diff --git a/cpp/src/groupby/hash/output_utils.cu b/cpp/src/groupby/hash/output_utils.cu
index 18f8a0c5319..a5a136efe1c 100644
--- a/cpp/src/groupby/hash/output_utils.cu
+++ b/cpp/src/groupby/hash/output_utils.cu
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <cudf/aggregation.hpp>
 #include <cudf/column/column_factories.hpp>
 #include <cudf/detail/aggregation/aggregation.hpp>
+#include <cudf/detail/utilities/integer_utils.hpp>
 #include <cudf/dictionary/dictionary_column_view.hpp>
 #include <cudf/null_mask.hpp>
 #include <cudf/table/table_view.hpp>
@@ -30,6 +31,8 @@ namespace {
  *
  * This functor handles the creation of appropriately typed and sized columns for each
  * aggregation, including special handling for SUM_WITH_OVERFLOW which requires a struct column.
+ * For data types smaller than 4 bytes, the buffer size is adjusted to be a multiple of 4 to
+ * ensure memory safety when atomic operations use 4-byte CAS loops to emulate smaller atomics.
  */
 struct result_column_creator {
   size_type output_size;
@@ -45,29 +48,35 @@ struct result_column_creator {
 
   std::unique_ptr<column> operator()(column_view const& col, aggregation::Kind const& agg) const
   {
+    auto const col_type =
+      is_dictionary(col.type()) ? dictionary_column_view(col).keys().type() : col.type();
     auto const nullable =
       agg != aggregation::COUNT_VALID && agg != aggregation::COUNT_ALL && col.has_nulls();
-
-    // Special handling for SUM_WITH_OVERFLOW which needs a struct column.
+    // TODO: Remove adjusted buffer size workaround once https://github.com/NVIDIA/cccl/issues/6430
+    // is fixed. Use adjusted buffer size for small data types to ensure atomic operation safety.
+    auto const make_uninitialized_column = [&](data_type d_type, size_type size, mask_state state) {
+      auto const type_size = cudf::size_of(d_type);
+      if (type_size < 4) {
+        auto adjusted_size    = cudf::util::round_up_safe(size, static_cast<size_type>(4));
+        auto buffer           = rmm::device_buffer(adjusted_size * type_size, stream, mr);
+        auto mask             = create_null_mask(size, state, stream, mr);
+        auto const null_count = state_null_count(state, size);
+        return std::make_unique<column>(
+          d_type, size, std::move(buffer), std::move(mask), null_count);
+      }
+      return make_fixed_width_column(d_type, size, state, stream, mr);
+    };
     if (agg != aggregation::SUM_WITH_OVERFLOW) {
-      auto const col_type =
-        is_dictionary(col.type()) ? dictionary_column_view(col).keys().type() : col.type();
-      auto const mask_flag = nullable ? mask_state::ALL_NULL : mask_state::UNALLOCATED;
-      return make_fixed_width_column(
-        cudf::detail::target_type(col_type, agg), output_size, mask_flag, stream, mr);
+      auto const target_type = cudf::detail::target_type(col_type, agg);
+      auto const mask_flag   = nullable ? mask_state::ALL_NULL : mask_state::UNALLOCATED;
+      return make_uninitialized_column(target_type, output_size, mask_flag);
     }
-
-    auto const make_empty_column = [&](type_id type_id, size_type size, mask_state mask_state) {
-      return make_fixed_width_column(data_type{type_id}, size, mask_state, stream, mr);
-    };
-
-    auto make_children = [&make_empty_column](size_type size) {
+    auto make_children = [&make_uninitialized_column](size_type size) {
       std::vector<std::unique_ptr<column>> children;
-      // Create sum child column (int64_t) - no null mask needed, struct-level mask handles
-      // nullability
-      children.push_back(make_empty_column(type_id::INT64, size, mask_state::UNALLOCATED));
-      // Create overflow child column (bool) - no null mask needed, only value matters
-      children.push_back(make_empty_column(type_id::BOOL8, size, mask_state::UNALLOCATED));
+      children.push_back(
+        make_uninitialized_column(data_type{type_id::INT64}, size, mask_state::UNALLOCATED));
+      children.push_back(
+        make_uninitialized_column(data_type{type_id::BOOL8}, size, mask_state::UNALLOCATED));
       return children;
     };