While artificial intelligence is a booming field right now, there are still major goals to be accomplished. One of those is autonomous driving. Once the exclusive domain of science fiction, we’re closer than ever to having robots drive us around. Considering global population growth and the projected traffic increases, automating mobility would be a godsend. And that brings us to autonomous driving stocks.
For one thing, the broader ecosystem is likely to be massive. According to Grand View Research, the global autonomous vehicle market reached a valuation of $42.37 billion in 2022. Between 2023 and 2030, the segment should expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.9%. By the culmination point, the autonomy industry could generate revenue of $214.32 billion.
Further, the improvement in traffic flow would yield significant economic efficiencies. One estimate suggests that traffic congestion and associated delays cost the U.S. economy over $120 billion annually. That’s yet another reason to consider the upside potential of these autonomous driving stocks.
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)
Tech giant Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) makes sense for a variety of applications in the broader innovation space. However, it really holds its own as one of the autonomous driving stocks. Alphabet’s subsidiary Waymo is a leader in the research and development of autonomous driving solutions. Its self-driving taxis represent a benchmark in terms of automated mobility.
Sure, it’s not what you would call a pure-play example of autonomous driving stocks. However, those ideas are incredibly risky. With Alphabet, you get a wide range of business exposure thanks to its status as Google’s parent company. Financially, the enterprise is consistent. In the past year since the second quarter, it posted an average earnings per share of $1.71, beating the collective consensus target of $1.56.
Now, is GOOG stock cheap? Not by a long shot. However, for what you’re getting, a 6.54X trailing-year sales multiple isn’t that bad. What’s more, analysts anticipate steady growth over the next two years. By fiscal 2025, sales could hit $356.74 billion. That’s up noticeably from last year’s haul of $307.39 billion.
Ambarella (AMBA)
A semiconductor equipment and materials firm, Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA) specializes in low power, high-definition video compression and image-processing solutions. Ambarella’s products find use in several applications, including security cameras, consumer electronics and of course automotive cameras. Its imaging and vision systems have become one of the benchmarks in terms of detection, recognition and classification.
One of the more exciting ideas among autonomous driving stocks, Ambarella isn’t profitable. In the past four quarters, the company posted an average loss per share of 23 cents. However, this figure was much better than the expected loss of 31 cents. Technically, then, the average “earnings” surprise came out to 25.05%.
Another factor to consider is that investors will be paying a premium for AMBA stock, which trades at 9.68X sales. In contrast, over the past year, the average multiple sat at 8.16X. However, analysts see significant growth in the years ahead.
By the end of fiscal 2026 (calendar 2025), Ambarella might generate revenue of $314.52 million. That’s up from last year’s tally of $226.47 million.
Baidu (BIDU)
A leading Chinese tech company, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) – often called the Google of China – focuses on internet-related services and products. In particular, the business covers exciting ground such as search engines, cloud computing and AI. As for representing one of the top autonomous driving stocks, Baidu offers its Apollo project. This initiative includes a range of software, hardware and cloud solutions specifically geared for autonomous mobility.
Financially, it’s one of the more impressive tech firms you can acquire. In the past four quarters since Q1, Baidu posted an average EPS of $2.95. This easily beat the collective consensus view of $2.33, yielding an earnings surprise of 26.33%. Plus, the company beat each of the past four quarters, not relying on anything exceptional to make up for a prior miss.
Another attractive element bolstering BIDU stock is the valuation. Currently, it trades hands at 1.64X sales. In the past year, this metric stood at 2.43X. Looking out over the next two years, analysts see slow but steady growth. By the end of fiscal 2025, sales could be $20.36 billion, up from 2023’s print of $18.95 billion.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
