Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR), the leader in self-driving freight, today announced a new customer agreement to begin driverless hauls with the Aurora Driver. The deal coincides with the arrival of Aurora’s second-generation driverless trucks – a milestone that positions the company to meet the accelerating demand for the Aurora Driver. Value Truck plans to use the Aurora Driver to move freight more efficiently, especially in U.S. border cities like Laredo, Texas where nearshoring is driving unprecedented freight volume.
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"Freight volume on routes like Dallas-Laredo is growing faster than available capacity, and that gap is exactly what the Aurora Driver is built to close," said Zac Andreoni, Vice President of Business Development at Aurora. "Value Truck is exactly the kind of customer we built our second-generation trucks for — a carrier that is growing and needs flexible, round-the-clock coverage on high-growth corridors."
Value Truck Signs On
Value Truck, a full-service and cross-border carrier, specializes in transporting heavy, oversized industrial equipment, retail goods, and perishables. The company will initially deploy the Aurora Driver on two routes: Dallas-Laredo and Fort Worth-Phoenix – freeing up its own drivers to focus on local freight while adding the potential for 24/7 capacity on key long-haul and high-volume routes.
"We’re proud to work alongside Aurora to move autonomous trucking from possibility to everyday freight operations,” said Joe Skoog, Chief Executive Officer of Value Truck. “The Aurora Driver will add flexible capacity on key long-haul corridors while allowing our drivers to focus where their experience matters most. Phoenix to Fort-Worth and Laredo to Dallas are the starting point, not the finish line. Together, we intend to build one of the most advanced transportation networks across North America.”
Autonomous Trucks to Ease Congestion at U.S. Border Hubs
Laredo, Texas, is the busiest land port in the Western Hemisphere and handles approximately 40% of all freight moving between the U.S. and Mexico. As manufacturing facilities move closer to the U.S., “nearshoring” is driving a surge in freight that travels through Laredo, leading to longer pick-up times for traditional drivers at congested U.S. border hubs. The Aurora Driver gives carriers a way to move that freight around the clock on American highways, without the hours-of-service limits that constrain traditional drivers.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, those statements regarding the prospects of the development, manufacturing, scaling (including, but not limited to, the route expansion strategy, the transition to our DaaS model, fleet size, fleet ownership, and our product’s availability and capabilities) and commercialization, and realization of the anticipated benefits of the Aurora Driver and Aurora’s autonomous driving technology (including expected improvements in efficiency, margins, capacity, and border freight operations), and Aurora’s relationships and anticipated benefits with customers, including risks that anticipated customer orders may not materialize, may be delayed, and/or customer contracts may be subject to cancellation, termination, or reduction in scope. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions and are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, please see the risks and uncertainties identified under the heading “Risk Factors” section of Aurora Innovation, Inc.’s (“Aurora”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 11, 2026, and other documents filed by Aurora from time to time with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in Aurora’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. All forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Aurora undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances, except as required by law.
About Aurora
Aurora (NASDAQ: AUR) is delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly to make transportation safer, increasingly accessible, and more reliable and efficient than ever before. The Aurora Driver is a self-driving system designed to operate multiple vehicle types, from freight-hauling trucks to ride-hailing passenger vehicles, and underpins Aurora’s driver as a service product for trucking. Aurora is working with industry leaders across the transportation ecosystem, including AUMOVIO, FedEx, Hirschbach, McLane, NVIDIA, PACCAR, Ryder, Schneider, Toyota, Uber, Uber Freight, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Werner. To learn more, visit aurora.tech.
About Value Truck
Value Truck is a North American logistics platform giving enterprise shippers a single source of dynamic capacity, uniting a company-owned asset fleet and cross-border terminal network with a rapidly scaling asset-light operation. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and operating terminals across the U.S. and Mexico, the company moves freight for shippers in manufacturing, building products, chemicals, and defense, and is partnering with Aurora to operate on the frontier of autonomous freight. Value Truck pairs its own proprietary AI and automation software with best-in-class technology to operate an integrated freight network engineered for what's next, delivering enterprise-grade reliability at scale. Value Truck isn't preparing for the autonomous era of freight; it's building it alongside the best partners in the world. To learn more, visit valuetruck.com.
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DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $AUR #autonomoustrucking--Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR), the leader in self-driving freight, today announced a new customer agreement to begin driverless hauls with the Aurora Driver. The deal coincides with the arrival of Aurora's second-generation driverless trucks – a milestone that positions the company to meet the accelerating demand for the Aurora Driver. Value Truck plans to use the Aurora Driver to move freight more efficiently, especially in U.S. border cities like Laredo, Texas.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR), the leader in self-driving freight, has launched its second-generation driverless trucks. Aurora plans to deploy the new
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $AUR #autonomoustrucking--Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR), the leader in self-driving freight, has launched its second-generation driverless trucks. Aurora plans to deploy the new fleet across its commercial network, which currently encompasses 10 driverless routes throughout the U.S. Sun Belt, to serve additional customers.Aurora made history when it deployed Class 8 trucks powered by the Aurora Driver, its self-driving system, on public roads last year. As of the end of June, the Auro.
Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. lessened its position in shares of Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR – Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,277,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161,676 shares during the period. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. owned 0.32% of Aurora Innovation worth $25,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 9.6% in the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 13,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,356 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 34,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 2,406 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Finally, Finivi Inc. boosted its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 104,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.
Aurora Innovation Trading Up 0.5% Aurora Innovation stock opened at $6.09 on Tuesday. Aurora Innovation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.60 and a 1-year high of $8.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of -13.84 and a beta of 2.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.35.
Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.97 million. Aurora Innovation had a negative net margin of 20,775.00% and a negative return on equity of 40.45%. Aurora Innovation’s revenue was down 66.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.
Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AUR shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Aurora Innovation from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Northland Securities began coverage on Aurora Innovation in a research report on Friday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Aurora Innovation from $4.70 to $7.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.25.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Aurora Innovation
Insider Buying and Selling at Aurora Innovation In other Aurora Innovation news, Director David M. Wehner acquired 82,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.04 per share, with a total value of $498,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 246,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,488,974.76. This represents a 50.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Reid Hoffman sold 1,202,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.27, for a total value of $8,741,113.58. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 7,048,487 shares of company stock valued at $54,295,119 in the last three months. 8.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Aurora Innovation (Free Report)
Aurora Innovation, Inc is a technology company specializing in the development of self-driving vehicle systems for both passenger and commercial applications. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aurora has built an end-to-end platform—known as the Aurora Driver—that integrates proprietary software, machine learning algorithms and a suite of sensors (LiDAR, radar and cameras) to enable vehicles to operate safely and efficiently in diverse driving environments.
The company’s core business revolves around designing, testing and deploying its autonomy stack on vehicles from established automotive and transportation partners.
Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Aurora Innovation The Ugliest Stocks in the Market Just Got a Very Expensive Vote of Confidence Is Domino’s Stock Serving Up a Buying Opportunity? A $1T Black Hole: SpaceX Eyes Pentagon AI to Break Free Why Gold Miners Could Be the Market’s Biggest Comeback Story Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AUR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR – Free Report).
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Shares of Aurora Innovation (AUR 0.25%) jumped 77.6% higher in the first half of 2026, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The self-driving truck start-up is beginning to show growth momentum as it develops new routes for customers, even though revenue over the last 12 months was still under $10 million.
At $6.10 as of this writing on July 14, 2026, Aurora Innovation is still well below its price when it went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021. Here's why the stock was up so much in 2026, and whether you should buy shares as its growth starts to pick up.
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Scaling autonomous trucks Aurora Innovation builds hardware and software for self-driving vehicles, specifically for large semi-trucks. With millions of trucks operating in the United States, the company's goal is to expand nationwide for these highway drivers, who face much simpler routes than city drivers.
It is currently focused on the southwest, with 12 distinct routes between cities in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Still, it is very early days for the business, which generated just $1 million in revenue last quarter. Revenue is projected to grow to $14 million to $16 million in 2026, driven by new contracts, representing 400% growth at the midpoint. Growth momentum -- even from this small base -- is what has investors excited about Aurora stock at the moment.
The trucking industry in the United States is massive. If a company like Aurora Innovation can be a leader in self-driving technology nationwide, there is probably a revenue opportunity in the billions from selling this hardware-and-software bundle alone.
Image source: Getty Images.
Should you buy Aurora Innovation stock? Right now, Aurora's financials do not match up with this investor optimism. Free cash flow was negative $646 million over the last twelve months, while revenue was just $4 million. The company does have over $1 billion in cash on the balance sheet as of the last quarter, but that will only provide it with around two years of cash burn at current rates.
Investors are right to be optimistic about Aurora Innovation's growth potential, but the stock's current valuation is getting ahead of itself. Shares currently have a market cap of $12 billion. Even if revenue reaches $1 billion over the next few years (unlikely), the stock still looks overvalued.
Aurora Innovation's capitalization, R&D capabilities, and OEM partnerships place it firmly at the forefront of the autonomous hauling race. Competitors' progress in adjacent markets highlights AUR's differentiated positioning within its core segment. The risk-reward profile is compelling, with bullish investors potentially gaining $1.80 for every $1 at risk.
