Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is approaching a difficult valuation test: its established ride-hailing network is producing more cash, while autonomous vehicles threaten to change who controls transportation demand. On September 2, the Financial Times reported plans to eliminate 3,300 corporate jobs, or about 10% of the global workforce, as the company redirects resources toward robotaxis. Analysts at Citi estimated roughly $825 million of annual savings. That would cover only a fraction of Uber’s stated commitment of more than $10 billion to autonomous-vehicle expansion, so the investment case still turns on whether the new spending protects or dilutes future returns.
The Savings Buy Time, Not Immunity
Uber Technologies, Inc. reported more than $58 billion of second-quarter 2026 gross bookings, up 22% year-over-year, and revenue of $14.19 billion, up 12%. Trailing twelve-month free cash flow exceeded $10 billion for the first time. Those numbers show why investors cannot assess the robotaxi transition simply as an existential threat: Uber has an existing earnings engine capable of helping fund the change. But gross bookings are customer transaction value, not company revenue, and that distinction matters when forecasting how much incremental driverless demand Uber can monetize.
Uber Technologies, Inc. sits on the second spot on our list of the 10 best undervalued stocks to buy now according to Reddit, ranked by second-quarter hedge fund holders. The ranking raises a useful comparison: why did an established mobility platform outrank eight other potential value opportunities when its most important competitive question remains unsettled?
The Robotaxi Calculation Has Two Sides
Uber Technologies, Inc.’s network could become more valuable if manufacturers and fleet owners use it to fill empty seats. Management said autonomous vehicles were operating through its platform in seven cities, with a goal of 15 by the end of 2026. In early deployments, Uber reported roughly 25 to 30 trips per vehicle per day, a utilization rate that is financially important because expensive fleets earn nothing while parked.
However, operators such as Alphabet’s Waymo may eventually acquire riders directly. An autonomous fleet can also shift bargaining power away from millions of independent drivers toward a smaller set of well-capitalized suppliers. The regulatory emphasis on hybrid fleets, as described by the Financial Times on September 5, therefore has a commercial dimension. Our earlier examination of whether Uber’s economic moat can survive the robotaxi transition explores the same question from the perspective of network effects and potential disintermediation.
A second expansion complicates the economics. Uber Technologies, Inc. agreed to acquire Delivery Hero in a transaction valuing the business at approximately €13 billion, with closing expected in the second half of 2027. Management hopes to add $1.2 billion to Delivery Hero’s operating profit through a combination of efficiency and cross-selling. Yet the acquired business is loss-making, and realizing revenue synergies across many markets is harder to verify than simply removing duplicated overhead.
What the Earnings Multiple Assumes
The Seeking Alpha data shows Uber Technologies, Inc. at 15.12 times trailing GAAP earnings and 21.81 times forward GAAP earnings; the comparable non-GAAP multiples are 24.00 and 20.65, respectively. The difference between forward GAAP and non-GAAP readings is a reminder that the definition of earnings materially changes the apparent valuation. On non-GAAP forward earnings, the multiple is around 30% below Uber’s five-year average of 29.60, but still above the sector median of 18.86.
The earnings trajectory also resists a simplistic cheap-stock label. Seeking Alpha shows forward GAAP EPS growth of approximately negative 0.22%, even as forward EBITDA growth is 28.74% and expected three-to-five-year EPS compound growth reaches 27.30%. Those figures can coexist when accounting items and the time horizons differ, but the gap demands attention. A discounted multiple against Uber’s own history is not automatically a discount to its future obligations.
There is also a question of cash availability. Our examination of Uber’s growing insurance bill and whether operating cash can keep up distinguishes insurance reserves from unrestricted cash. That matters when future robotaxi capital requirements compete with insurance collateral, acquisitions, and repurchases. Management has described an intention to devote about half of free cash flow to buybacks.
Institutional Money Is Watching the Transition
Insider Monkey’s Q2 2026 13F database counted 151 bullish hedge funds, down from 153 in Q1, suggesting a broadly stable but not strengthening institutional base. At September 30, 48.75 million shares were sold short, up from 45.12 million on August 31, equivalent to 2.48% of the float. Neither measure proves a specific view about autonomous vehicles, but the increase in short positions sits alongside the company’s substantial investment commitments.
Wells Fargo raised its target to $92 from $89 on October 5 and maintained Overweight, identifying durable U.S. mobility trips growth in 2027 as important while Waymo scales. That is the relevant test: if trips, margins, and free cash flow hold up during deployment, the valuation gap to Uber Technologies, Inc.’s historical multiple could narrow. If billions in fleet spending produce limited incremental economics or direct robotaxi competition reduces platform relevance, today’s forward earnings estimates could require revision. A separate analysis of what the market is actually pricing into Uber’s robotaxi risk lays out why strong cash flow and a declining share price can coexist.
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