Al Root

Self-driving truck technology company Kodiak AI just reported its first quarter since completing its merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Investors appear to have wanted more.

Kodiak AI shares were down 7.9% in premarket trading at $7.37, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 0.1%.

The company reported a pretax net loss of $270 million late Wednesday. The number might be jarring. Wall Street was looking for a $36 million loss, according to FactSet. But there were several one-time merger-related charges included. The adjusted loss was about $34 million, close to the consensus estimates, according to Citi analyst Mike Ward.

He rates shares Buy and has a $13.50 price target for the stock.

Kodiak, which completed its SPAC merger in September, with shares at about $9.50 apiece, calls itself a leader in autonomous trucking. It doesn't build trucks. Instead, it offers AI-based "driver-as-a-service" solutions, charging trucking companies on a per-mile or per-vehicle basis.

The company has 10 driverless trucks deployed and generated third-quarter sales of $770,000.

Operating cash flow was a negative $33 million in the third quarter and $70 million year to date. "We expect the quarterly cash burn of $35 million to $40 million," added Ward. "The current cash balance of $146 million provides about 12 months of funding."

The company is on a path to deploy 100 autonomous trucks, according to Cantor Fitzgerald's analyst Andres Sheppard. "Up next, management is targeting to launch long-haul driverless operations in the second half of 2026."

"We are bullish on autonomous vehicles, particularly commercial vehicles, " added Sheppard, "And we believe that driverless trucks can result in better unit economics, improve [truck] utilization, lower costs, enhance road safety, and address the truck driver shortage in the U.S."

That's the vision Kodiak is driving toward. It's still a ways down the road.

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

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November 13, 2025 08:31 ET (13:31 GMT)

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