Robotics and lidar names are getting flushed in Tuesday’s trading as the broad AI trade takes a breather. Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) is down about 10% to $43, Aeva Technologies (NASDAQ:AEVA) is down about 12% to $21, and Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM | SYM Price Prediction) is off about 4% at $41. There are no company-specific headlines behind the moves. This is rotation.
AI Enthusiasm Cools, Duration Assets Get Hit First
Three catalysts converged on the AI trade this week. Anthropic told investors over the weekend that annualized revenue reached $65 billion at the end of July, an enormous growth rate but below the $80 billion-plus figure that had been circulating in Silicon Valley. Reuters separately reported Anthropic is guiding to 2028 revenue of $190 billion to $200 billion, likely behind what investors had penciled in after commentary suggesting an exit ARR next year of $400 billion to $500 billion. On top of that, the Wall Street Journal reported that nine top tech companies now carry roughly $3 trillion of off-balance-sheet commitments tied largely to AI, growing faster than traditional capex, which totaled about $600 billion over the past year.
The result is a broad risk-off day in hardware. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) is down about 5% intraday to $530, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (NASDAQ:IGV) is roughly flat at $102. Software is outperforming, memory, optics, neoclouds and consumer electronics are lower. The same power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind the data-center buildout are also caught in the tape, which is why we pulled together seven of them in a free AI infrastructure report.
Compounding it, the 30-year Treasury yield hit a 19-year high today, and long-duration, pre-profit growth stories are the most sensitive assets to a rising long end.
The Lidar Pair Ran Hard Into the Rotation
Ouster and Aeva got hit hardest for a reason. Both are still unprofitable lidar plays whose valuations depend on adoption curves that stretch years out. And both have ripped into today. Ouster came in up about 30% over the past month and roughly 122% year to date. Aeva was up about 42% over the past month and roughly 79% year to date. Stocks that have doubled tend to be sold hardest when risk comes off.
Both stocks delivered positive news this earnings season. Ouster’s Q2 print delivered revenue of $54.6M, up 56% year over year, with CEO Angus Pacala telling investors “customers around the world have continued to scale their investments in Physical AI.” Aeva beat top and bottom line, announced a new Optical Connectivity business for AI data centers, and disclosed a $115M follow-on that lifted liquidity to $302.9M, per its SEC filings.
Neither report changes the fact that these are Physical AI narratives with valuations trading on multi-year TAMs. When investors reprice long-dated growth, this is exactly the cohort that moves first.
Symbotic Is a Different Profile
Symbotic’s more modest decline reflects a fundamentally different profile. The warehouse automation company runs a real revenue business with a large contracted backlog. Its most recent quarter delivered revenue of $721M, up 22% year over year, adjusted EBITDA that more than doubled to $95M, and a contracted backlog of roughly $22.5B anchored by Walmart. The stock is down about 29% year to date and roughly 19% over the past year, which is a very different setup than a lidar name that has doubled. While Symbotic won’t see the ‘swings’ that come with companies in the path of mega-narratives like humanoid robotics, it does have an established business that makes it an attractive candidate for risk-averse investors who still want exposure to the growth of robotics.
What to Watch
Ouster’s $58 analyst target and Aeva’s $33 target both sit meaningfully above current prices, so the next test is whether sell-side sponsors reiterate through the drawdown or wait for a firmer AI capex narrative. We’ve seen wild swings in the AI space across 2026, so today could either be a one-day event or the beginning of another downtrend.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks