LYFT or GRAB: Which Ride-Hailing Stock Should Be in Your Portfolio?

Lyft LYFT and Grab GRAB are prominent players in the Zacks Computer and Technology sector. Both companies offer ride-hailing services and have transformed the transportation landscape with their innovative ride-sharing business models.

Grab is a major provider of delivery, mobility and digital financial services across eight Southeast Asian countries — Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In contrast, San Francisco-based Lyft follows a more focused approach, operating primarily in the United States with a strong emphasis on ride-sharing.

Considering their differing strategies and geographic footprints, let us take a closer look to determine which company currently has the upper hand — and more importantly, which could be the smarter investment choice right now.

The Case for LYFT

Lyft is experiencing growth in gross bookings, driven by an expanding active rider base, entry into new markets and the popularity of its customer-friendly “Price Lock” feature. In the June quarter, gross bookings increased 12% year over year to $4.5 billion. This was the 17th consecutive quarter where Lyft posted double-digit year-over-year growth in the key metric, demonstrating the resilience and momentum of its customer-friendly strategy. For the third quarter of 2025, it expects gross bookings in the $4.65-$4.8 billion range, indicating 13-17% growth from the third-quarter 2024 actuals.  

LYFT’s move to focus on less densely populated markets, such as Indianapolis, is paying off. With the return-to-office trend gaining momentum, weekday demand for ride-hailing services is on the rise. To strengthen its competitive position in the ride-hailing market, Lyft has rolled out the “Price Lock” feature, enabling users to avoid surge pricing during peak commuting hours. By locking in a set fare, riders can save on their daily commutes.

Lyft is also targeting the rapidly growing robotaxi market through strategic partnerships. This approach helps the company pursue autonomous mobility opportunities without bearing the heavy R&D expenses tied to developing self-driving systems on its own.

Another point of strength for LYFT is its share repurchase strategy. In a shareholder-friendly decision made earlier this year, management raised the company’s buyback authorization to $750 million from $500 million. During the second quarter of 2025, LYFT repurchased $200 million worth of its stock. Robust cash flow generation enables the company to stay committed to delivering value to its shareholders. As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, LYFT’s trailing 12-month cash flow stood at $993 million. However, concerns about the ongoing trade war are hurting Lyft’s prospects.

The Case for GRAB

Grab is seeing strong momentum driven by robust growth in On-Demand Gross Merchandise Value (“GMV”), an expanding fintech portfolio and increased user engagement across its platform. On-Demand GMV — which includes the mobility and deliveries segments — climbed 21% year over year in the second quarter of 2025. For the full year, the company expects revenues between $3.33 billion and $3.40 billion, indicating 19-22% year-over-year growth.

Grab’s success in Southeast Asia stems largely from its ability to adapt to local market dynamics. The company’s evolution from a basic taxi-hailing app into an “everyday everything app” — offering services such as food delivery, e-scooter rentals and digital payments — highlights the commitment to broadening and diversifying its ecosystem.

GRAB’s ambitions in the autonomous vehicle (“AV”) space are promising. To advance these efforts, the company has decided to make a strategic equity investment in China’s WeRide WRD to accelerate the deployment and commercialization of Level 4 robotaxis and shuttles across Southeast Asia. The partnership aims to integrate WeRide’s AV technology into Grab’s platform to enhance both service quality and passenger safety.

The investment — expected to close in the first half of 2026 — aligns with WeRide’s goal of expanding its commercial AV fleet in the region and advancing AI-powered mobility solutions. In collaboration with WeRide, Grab recently launched the Ai.R Autonomous Service in Punggol, marking its first AV service for consumers in Singapore. Local authorities have chosen Grab to operate two autonomous shuttle routes in the Punggol area. Notably, Ai.R is the only service authorized to run on both routes and will initially deploy a fleet of 11 vehicles.

The Ai.R fleet will consist of two WeRide vehicle models — the five-seater GXR and the eight-seater Robobus. Grab plans to begin passenger operations for Ai.R by early 2026, following a comprehensive testing phase to analyze and familiarize the vehicles with the designated routes. Earlier this year, WeRide received authorization from the Shanghai municipal government to operate autonomous robotaxi ride-hailing services.

GRAB Outscores LYFT Concerning Price Performance

Over the past year, GRAB’s shares have had a good run on the bourse, gaining more than 60% and outperforming LYFT.

1-Year Price Comparison

GRAB: Much Less Leveraged Than LYFT

LYFT’s high debt levels, despite efforts to reduce them, raise concerns. On the other hand, GRAB’s debt levels are lower. A company with significant debt may be more vulnerable to market fluctuations and higher interest rates, as is the current scenario.

Long-Term Debt to Capitalization

How Do Estimates Compare for LYFT & GRAB?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LYFT’s 2025 sales implies a year-over-year increase of 12.9% and the same for earnings indicates 24.2% growth. The consensus estimate for LYFT’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 14.6% and the same for earnings indicates 19.9% growth. The EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have remained stable over the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GRAB’s 2025 sales is up 21.6% year over year, while the same for earnings indicates massive 267% growth. The consensus mark for GRAB’s 2026 sales and earnings indicates 19.1% and 120% growth, respectively. The EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have been trending northward over the past 30 days, unlike LYFT.

Conclusion

To sum up, GRAB's strong portfolio and expanding partner base serve as key strengths, positioning it as a formidable player in Southeast Asia’s super-app ecosystem. The favorable earnings estimate revision adds to its appeal.

Meanwhile, LYFT, despite being aided by robust gross bookings growth, is being hurt by factors like the tariff-induced economic uncertainty and escalated debts. The headwinds have limited the stock’s upside as reflected by its inferior price performance compared with GRAB.

On the basis of our analysis, GRAB emerges as a clear winner compared with LYFT. GRAB currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while LYFT has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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