PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia earned Rp441 billion in the third quarter, its third straight quarterly profit, as a surge in earnings at payments and lending arm GoPay more than covered the damage from Indonesia's new 8% cap on ride-hailing commissions.

The result, reported Oct. 29, compares with a net loss of Rp255 billion a year earlier, the company said, and a profit of Rp252 billion in the second quarter, according to DealStreetAsia. The headline figure includes non-controlling interests; profit attributable to owners of the parent was Rp557 billion, against a loss of Rp196 billion a year earlier. For investors in Southeast Asia's internet stocks, the quarter shows where GoTo's earnings now come from. Financial services, not motorcycle taxis, are carrying the group, and regulation of driver fees has become a direct line item in the profit and loss account.

Net revenue rose 17% from a year earlier to Rp5.6 trillion. Operating profit was Rp351 billion, against an operating loss of Rp15 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Group adjusted EBITDA climbed 84% to Rp950 billion, according to the company's release.

GoPay carries GoTo's earnings

GoPay's adjusted EBITDA jumped 304% from a year earlier to Rp550 billion, up from Rp481 billion in the second quarter, DealStreetAsia reported. Core gross transaction value in fintech nearly doubled, rising 96% to Rp187 trillion, and the number of transactions grew 86% to 2.8 billion.

Lending is the profit engine. GoPay's outstanding loans stood at Rp12 trillion at the end of September, up 51% from a year earlier, and fintech net revenue rose 49% to Rp2.3 trillion, the company said. Management said it pairs high-volume payments, which bring in users, with higher-margin credit products. Monthly transacting users of the fintech unit rose 26% to 30.4 million.

Across the group, core gross transaction value rose 89% to Rp194 trillion and annual transacting users grew 16% to 72.5 million. Adjusted free cash flow for the quarter rose 389% to Rp1.21 trillion.

For the nine months to September, net revenue rose 24% to Rp16.5 trillion. Net profit for the period was Rp864 billion, against a loss of Rp997 billion a year earlier, while profit attributable to owners of the parent was Rp1.16 trillion, against a loss of Rp776 billion, according to the release. Some local reports led with the larger attributable figure.

Gojek absorbs the 8% commission cap

The weak spot was ride-hailing. The third quarter was the first full quarter in which the 8% commission limit applied to GoRide, the two-wheeler service, and President Director Hans Patuwo said in the company's release that the effect had been significant. GoTo put the cost of the cap at about Rp150 billion for the quarter, in line with the Rp300 billion full-year estimate it gave in July.

Mobility adjusted EBITDA fell 16% from a year earlier to Rp159 billion, a margin of 2.5%, down from Rp290 billion in the second quarter and Rp280 billion in the first, DealStreetAsia reported. Delivery held up better, with adjusted EBITDA up 20% to Rp227 billion. That left the combined on-demand services unit at Rp347 billion, up 3% from a year earlier but well below the Rp464 billion earned in the second quarter.

Volumes did not fall. Completed orders in on-demand services rose 9%, with mobility orders up 10%, but gross transaction value in the unit rose just 1% to Rp16.9 trillion, reflecting smaller mass-market orders and GoRide price changes after the cap. Management said it is pushing cheaper, mass-market products to drive more frequent, smaller orders, and acknowledged it has to weigh the operating hit from the cap against commitments to shareholders.

GoTo's guidance suggests it is preparing for more rules. It widened its on-demand services EBITDA target to Rp1.4 trillion to Rp1.6 trillion, from Rp1.4 trillion to Rp1.5 trillion, partly to reflect possible regulation of delivery services, Katadata reported.

Guidance raised, buyback continues

GoTo lifted its full-year group adjusted EBITDA target to Rp3.5 trillion to Rp3.7 trillion, from Rp3.2 trillion to Rp3.4 trillion. Fintech guidance rose to Rp1.9 trillion to Rp2 trillion, from Rp1.7 trillion to Rp1.8 trillion.

The company is also returning cash. Through Oct. 29 it had spent Rp985 billion buying back 36 billion shares, close to 3% of its total, with Rp2.5 trillion of authorization left until June 2027, according to the company. Shareholders approved the cancellation of 32 billion treasury shares, about 2.7% of the total, at an extraordinary meeting on Oct. 14, and the company expects to complete it in two to three months, subject to regulatory requirements.

The buyback comes after a sharp sell-off in Jakarta, where the benchmark index lost 16.7% in October as MSCI weighed changes to Indonesia's market status. Patuwo said the company would keep its business fundamentals healthy, and stressed operating discipline and capital allocation.

The next test for the guidance is the fourth quarter, the second full period under the GoRide cap. The treasury share cancellation is due to be completed around the turn of the year.