Uber CEO Hints At More Robotaxi Partnerships And Strong Investor Demand: Retail’s All In

Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on Wednesday said the company is planning to get into more early-stage deals in autonomous driving after an upbeat second-quarter report. 

Once the daily revenue potential of self-driving cars is clear, Uber expects strong interest from outside investors, including private equity firms and banks.

“So once we prove out the revenue model, how much these cars can generate on a per-day basis, there will be plenty of financing to go around third-party financing. We've talked to private equity players. We've talked to banks, etc,” Khosrowshahi said in the company’s second-quarter (Q2) earnings call.

Uber Technologies' stock traded over 1% on Wednesday, after the morning bell.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ (84/100) from ‘neutral’ territory the previous day. Message volume improved to ‘high’ (73/100) from ‘normal’ levels in 24 hours.

The stock experienced a 190% surge in user message count in 24 hours. A bullish Stocktwits user said the company is “far better positioned to be the de facto platform for autonomous taxi service.”

Another user lauded the earnings report.

Uber’s Q2 booking increased 17% year-on-year (YoY) to $46.8 billion, and trips during the quarter grew 18% YoY to 3.3 billion.

The company’s Q2 revenue climbed 18% YoY to $12.7 billion, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of $12.5 billion, as per Fiscal AI data. 

Earnings per share (EPS) of $0.63 also exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.62. For Q3, the ride-hailing service provider anticipates gross bookings between $48.25 billion and $49.75 billion.

The company also announced a fresh $20 billion share repurchase program.

Uber stock has gained over 44% year-to-date and over 34% in the past 12 months.

Also See: Cramer Slams Intel As Manufacturing Ambitions Falter: Retail Stays Skeptical

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