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UBER Vs. GRAB: Which Ride-Hailing Stock Has Better Upside Potential?
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Key Takeaways
Uber projects Q3 gross bookings of $48.25-$49.75B, up 17-21% year over year.
Grab expects 2025 revenues of $3.33B-3.40B, reflecting 19-22% annual growth.
Uber's $20B buyback plan underscores confidence, while Grab faces regional economic pressures.
Uber Technologies (UBER - Free Report) and Grab (GRAB - Free Report) both provide ride-hailing services. Each company has reshaped the transportation industry with innovative business models built around ride-sharing.
However, they differ in geography and strategy. Uber operates globally, while Grab is a leading provider of deliveries, mobility and digital financial services across multiple cities in eight Southeast Asian countries — Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Although ride-sharing is Uber’s core business, it has broadened its scope over time to include food delivery and freight.
Given these differences in approach and regional focus, we’ll examine them closely to see which one currently holds the edge and, more importantly, which might be the smarter investment now.
The Case for UBER Stock
Uber, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, is seeing rising demand across its ridesharing and delivery platforms. This growing popularity, combined with new growth initiatives and a strong focus on cost discipline, is helping drive solid business performance.
In its second-quarter 2025 results, released last month, Uber continued its streak of beating earnings expectations, showing resilience despite tough conditions.
Uber Technologies Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
In the September quarter, Uber expects gross bookings in the range of $48.25 billion to $49.75 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 17-21% on a constant currency basis. The outlook assumes a neutral to modestly positive foreign exchange impact. The adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be in the range of $2.19 billion to $2.29 billion, suggesting year-over-year growth of 30% to 36%.
Recently, Uber inked a deal with retailer Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) for on-demand delivery. The deal brings consumer electronics from more than 800 stores to the Uber Eats platform. Uber Eats is the online food ordering and delivery platform of Uber. Following the tie-up, which took effect on Sept. 2, Best Buy customers throughout the United States are eligible to order a wide range of electronics, appliances and tech essentials on Uber Eats for delivery to their doorsteps.
The partnership allows Uber Eats and Best Buy to make the latest technology more accessible than ever, thereby reflecting the deal’s customer-friendly nature. The association with Best Buy to facilitate electronics delivery strengthens Uber’s delivery segment and is aimed at diversifying its delivery ecosystem.
Uber aims to gain a stronghold in the highly promising robotaxi market through strategic partnerships. By adopting this approach, Uber has been able to avoid the massive R&D costs associated with developing autonomous systems independently.
Another area of confidence is Uber’s buyback strategy. Recently, the company announced a stock repurchase authorization of up to an additional $20 billion of common stock. With this bold initiative, UBER is not only enhancing shareholder value but also signalling confidence in its ongoing business strategy. The latest shareholder-friendly announcement by Uber is in addition to the $7 billion authorization announced in 2024. The accelerated $1.5 billion stock buyback program, a part of the $7 billion program, was completed in the first quarter of 2025. In 2024, Uber generated a record $6.9 billion in free cash flow, highlighting its financial bliss, with an adjusted EBITDA of $6.5 billion.
In 2018, Uber, which went public in 2019, sold its business in Southeast Asia to Grab. Uber has a significant stake in Grab.
The Case for GRAB Stock
Grab’s success in Southeast Asia is largely driven by its ability to adapt to local market conditions. The company’s transformation from a simple taxi-hailing app into an “everyday everything app” — offering services, such as food delivery, e-scooter rentals, and digital payments — underscores its ambition to expand and diversify.
Grab is also benefiting from robust growth in On-Demand Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), an expanding fintech portfolio, and rising user engagement across its platform. On-Demand GMV, which covers the mobility and deliveries segments, rose 21% year over year in the second quarter of 2025. For full-year 2025, the company projects revenues between $3.33 billion and $3.40 billion, suggesting 19-22% year-over-year growth.
Grab is strengthening its position across Southeast Asia by partnering with Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) cloud computing platform — Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) — to drive growth in mobility, deliveries and financial services.
Grab selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider to accelerate growth across its mobility, deliveries, and financial services verticals, including its digital banks. Grab has enhanced operational efficiency, reduced infrastructure costs and launched innovative services by utilizing AWS’ scalable, secure and cost-efficient cloud solutions.
GRAB recently decided to make a strategic equity investment in China’s WeRide (WRD - Free Report) to accelerate the deployment and commercialization of Level 4 robotaxis and shuttles across Southeast Asia. The association aims to integrate WeRide’s autonomous vehicles into Grab’s platform to enhance service quality and safety.
The investment, expected to close in the first half of 2026, aligns with WeRide’s strategy to scale its commercial AV fleet in the region and advance AI-driven mobility solutions.
Grab Appears to be More Pricey Than Uber
Uber is trading at a forward sales multiple of 3.45. Uber has a Value Score of D. Meanwhile, Grab has a Value Score of F, with its forward sales multiple at 5.6.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
Uber’s valuation, compared to GRAB, is no doubt tempting. Moreover, the company’s diversification efforts and shareholder-friendly approach attest to its financial bliss. Uber’s large size (market capitalization of $199.05 billion) positions it well to overcome uncertain times, such as the current one.
Grab, on the other hand, has a much narrower geographical focus, making it highly susceptible to economic downturns, such as the current scenario. The economic uncertainty in key Southeast Asia markets, driven by factors like inflation, changing consumer behavior, and supply-chain disruptions, is hurting Grab. Moreover, Grab faces intense competition in its deliveries segment. The much smaller Grab, with a market capitalization of $21.3 billion, is not as shareholder-friendly as its larger rival.