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $AUR #AutonomousVehicles--Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) today announced it will release second quarter 2026 results after market close on July 29, 2026 and will host a business review conference call that day at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. The conference call will be webcast on Aurora's investor relations website at ir.aurora.tech. A replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days following the call.About AuroraAurora (Nasdaq: AUR) is delivering the benefits of self-driving technology.
For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. (ADUR - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. is one of 247 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADUR's full-year earnings has moved 46.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the most recent data, ADUR has returned 52.3% so far this year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have lost an average of 7.5%. This means that Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Aurora Innovation, Inc. (AUR - Free Report) . The stock is up 76.8% year-to-date.
For Aurora Innovation, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. is a member of the Technology Services industry, which includes 121 individual companies and currently sits at #110 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.5% this year, meaning that ADUR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Aurora Innovation, Inc. is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. and Aurora Innovation, Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
[url="]Edge Case[/url] today announced it has partnered with [url="]Aurora Innovation Inc.[/url] (NASDAQ: AUR) and reviewed its Safety Case, establishing a new
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Edge Case today announced it has partnered with Aurora Innovation Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) and reviewed its Safety Case, establishing a new standard for safety transparency in the autonomous vehicle industry. After a three-month audit, Edge Case confirmed Aurora's Safety Case is well-structured, substantively aligned with industry best practices, and actively maintained – emphasizing the Aurora Driver's maturity and readiness for America's highways. “Our work with Aurora.
Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%), a developer of self-driving technology for various vehicle types and applications, closed Thursday at $5.88, up 15.52%. The stock moved higher after news of an expanded Hirschbach partnership outlining 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks and a potential multi-year revenue stream in the hundreds of millions. Investors will be following closely regarding the execution of the planned commercial rollout.
The company’s trading volume reached 59.2 million shares, which is about 208% above compared with its three-month average of 19 million shares. Aurora Innovation went public in 2021 and has fallen 41% since its IPO.
How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.47%) rose 1.02% to finish Thursday at 7,209, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.36%) gained 0.89% to close at 24,892. Among autonomous vehicle technology peers, Alphabet (GOOGL +1.15%) closed at $381.94 (+9.97%) and Tesla (TSLA +1.17%) finished at $381.63 (+2.37%), reflecting strong interest in advanced mobility platforms.
What this means for investorsAurora Innovation shares climbed after the company and Hirschbach Motor Lines announced a non-binding plan to scale up to 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks for Hirschbach’s autonomous fleet, with deliveries expected to begin in 2027. The proposed deployment envisions up to 500 million driverless miles and a multi-year revenue opportunity in the hundreds of millions of dollars, while final commercial terms remain subject to binding agreements.
The announcement gives Aurora a clearer path from early freight operations toward commercial autonomous trucking, but the stock’s next test is whether these plans translate into binding commitments and actual revenue from delivering paid, driverless miles. Future updates on binding customer commitments, actual truck deployments, and paid driverless miles on commercial routes will determine whether the Hirschbach plan becomes a sustainable and repeatable source of revenue.
Eric Trie has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
“It's down a lot. It makes no sense,” he added. “It's because there's not enough aircraft servicing, because people feel that people aren't going to fly anymore. Wrong!”
RTX, on April 30, raised its quarterly dividend from 68 cents to 73 cents per share.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) is a “worthy” spec, Cramer said. “I'm not sure when they can ever make any money, but I'm going to go with you because I like the spec nature of it.”
The company, on April 30, announced expansion of its strategic partnership with Hirschbach Motor Lines, including a plan for the carrier to own 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks.
Cramer said Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AMPX) is “a storage spec, and it makes a lot of sense.”
Fremont, California-based Amprius will hold a conference call on Thursday, May 7 to discuss first-quarter financial results. Analysts expect the lithium-ion battery maker to report a quarterly loss at 2 cents per share on revenue of $25.72 million.
Price Action:
Aurora Innovation shares gained 4.3% to settle at $6.13 on Friday. RTX shares fell 1.2% to close at $173.99. Amprius Technologies shares fell 0.9% to settle at $20.87 on Friday. Photo via Shutterstock
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Aurora expands freight network and V.A.S. starts operations to customer endpoints
OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) and Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.) today announced the expansion of their autonomous freight network with a new 200-mile route between Dallas and Oklahoma City. The expansion marks a significant milestone as V.A.S. begins hauling freight to customer facilities in Oklahoma City with the Volvo VNL Autonomous integrated with the Aurora Driver.
Expanding to New Freight Markets
The Oklahoma City program currently supports trips five days a week in supervised autonomy. By logging hundreds of miles, the Volvo VNL Autonomous integrated with the Aurora Driver supports safer, quicker, and more efficient movement of goods, enabling V.A.S. to provide a premium service.
