Uber’s Zoox deal latest in broad autonomous vehicle push

By William Temple Published Mar 11, 10:37PM EDT

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Uber’s Zoox deal latest in broad autonomous vehicle push — © sarawuth702 / iStock via Getty Images

Uber just announced a partnership with Zoox, Amazon’s robotaxi subsidiary, and the stock jumped nearly 3% on the news. Market analyst Jason John summed it up cleanly: “It’s another example of their foray into the AV business. I mean, this is one of many deals. Zoox is the latest, but Wave, Wasabi, Lucid, you know, so it’s all about the platform.”

That framing is exactly right. This isn’t a one-off announcement. It’s a pattern.

The Platform Play

Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER | UBER Price Prediction) isn’t trying to build autonomous vehicles. It’s trying to be the road every AV company drives on. The strategy is to become the distribution layer for the autonomous vehicle era, the app that passengers open regardless of whose robot is doing the driving.

By Q2 2025, Uber had already announced 20 autonomous partners worldwide. Then in a single week during Q1 2025, they dropped five new AV partnership announcements. Zoox joins a roster that already includes Wave, Wasabi, and Lucid. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi put it plainly on the Q4 2025 earnings call: “We enter 2026 with a rapidly growing topline, significant cash flow, and a clear path to becoming the largest facilitator of AV trips in the world.”

Uber is also putting real money behind this. The company has committed over $100 million to build AV charging infrastructure, signaling this isn’t just a press release strategy.

The Business Behind the Bet

The underlying business gives Uber the financial runway to make this work. Full year 2025 revenue hit $52.02 billion, up 18.28% year over year. Free cash flow reached $9.76 billion for the full year, up 41.6%. That’s real cash to fund infrastructure, partnerships, and buybacks.

On the Q4 call, Khosrowshahi noted the platform now has 202 million monthly active users completing over 40 million trips every day. That audience is the asset. Any AV company that wants scale needs access to it.

The Margin Trade-Off You Need to Understand

Here’s the honest tension in this story. When Uber partners with an AV company for rides, it shares revenue. That means lower margins compared to a trip where an independent human driver absorbs the cost risk. John flagged this directly as a key risk: when Uber partners with someone for rides, margins are lower because revenue must be shared.

The bull case says volume and scale offset the margin compression over time. The bear case says Uber is essentially helping AV companies commoditize its own core product.

The stock is down about 11.44% year to date, sitting well below analyst consensus targets of $103.81. John has expressed a bullish long-term view despite the recent weakness, citing the platform logic as a key factor. If autonomous vehicles are the future of transportation, Uber is building the toll road.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Disclaimer: Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc. ("EnergyX") has engaged 24/7 Wall St to publish this communication in connection with EnergyX's ongoing Regulation A offering. 24/7 Wall St has been paid in cash and may receive additional compensation. 24/7 Wall St and/or its affiliates do not currently hold securities of EnergyX.

This compensation and any current or future ownership interest could create a conflict of interest. Please consider this disclosure alongside EnergyX's offering materials. EnergyX's Regulation A offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers and sales may be made only by means of the qualified offering circular. Before investing, carefully review the offering circular, including the risk factors. The offering circular is available at invest.energyx.com/.

Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar results. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Market shortfall are forward‑looking estimates and are subject to substantial uncertainty. Investments in private placements, and start-up investments in particular, are long-term, illiquid, speculative and involve a high degree of risk and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

About the Author William Temple →

I write to invest, and I invest to spend more time with nature. Usually all at the same time. I'm a retired equities guy who saw a recession or four, and lives for what comes out of the other side of them.

I cover stocks across the board cause even though I feel like I've seen it all, there's always another way out there to make, and lose money. I want to help you do more of the former, and none of the latter. Making money with friends is my oxygen.

Let's go!