GoTo Shares Plunge to Lower Limit of Rp 43 as Bourse Scraps Price Floor

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO) saw its share price plunge to its lower auto-rejection limit (ARB) on Monday morning, Sept. 28, 2026, dropping 14% or seven ticks to trade at Rp 43 ($0.0024) within minutes of the market open.

The sell-off followed the official activation of the Indonesia Stock Exchange's (BEI) new trading framework, which eliminated the historical Rp 50 statutory price floor across the regular and cash markets to allow shares to trade down to Rp 1. The technical adjustment triggered immediate selling across dozens of formerly frozen penny stocks, dragging the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) down 55 points, or 0.96%, to 6,183 at the opening bell.

GoTo’s immediate descent past the psychological Rp 50 floor marks the first major test of Indonesia’s new market-clearing mechanisms on a high-profile issuer. While market regulators designed the lower limit to unlock trapped trading liquidity and foster natural price discovery, unchaining deeply discounted shares risks sparking sharp reflexive sell-offs as trapped market participants rush for the exits. How the country’s largest digital ecosystem navigates this mechanical turbulence will shape broader institutional appetite for Southeast Asian tech valuations during a protracted regional market downturn.

Management Defends Core Fundamentals

Corporate leadership moved swiftly to calm market anxiety, asserting that the stock's morning slump reflects structural mechanics rather than operational decay. Audrey Petriny, Head of Corporate Affairs at GoTo, emphasized that the morning price trajectory stands completely detached from the company's strengthening underlying performance.

"GoTo's current share price does not reflect the company's business fundamentals, which continue to strengthen," Audrey stated in an official release on Monday morning. She pointed out that the equity dynamics are primarily driven by technical adjustments following the implementation of the bourse operator's new sub-Rp 50 trading parameters.

Audrey noted that the technology group generated positive financial results in the second quarter of 2026, booking a net profit of Rp 252 billion ($15.85 million) and achieving profitability for two consecutive quarters. Net revenue reached Rp 5.7 trillion ($358.5 million), while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) exceeded Rp 1 trillion ($62.89 million). Furthermore, the company remains firmly on track to hit its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of Rp 3.2 trillion to Rp 3.4 trillion ($201.3 million to $213.8 million).

"We remain fully focused on reinforcing our operating execution, which we are confident will deliver sustainable long-term value for our shareholders," Audrey affirmed.

Broad Contagion Across Discounted Tickers

GoTo was far from alone in absorbing sharp mechanical drawdowns. By 9:20 AM Jakarta time, a broad wave of tickers that had spent months pinned at the artificial Rp 50 barrier suffered immediate 14% plunges, including PT Minna Padi Investama Sekuritas Tbk (PADI), PT Ristia Bintang Mahkotasejati Tbk (RBMS), and PT MNC Kapital Indonesia Tbk (BCAP).

Under the revised exchange rules applicable through Dec. 31, 2026, equities priced above Rp 10 up to Rp 200 are subject to an asymmetric daily Auto Rejection Upper limit (ARA) of 35% and a daily Lower limit (ARB) capped at 14% to 15%. This allowed pending sell backlogs to match instantly at lower clearing prices without finding sufficient immediate buying interest.

The widespread slide across small-cap and speculative names weighed on broader market sentiment, contrasting sharply with positive overnight cues across major global indices. Sectoral declines hit consumer non-cyclicals, financial institutions, basic materials, infrastructure, and technology counters, while modest gains were confined to select energy and logistics names.

Analyst Caution on Volatility and Risk

Market strategists had earlier warned that removing the price floor would trigger acute volatility spikes. Senior Technical Analyst at PT Mirae Asset Sekuritas Indonesia Muhammad Nafan Aji stressed that the regulatory transition must be approached through the discipline of strict risk management rather than opportunistic bargain-hunting.

Nafan advised market participants to closely scrutinize corporate financial statements, balance-sheet debt loads, bid-ask spreads, and trading liquidity now that the artificial price floor has been dismantled. He cautioned retail traders against assuming that low nominal prices between Rp 1 and Rp 50 denote undervalued enterprises, emphasizing that price discovery in thinly traded shares can inflict severe fractional capital losses before finding sustainable support.