Grab lifted its full-year earnings outlook after third-quarter revenue climbed 27 per cent to US$1.11 billion, driven by operating use across its delivery and ride-hailing networks.
The group posted adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of US$237 million, extending its run of core earnings growth to 19 consecutive quarters. On a constant currency basis, revenue expanded 30 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.
Revised targets for the full year
Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to between US$4.15 billion and US$4.2 billion, up from an earlier band of US$4.1 billion to US$4.15 billion. Expected adjusted EBITDA now sits between US$790 million and US$800 million, compared with previous projections of US$720 million to US$740 million.
Capital returns accelerated alongside the improved forecast. The company bought back US$400 million of its own shares across September and October, helping lift its Nasdaq-listed stock to US$3.41 by the end of the week.
SingPost relies on property sales as mail drops
Elsewhere in regional delivery infrastructure, Singapore Post generated a net profit of S$55.9 million for the half-year ended September 30. That represented a 183.7 per cent surge, though exceptional gains from property transactions accounted for the bulk of the increase.
SingPost booked exceptional items of S$44.4 million during the period, compared to S$13.9 million a year earlier, following the sale and leaseback of 10 Housing Board post office shophouses. Group revenue slipped 1.3 per cent to S$185.9 million as letter mail volumes suffered from ongoing structural contraction.
Domestic post operators face relentless erosion in standard postal traffic. Group chief executive Mark Chong confirmed letter mail volumes fell roughly 40 per cent between the pandemic period and 2024, requiring ongoing consolidation across physical branch footprints.
Ground operations face airport labour review
Airport services provider SATS experienced operational scrutiny after Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower opened an investigation into 45 companies at Changi Airport for potential work pass infringements. The probe identified approximately 270 contractor and sub-contractor personnel whose duties may not have complied with statutory pass rules.
SATS stated that an internal audit originally flagged the contractor discrepancies. Management redeployed full-time staff and reassigned operational duties across terminals to avoid cargo and passenger delays, allowing its share price to recover to S$3.73 after a brief dip to S$3.54.
Operating use shifts regional platform economics
Grab’s earnings trajectory demonstrates that South-east Asian consumer platforms can finally extract cash margins after a decade of subsidising app users and merchants. Food delivery and everyday transport have settled into entrenched utility habits across major metropolitan hubs, allowing platforms to scale gross merchandise volume without burning capital on predatory merchant incentives.
Physical logistics networks face an entirely opposite challenge. Traditional mail handlers like SingPost must monetise legacy brick-and-mortar real estate assets to cushion the steady loss of letter traffic, even as commercial parcel competition from app-based logistics operators keeps yields thin across last-mile delivery routes.
Both sectors must now defend their cost structures against volatile regional labour supplies. Whether dealing with ground-handling contractor audits at major airport hubs or managing driver pools across tiered cities, delivery and service margins remain tightly tethered to regulatory oversight of workforce deployment.
US inflation numbers are due on November 10, while the futures market expects the Federal Reserve to hike rates at its December policy meeting.
