New York, February 17, 2026, 06:29 (EST) — Premarket
- Grab shares were down about 3% in premarket trading, tracking broader pressure on growth stocks ahead of the U.S. open.
- The move comes after the company flagged a softer-than-expected 2026 revenue outlook last week, despite posting its first full-year net profit.
- Traders are watching U.S. inflation data later this week for clues on rate-cut timing.
Grab Holdings Limited (GRAB.O) shares slipped about 3% to $4.13 in premarket trading on Tuesday, setting the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food-delivery firm up for a weak start as U.S. markets reopened after a long weekend.
The early dip keeps attention on how investors are pricing platform companies that are still tied to consumer demand, discounts and changing ad budgets. For Grab, last week’s softer revenue view for 2026 is still hanging over the stock, even after it posted a first full-year profit.
U.S. stock index futures were lower, led by declines in Nasdaq 100 futures, as investors stayed uneasy about fast-moving shifts in how artificial intelligence could upend parts of the economy. “We continue to see the AI disruption trade as a rotation theme, rather than a risk-off,” Mohit Kumar, economist at Jefferies, said. (Reuters)
Grab last week forecast 2026 revenue of $4.04 billion to $4.10 billion, below analysts’ average estimate of $4.13 billion, and said it was leaning on discounts and bundling to keep users spending. “We’re going to continue to make our rides affordable,” CFO Peter Oey told Reuters, adding the company planned to double down on groceries. (Reuters)
The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $906 million and said it delivered its first full-year net profit in 2025. It also authorized a new $500 million share repurchase program — buybacks that can be executed over time in the open market, often used to return cash to shareholders. (Grab)
Grab also said it signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Stash Financial, a U.S. digital investing platform, in a deal initially valued at $425 million, with part paid at closing and the rest over three years. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, the company said. “This is a milestone in Grab’s evolution as a trusted international provider of financial services,” CEO Anthony Tan said. (Grab)
What traders are watching now is simple: whether the buyback helps put a floor under the shares, and whether incentives — the discounts that can boost volume but squeeze margins — need to rise again if demand stays soft.
But there are clear downside paths. If consumers keep trading down, platform growth can slow while competition forces higher incentives, and the Stash deal could take longer than expected to clear regulators or prove harder to integrate than investors assume.
In competitive terms, Grab still faces deep-pocketed rivals in mobility and delivery, and any renewed price competition in key cities can show up quickly in incentives and take-rate pressure.
Beyond the company’s own execution, the next near-term test for risk appetite comes on Feb. 20, when the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to release the personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — a datapoint that can swing rate expectations and valuations for growth stocks. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