On the basis of our analysis, Uber seems a better pick than Grab, despite both carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) currently.
Image: Bigstock
UBER Vs. GRAB: Which Ride-Hailing Stock Has Better Upside Potential?
Key Takeaways
Uber Technologies (UBER - Free Report) and Grab (GRAB - Free Report) both provide ride-hailing services. Each company has reshaped the transportation industry with innovative business models built around ride-sharing.
However, they differ in geography and strategy. Uber operates globally, while Grab is a leading provider of deliveries, mobility and digital financial services across multiple cities in eight Southeast Asian countries — Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Although ride-sharing is Uber’s core business, it has broadened its scope over time to include food delivery and freight.
Given these differences in approach and regional focus, we’ll examine them closely to see which one currently holds the edge and, more importantly, which might be the smarter investment now.
The Case for UBER Stock
Uber, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, is seeing rising demand across its ridesharing and delivery platforms. This growing popularity, combined with new growth initiatives and a strong focus on cost discipline, is helping drive solid business performance.
In its second-quarter 2025 results, released last month, Uber continued its streak of beating earnings expectations, showing resilience despite tough conditions.
Uber Technologies Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Uber Technologies, price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Uber Technologies Quote
In the September quarter, Uber expects gross bookings in the range of $48.25 billion to $49.75 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 17-21% on a constant currency basis. The outlook assumes a neutral to modestly positive foreign exchange impact. The adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be in the range of $2.19 billion to $2.29 billion, suggesting year-over-year growth of 30% to 36%.
Recently, Uber inked a deal with retailer Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) for on-demand delivery. The deal brings consumer electronics from more than 800 stores to the Uber Eats platform. Uber Eats is the online food ordering and delivery platform of Uber. Following the tie-up, which took effect on Sept. 2, Best Buy customers throughout the United States are eligible to order a wide range of electronics, appliances and tech essentials on Uber Eats for delivery to their doorsteps.
The partnership allows Uber Eats and Best Buy to make the latest technology more accessible than ever, thereby reflecting the deal’s customer-friendly nature. The association with Best Buy to facilitate electronics delivery strengthens Uber’s delivery segment and is aimed at diversifying its delivery ecosystem.
Uber aims to gain a stronghold in the highly promising robotaxi market through strategic partnerships. By adopting this approach, Uber has been able to avoid the massive R&D costs associated with developing autonomous systems independently.
Another area of confidence is Uber’s buyback strategy. Recently, the company announced a stock repurchase authorization of up to an additional $20 billion of common stock. With this bold initiative, UBER is not only enhancing shareholder value but also signalling confidence in its ongoing business strategy. The latest shareholder-friendly announcement by Uber is in addition to the $7 billion authorization announced in 2024. The accelerated $1.5 billion stock buyback program, a part of the $7 billion program, was completed in the first quarter of 2025. In 2024, Uber generated a record $6.9 billion in free cash flow, highlighting its financial bliss, with an adjusted EBITDA of $6.5 billion.
In 2018, Uber, which went public in 2019, sold its business in Southeast Asia to Grab. Uber has a significant stake in Grab.
The Case for GRAB Stock
Grab’s success in Southeast Asia is largely driven by its ability to adapt to local market conditions. The company’s transformation from a simple taxi-hailing app into an “everyday everything app” — offering services, such as food delivery, e-scooter rentals, and digital payments — underscores its ambition to expand and diversify.
Grab is also benefiting from robust growth in On-Demand Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), an expanding fintech portfolio, and rising user engagement across its platform. On-Demand GMV, which covers the mobility and deliveries segments, rose 21% year over year in the second quarter of 2025. For full-year 2025, the company projects revenues between $3.33 billion and $3.40 billion, suggesting 19-22% year-over-year growth.
Grab Holdings Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Grab Holdings price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Grab Holdings Quote
Grab is strengthening its position across Southeast Asia by partnering with Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) cloud computing platform — Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) — to drive growth in mobility, deliveries and financial services.
Grab selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider to accelerate growth across its mobility, deliveries, and financial services verticals, including its digital banks. Grab has enhanced operational efficiency, reduced infrastructure costs and launched innovative services by utilizing AWS’ scalable, secure and cost-efficient cloud solutions.
GRAB recently decided to make a strategic equity investment in China’s WeRide (WRD - Free Report) to accelerate the deployment and commercialization of Level 4 robotaxis and shuttles across Southeast Asia. The association aims to integrate WeRide’s autonomous vehicles into Grab’s platform to enhance service quality and safety.
The investment, expected to close in the first half of 2026, aligns with WeRide’s strategy to scale its commercial AV fleet in the region and advance AI-driven mobility solutions.
Grab Appears to be More Pricey Than Uber
Uber is trading at a forward sales multiple of 3.45. Uber has a Value Score of D. Meanwhile, Grab has a Value Score of F, with its forward sales multiple at 5.6.
Conclusion
Uber’s valuation, compared to GRAB, is no doubt tempting. Moreover, the company’s diversification efforts and shareholder-friendly approach attest to its financial bliss. Uber’s large size (market capitalization of $199.05 billion) positions it well to overcome uncertain times, such as the current one.
Grab, on the other hand, has a much narrower geographical focus, making it highly susceptible to economic downturns, such as the current scenario. The economic uncertainty in key Southeast Asia markets, driven by factors like inflation, changing consumer behavior, and supply-chain disruptions, is hurting Grab. Moreover, Grab faces intense competition in its deliveries segment. The much smaller Grab, with a market capitalization of $21.3 billion, is not as shareholder-friendly as its larger rival.
On the basis of our analysis, Uber seems a better pick than Grab, despite both carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) currently.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here