Grab executives buy back $30M in shares after stock hits 3-year low

When your company’s stock drops 50% in a year, there are a few ways to respond. You can blame macro headwinds. You can promise a turnaround is coming. Or you can open your personal checkbook and buy $30 million worth of shares. Grab’s CEO went with option three.

Anthony Tan, co-founder and chief executive of the Southeast Asian super-app, purchased 10.35 million Class A ordinary shares on September 21, spending approximately $29.88 million at a weighted average price of $2.8866. COO Alexander Hungate chipped in roughly $867,000 for about 300,000 shares at a similar price. Combined, the two executives put more than $30 million of personal capital into Grab stock just days after it cratered to $2.74, its lowest level since May 2023.

The selloff and what triggered it

Grab’s stock hit that three-year low on September 18, a decline that coincided with two major announcements. The company revealed its planned acquisition of Atome Financial, a buy-now-pay-later provider that could be valued at approximately $4.5 billion. Simultaneously, Grab disclosed plans for a $900 million share buyback program over the next 12 months.

Investors appeared spooked by the price tag on Atome and the strategic pivot deeper into financial services, sending shares tumbling instead of rallying on the news.

The numbers tell a different story

Grab’s Q2 2026 results were genuinely strong by most conventional measures. Revenue came in at $997 million, a 22% increase year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA hit $168 million, representing 54% growth compared to the same period a year earlier. Grab also raised its full-year guidance alongside those results and authorized an additional $750 million in buybacks on top of the $900 million program.

During a company town hall following his purchase, Tan was characteristically direct about the decision.

“I have put my money where my mouth is… I believe in our strategy and our direction.”

The market responded. Grab shares closed up 8.9% on September 22 after the insider purchases were disclosed.

The Atome question

For Grab, the Atome deal represents a bet that financial services can become a core revenue pillar alongside ride-hailing and food delivery. Grab already offers payments, lending, and insurance through its GrabFin arm. The potential $4.5 billion valuation on Atome is a significant commitment for a company whose own market cap has been under pressure.

What this means going forward

The combination of insider purchases, a $900 million buyback program, an additional $750 million authorization, and improving fundamentals creates a scenario where Grab is deploying significant firepower to support its share price. The 8.9% rebound on September 22 was encouraging but modest relative to the damage done over the preceding months. Revenue approaching $1 billion per quarter and adjusted EBITDA growing at 54% stand in stark contrast to a share price at its lowest point since May 2023.

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