Waymo (GOOGL), Backed by Alphabet, Makes Bold Move: Mapping Manhattan Streets Again
Waymo—Alphabet's self-driving moonshot—just dropped a pin back in NYC. Manhattan's chaotic gridlock? Now it's their newest training ground.
Why This Matters
Autonomous vehicles don’t just need data—they need the messy, unscripted chaos of real urban warfare (read: jaywalking tourists, rogue delivery bikes). Waymo’s playing the long game—even if Wall Street still thinks robocars are ‘5 years away’ (like they’ve said every year since 2015).
Street-Level Strategy
No driver? No problem. Waymo’s lidar-packed Pacificas will crawl through Midtown traffic, absorbing the beautiful dysfunction of honking cabs and construction detours. Every near-miss? Pure algorithmic gold.
Meanwhile, in Finance Land…
Investors keep throwing billions at ‘mobility solutions’ while Uber still bleeds cash. At least Waymo’s burning money on something that doesn’t involve subsidizing burrito deliveries.
Bottom line: If Waymo can master Manhattan, your city’s next. Unless, of course, regulators or a rogue pothole have other plans.
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The news caused Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) stocks to fall, as investors see the potential for Waymo to disrupt the market. Indeed, five-star Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski believes that the U.S. rideshare market will be shaped by two big changes in the next five years: more people using autonomous vehicles and a shift toward cheaper ride options. He predicts that Waymo will take 10% of the rideshare market by 2030, up from just 1% in 2025, as it expands from covering 9% of the U.S. population to 57%. That could mean going from 18 million rides in 2025 to 465 million rides in 2030.
Interestingly, Waymo currently operates in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, and covers about 7% of the country. Nevertheless, it plans to launch in 17 more markets within the next six months. As a result, Uber and Lyft could lose 4% and 5% of market share, respectively, by 2030. Gawrelski expects Waymo’s growth to reduce Uber and Lyft’s trip volume growth by 100 to 300 basis points. The timing is important, as Tesla (TSLA) is also preparing to launch a robotaxi service in Austin, but Waymo already has a solid head start in this space.
Is Google Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOGL stock based on 29 Buys and nine Holds assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average GOOGL price target of $199.11 per share implies 13.1% upside potential from current levels.
