Here's Uber's big bet: Its customer network will provide an edge in the ultra-competitive robo-taxi market.

The numbers? The ride-hailing giant expects to have 700 driverless vehicles on its platform by the end of 2026 and more than 2,000 by the end of 2027. That's not all. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi aims to expand that fleet to tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles by 2030. He also plans to invest as much as $10 billion, including $7.5 billion to build its own fleet and $2.5 billion in equity stakes in self-driving technology companies.

The strategy all hinges on keeping robo-taxis super busy. Autonomous vehicles on its U.S. network complete 30% more trips per day than those operating outside its platform, according to William Blair. Uber estimates a 30% increase in paid trips would reduce fixed costs per ride by about 23%, potentially improving returns for fleet operators even after paying Uber a share of fares.

Uber's growing delivery business could provide another avenue for autonomous expansion. Third-quarter delivery gross bookings reached $28.5 billion, compared with $29.5 billion for mobility, narrowing the gap to about $1 billion from $1.8 billion a year earlier.

But competition poses a growing threat. Autonomous-vehicle developers could bypass Uber's platform and offer rides directly to customers. Alphabet's Waymo plans to end its exclusive partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta in 2028, allowing customers to book driverless rides through its own app. Let the robo-wars begin.

Write to Ty Roush at tyler.roush@barrons.com

Last Week

AI On the Run?

It took Wall Street two days after the midterms to figure out that the Democrats might not be good for artificial intelligence. Then, after the Thursday crash, there was the inevitable tech comeback. For the week: the S&P 500, down 2.68%; the Dow, minus 0.94%; and the Nasdaq Composite, down 3.37%. Pass the Prozac.

Speaking of Armageddon...

Per The Wall Street Journal, Paul Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Investment Management, cautioned in October that "alarm bells" are "warning of a substantial" market selloff. One alarm: some Roaring '20s-like froth. Alarm No. 2: the so-called "circular investments" between the AI model firms and infrastructure AI guys.

Gee, Thanks, Tim Cook

Apple beat analyst projections for its fiscal fourth quarter, but the stock was whacked earlier in the week. Freshman CEO John Ternus was left to explain why gross margins declined (memory pricing!) and why relief wasn't necessarily in sight. KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel: "We think Apple is at the point of extreme overvaluation."

Money for Nothing

In the U.S. Senate race in Cameron County, Texas, home of Elon Musk's SpaceX, James Talarico slam-dunked Musk-backed Ken Paxton by some 38 percentage points. President Trump won the county by six points in 2024. As Musk's ex, Grimes, once sang, "Nothing lasts forever."

Next Week

Monday 11/9

Nearly 90% of S&P 500 index companies have reported third-quarter results, and year-over-year earnings growth is about 29% so far. That's actually a slight deceleration from the second quarter's 33% jump, and apparently not enough for investors, as the S&P 500 is down 3.6% since the beginning of October. This week, Constellation Energy and Skydance release earnings on Monday; Applied Materials and Cisco Systems announce their results on Thursday.

Tuesday 11/10

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for October. Economists forecast a 0.3% month-over-month increase, following a 0.6% jump in September. The core CPI is expected to rise 0.2%, one-tenth of a percentage point less than in September. The BLS won't release year-over-year statistics because there was no October 2025 reference-period data collected due to the government shutdown from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12 of last year.

Thursday 11/12

The National Association of Realtors reports existing-home sales for October. Consensus estimate is for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.85 million homes sold, about 3% less than in September.

The Numbers

30%

Data-center capacity slated to come online in 2028 that's now under threat from the blue wave.

$259 B

SpaceX and Tesla's combined loss in market value since the midterms, as Elon Musk faces new risks.

794%

Moderna's stock gain year to date, the result of growing excitement over its experimental cancer vaccine.

400+

Ships and submarines in China's navy, 35% larger than the U.S. Navy's hull count, after huge buildup.

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