Grab: How losing billions and falling 20% on IPO is a path to success in the digital economy

Profit is a dirty word if you have global ambitions.

As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Grab had its big day on Nasdaq yesterday (December 2), having finally gone public at a valuation of around US$40 billion, raising US$4.5 billion in the process. You can read all about it elsewhere, though — I’m not going to rob the market analysts of their jobs.

Instead, I’d like to turn your attention to something else: why is Grab even considered a great business?

You may be wondering how is it possible that a company which has burned through billions of dollars — recently posting a loss of US$988 million for Q3 2021 alone — and is yet to turn a profit, can be considered successful, let alone achieve a multibillion dollar valuation on a prime US stock exchange?

After a brief spike, Grab’s stock collapsed 20 per cent below its IPO listing price, but even that didn’t dampen the spirits of its founders and investors. Are they crazy?