Alphabet
’s
GOOGL
Waymo is leaving no stone unturned to expand its ride-hailing service – Waymo One, across the United States.
This is evident from the company’s latest move to expand the operating area of Waymo One in Phoenix, AZ. The expansion includes rides to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Notably, the company started offering rides to the airport in its autonomous vehicles in November 2022. A specialist used to be inside the card during the ride.
Now, Waymo’s all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles equipped with its advanced Waymo Driver technology will run fully driverless to Sky Harbor.
Expanding Waymo Efforts
The latest expansion is in sync with the company’s strengthening efforts toward expanding its operations and fleet and making the vehicles more rider-friendly.
Apart from the latest move, Waymo recently expanded its operations to downtown Phoenix. It also rolled out rider-only service in downtown Phoenix.
Additionally, the company plans to expand its operating area eventually in downtown Phoenix.
Further, Waymo, which has been running its vehicles well on the streets of San Francisco, CA, on the back of its Early Rider program called Trusted Tester, has now applied for a final permit in California at the California Public Utilities Commission. Notably, Waymo’s expansion to San Francisco marks its first expansion outside Phoenix.
Furthermore, Waymo recently started testing its self-driving vehicles on the streets of Bellevue, WA. This marked Alphabet’s second Waymo expansion outside Phoenix, AZ.
Apart from these efforts, Alphabet’s partnership with Geely, a China-based automotive company, remains noteworthy. Per the terms of the deal, Geely’s electric mobility brand, Zeekr, will design and develop electric vehicles for Waymo, into which Waymo Driver will be integrated.
The vehicles will be introduced on the roads of the United States first. With the Geely partnership, Waymo will expand its Waymo One fleet.
The above-mentioned endeavors will help Alphabet further penetrate the booming autonomous driving space.
According to a Fortune Business Insights report, the global autonomous car market is expected to reach $11.03 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 31.3% between 2021 and 2028.
Per a report by Mordor Intelligence, the worldwide driverless vehicle market is expected to see a CAGR of 18.06% between 2021 and 2026.
We believe that Alphabet’s growing prospects in this promising market will help it win investors’ confidence in the days ahead.
Coming to the price performance, Alphabet has lost 37.7% on a year-to-date basis against the
industry
’s decline of 39.7%.
However, inflationary pressure and mounting expenses associated with Alphabet’s strategic investments and expansion activities might continue to impact its margin expansion. This remains a major concern.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Investors interested in the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector can consider some better-ranked stocks like
Arista Networks
ANET
,
Asure Software
ASUR
and
Agilent Technologies
A
. While Arista Networks and Asure Software sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Agilent Technologies carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Arista Networks has lost 8.9% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for ANET is currently projected at 17.5%.
Asure Software has gained 3.7% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for ASUR is currently projected at 23%.
Agilent Technologies has lost 42.6% in the year-to-date period. ABNB’s long-term earnings growth rate is currently projected at 20.7%.
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