter, up 72%, so credit quality matters more now. For investors, Grab has shown it can grow revenue faster than costs, and it is returning cash to shareholders. The risks are real. The stock trades on a thin operating profit, the headline earnings figure is inflated by a one-time gain, and a key acquisition still needs a regulator's approval. Grab has moved from a company that spent to survive to one that is proving its model can scale profitably. The second quarter backed that up with numbers, and the months ahead will test whether the trend holds. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. This story was originally published August 5, 2026 at 2:17 PM.

Singapore's Grab lifts annual forecasts as AI, incentives drive growth

Aug 4 (Reuters) - Singapore's Grab raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Tuesday, encouraged by strong demand for its ride-hailing and delivery services driven by promotional offers, driver incentives and its AI initiatives. The upbeat projections and a new $750 million share buyback program pushed shares of the Nasdaq-listed company up 4% in extended trading. Grab, the biggest ride-hailing and delivery firm in Southeast Asia, has banked on features including order bundling and a budget-friendly tier called "Saver" to target cost-conscious customers grappling with higher fuel prices following the Iran war. Grab CFO Peter Oey said the company's affordability strategy, combined with AI investments, has helped boost driver earnings and attract new customers. "It was intentionally designed so prices would continue to be very, very low for customers, and drivers would be on the road despite high fuel prices... We know our ASEAN customers are watching their wallet and that's why we've leaned in so hard on affordability," Oey told Reuters. The company invested $706 million in customer and partner incentives in the second quarter, including more than $7 million to support driver earnings during the fuel crisis, helping increase the number of active drivers and customer rides on the platform. The incentives boosted driver earnings in the quarter, while Grab's "Saver" option, subscription plan and loyalty program helped add new customers and improve better user engagement, Oey said. Grab's AI efforts have also helped lift the company's margins. "The cost structure is getting better and better. Part of that is some of the return on our AI investment. We're shipping products three times faster than last year, we've cut out nearly 40,000 hours of sales inefficiencies. All that translates to better margin." Gross merchandise value (GMV), or the total dollar value of transactions, across Grab's mobility and deliveries businesses climbed 21% to $6.5 billion in the quarter. Grab now expects revenue between $4.10 billion and $4.15 billion for 2026, compared with its prior projection of $4.04 billion to $4.10 billion, and marginally above market estimates. Second-quarter revenue rose 22% to $997 million, beating analysts' estimate of $990.8 million, according to LSEG-compiled data. (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara, Sriraj Kalluvila and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)