Grab Holdings raises full-year revenue and profit forecasts, as AI and affordability strategies pay off, with shares rising as much as 4.9% in after-hours trading.

Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:GRAB) on August 4th raised its full-year revenue and profit forecasts, stating that this was due to investments in AI and the proactive implementation of affordability strategies, achieving growth even amidst rising fuel prices in Southeast Asia. Following this news, Grab's after-hours stock price surged by as much as 4.9%. The company increased its full-year revenue guidance to $4.10 billion to $4.15 billion and its EBITDA guidance to $720 million to $740 million, and announced a $750 million share repurchase program. Grab CFO Peter Oey noted that AI has helped the company improve product delivery speed by over 30% and cut nearly 40,000 hours of sales inefficiency, with these cost savings already reflected in profit margins. Grab's second-quarter revenue increased by 22% year-over-year to $997 million, exceeding analysts' expectations of $990.8 million; net profit surged from $35 million in the same period last year to $252 million; gross merchandise value grew by 21% to $6.5 billion, and ride-hailing volume increased by 28% year-over-year.