Shares of Serve Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ: SERV) tumbled 6.04% in after-hours trading following the release of its second-quarter earnings report. The robotics company's stock took a hit as it reported a larger-than-expected loss per share, overshadowing a revenue beat.

Serve Robotics reported a quarterly loss of $0.24 per share, missing analysts' consensus estimate of a $0.21 loss by 12.68%. This disappointing figure raised concerns about the company's path to profitability, despite showing an 11.11% improvement from the $0.27 per share loss reported in the same period last year. On a more positive note, the company's revenue showed significant growth, coming in at $642,000. This figure surpassed the analyst consensus estimate of $624,800 by 2.75% and represented a 37.07% increase from the same period last year when the company reported sales of $468,380.

While the revenue growth is encouraging, investors appear to be focusing on the bottom line miss. The wider-than-expected loss suggests that Serve Robotics may be facing challenges in controlling costs as it scales its operations. CEO Dr. Ali Kashani emphasized the company's progress, stating, "This quarter marked a major step forward as we expanded into new markets, scaled operations, and fueled our autonomy flywheel to an unprecedented degree." However, the market's reaction indicates that investors are looking for more tangible signs of a path to profitability. As Serve Robotics continues to navigate the competitive robotics industry, market participants will likely be closely watching its ability to narrow losses while maintaining strong top-line growth in future quarters.