To Hold Uber Stock: Why Long-Term Investors Shouldn't Panic Amid Robotaxi Concerns

Uber Technologies recently disclosed its fourth-quarter 2025 financial results, revealing a company at a crossroads between impressive growth and emerging competitive threats. While the ride-hailing giant’s operational performance remains solid, the rise of autonomous vehicles—particularly Alphabet’s Waymo—has become the dominant concern for investors. For those already holding Uber stock, the question isn’t whether to abandon ship, but rather how to maintain conviction through near-term headwinds.

Latest Q4 2025 Financial Results Show Resilience

The company’s fourth-quarter 2025 performance delivered numbers worth noting. Uber reported revenues of approximately $14.28 billion, representing a robust 19.4% increase from the same period a year earlier. The gross bookings guidance of $52.25 billion to $53.75 billion—equating to 17% to 21% year-over-year growth—demonstrates the platform’s continued expansion across both mobility and delivery segments.

Adjusted EBITDA projections of $2.41 billion to $2.51 billion, representing 31% to 36% growth, underscored improving operational efficiency. For the full year 2025, Zacks consensus estimates peg revenues at $51.9 billion with 18% year-over-year expansion, while earnings per share is expected to reach $5.4, reflecting 18.4% growth.

Historically, Uber has beaten earnings expectations with an average beat of 242.6% across the trailing four quarters, suggesting management has been conservative in guidance. This track record reinforces confidence that forward-looking projections maintain margin for positive surprises.

Waymo’s Growth: The Real Story Behind Uber’s Stock Decline

The 15% stock decline over three months tells a story about market sentiment that extends far beyond quarterly earnings. Last month, Alphabet’s Waymo announced it had surpassed 450,000 weekly paid rides—nearly double the 250,000 reported in April 2025. This acceleration has unnerved investors concerned about the existential threat autonomous vehicles pose to traditional ride-hailing.

Waymo, launched in 2009 as Google’s self-driving car initiative before becoming an independent company under the Alphabet umbrella, now operates fully driverless fleets across multiple U.S. cities without any safety drivers. The company has successfully scaled from limited pilots to large-scale commercial deployment in just over a year, demonstrating that the autonomous vehicle transition is no longer theoretical—it’s happening now.

However, it’s crucial to recognize that Waymo’s success doesn’t necessarily signal Uber’s demise. The two operate in different but overlapping markets. Uber maintains significant advantages: a massive driver network that took years to build, entrenched relationships with millions of users, and diversified revenue streams beyond ride-hailing. Additionally, Waymo’s service availability remains geographically limited, while Uber operates globally.

Valuation: A Silver Lining Worth Acknowledging

From a valuation standpoint, Uber’s current trading metrics suggest the market may be overweighting robotaxi risks relative to fundamentals. Trading at a forward P/E multiple of 22.15—below the broader internet services industry average of 29.5—Uber appears reasonably valued for a company of its scale and growth trajectory.

Comparatively, Lyft trades at an even lower multiple of 11.37, raising questions about whether the broader ride-hailing sector has been indiscriminately punished. Uber’s market capitalization of approximately $201 billion positions it among the world’s most valuable companies, providing substantial financial resources to navigate industry transitions and invest in its own autonomous vehicle initiatives.

The company’s deliberate diversification into food delivery, freight, and international markets has proven strategically sound. These revenue streams reduce dependency on any single business line and provide balance sheets that weather sector-specific downturns.

Why Investors Should Hold: The Case for Patience

For those currently holding Uber stock, capitulating to short-term anxieties would be premature. Several factors support maintaining positions through this transitional phase.

First, Uber’s diversification efforts stand as a bulwark against single-vector competition. Unlike Lyft, which remains heavily dependent on ride-hailing, Uber has developed multiple revenue sources that collectively reduce risk. The company’s international expansion efforts, particularly in high-growth markets, provide geographic diversification that insulates against localized challenges.

Second, management’s strategic focus on autonomous vehicles isn’t passive. While Waymo has captured headlines, Uber is investing in autonomous capabilities through partnerships and acquisitions. The fourth-quarter conference call provided updates on these initiatives, suggesting management recognizes the imperative to participate in this technology shift rather than be victimized by it.

Third, the regulatory environment remains in flux. The recent Dutch court ruling that reclassified drivers as self-employed rather than employees actually benefits Uber’s cost structure and operational flexibility—a development that received insufficient market attention during the recent selloff.

Headwinds Worth Monitoring

To be clear, holding Uber doesn’t mean dismissing legitimate concerns. Tariff-related pressures could compress margins in the near term. Rising operating costs and elevated debt levels represent structural challenges that require ongoing management. The pace of Waymo’s geographic expansion deserves close monitoring, as do updates on Uber’s own autonomous vehicle progress.

However, these are reasons to monitor the situation closely, not to abandon positions. The guidance provided during earnings season—not the raw financial numbers alone—will offer the clearest insight into management’s confidence regarding competitive positioning and operational trajectory going forward.

The Bottom Line

For investors questioning whether to hold it or sell it: hold it. Uber faces genuine competitive pressures that warrant caution and careful monitoring, but the fundamentals supporting the business remain intact. The company’s scale, diversification, resilience, and valuation metrics collectively argue for maintaining positions through this uncertain period rather than crystallizing losses amid short-term volatility. Strategic patience, combined with ongoing vigilance regarding competitive developments and management guidance, represents the more prudent course than reactive selling.