Al Root

Shares of Serve Robotics jumped after the company reported better-than-expected financial results and provided solid sales guidance for 2026.

The robots are coming faster than investors might expect.

Wednesday morning, Serve reported fourth-quarter revenue of $900,000, beating the $800,000 Wall Street expected.

Serve, which builds AI-trained autonomous delivery robots, is still small, scaling production and operations. Its delivery robots are an early example of "physical AI," or artificial intelligence that interacts with the real world.

The company ended the quarter with 547 "daily active robots" delivering food from more than 4,500 restaurants for Uber Eats and DoorDash. The company delivered its 2,000th robot in December and expects to generate 2026 sales of $26 million. Wall Street was projecting $23 million.

There isn't much of a Wall Street consensus, though. That $23 million estimate was only from one analyst, according to FactSet. Overall, seven analysts cover the stock. All rate shares Buy. The average analyst price target for Serve Robotics stock is just under $19 a share.

Serve stock surged 10.1% to $10.65 on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

The gains left Serve stock up more than 50% over the past 12 months.

CEO Dr. Ali Kashani touted the company's growth last year to become "the largest autonomous sidewalk fleet in the country."

Last year, Serve bought Vayu Robotics, which provides models for physical AI; Phantom Auto for solving connectivity issues; Diligent Robotics, a medical robotics business; and Vebu, which makes kitchen automation technology.

"Physical AI improves with real-world data, better AI makes the fleet more valuable, and a more valuable fleet funds the next turn of the cycle -- from city sidewalks to hospital corridors," Kashani said.

A lot is happening. Serve Robotics isn't profitable yet. Wall Street projects positive operating profit in 2031, when sales are estimated to top $500 million.

While the company remains small, its success is one example of how AI is spreading into the economy.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 11, 2026 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)

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