By operating directly to customer facilities, V.A.S. can reduce the need for drayage moves and additional handoffs, helping remove complexity from the logistics flow. Customers also benefit from Volvo’s extensive dealer network, robust service support, and proven uptime capabilities, helping them adopt autonomous transport while maintaining efficiency.
“Expanding our operations into Oklahoma City and adding customer endpoints is an important step for scaling autonomous transport,” said Sasko Cuklev, Head of On-Road Solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “Running end-to-end requires a higher level of operational precision and integration, and it further demonstrates how autonomous trucks can operate reliably in real logistics environments. Together with Aurora we are focused on expanding our network and accelerating the adoption of this new and exciting technology.”
“Leveraging our technology to open new routes quickly and efficiently is a core part of our strategy,” said Ossa Fisher, President of Aurora. “Aurora and Volvo are firing on all cylinders and our ability to execute together at scale is clear. As Volvo’s most advanced autonomy partner, we are proud to be the first to deploy the Volvo VNL Autonomous across multiple states.”
The launch also highlights the maturity of the Aurora Driver to meet VAS’ customer demand. Within weeks, Aurora mapped the Dallas-to-Oklahoma City interstate route and began autonomous hauls.
Leading the Industry in Safety and Scale
Volvo, the global leader in safety innovation, and Aurora, the leader in self-driving truck technology, have combined complementary expertise to deliver autonomous trucks at scale – setting the standard for integration, reliability, and safety along the way.
The companies revealed the purpose-built Volvo VNL Autonomous at the 2024 ACT Expo. Last year, line-side integration of the Aurora Driver with the Volvo VNL began at Volvo’s New River facility, the largest Volvo production facility in the world. Volvo plans to build hundreds of these trucks in 2027. Supported by strong technical and commercial momentum, Aurora and V.A.S. are now in the final validation phase for driverless operations.
About Volvo Autonomous Solutions
Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.) is the business area within the Volvo Group focused on developing and commercializing autonomous transport solutions in selected industry verticals. V.A.S. delivers end-to-end autonomous transport solutions that combine a purpose-built vehicle, a virtual driver, required infrastructure, operations and uptime support, and a fleet management system that orchestrates transport operations and manages logistics flows. Solutions are tailored to each customer’s needs and designed to support safer, more productive and more sustainable operations.
About Aurora
Aurora (Nasdaq: AUR) is delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly to make transportation safer, increasingly accessible, and more reliable and efficient than ever before. The Aurora Driver is a self-driving system designed to operate multiple vehicle types, from freight-hauling trucks to ride-hailing passenger vehicles, and underpins Aurora’s driver as a service product for trucking. Aurora is working with industry leaders across the transportation ecosystem, including AUMOVIO, FedEx, Hirschbach, NVIDIA, PACCAR, Ryder, Schneider, Toyota, Uber, Uber Freight, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Werner. To learn more, visit aurora.tech.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, those statements around our driverless operations and future financial and operating performance; our ability to meet customer demand, reduce costs and general expectations beyond that year; the safety benefits of our technology and product; our ability to achieve certain milestones around, and realize the potential benefits of, the development, manufacturing, scaling and commercialization of the Aurora Driver and related services, on the timeframe we expect or at all; our relationships with our partners and customers and anticipated benefits that they may derive from our product; and the anticipated impact of our product on the freight industry and economy. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions and are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, please see the risks and uncertainties identified under the heading “Risk Factors” section of Aurora Innovation, Inc.’s (“Aurora”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 11, 2026, and other documents filed by Aurora from time to time with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. All forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Aurora undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
It can be challenging to find an artificial intelligence (AI) stock trading under $50 that's worth taking a small stake in, as the hype around these companies can often outrun reality.
Still, they exist, and three that I view as promising options to consider are SoundHound AI (SOUN 1.07%), Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%), and Serve Robotics (SERV 5.31%). All of these companies are still unprofitable, and two are in the very early stages of generating any kind of revenue. They are speculative stocks, to be sure, so if you choose to invest in them, these positions should make up only a small portion of your overall portfolio.
Still, if they can deliver unexpected revenue growth, land large clients, or announce any other bullish business developments, they could also close out 2026 as significant winners in the AI space.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. SoundHound AI As an audio AI company, SoundHound AI builds tech that enables AI agents to turn vocal interactions into actions. For example, it has partnerships within the restaurant industry, where its AI agents take drive-thru orders from customers. SoundHound's AI agents are also being used to handle customer interactions across a host of industries, including retail, healthcare, and financial services.
The company recently announced an agreement to acquire LivePerson, a company that specializes in AI messaging. With LivePerson's range of messaging solutions, from phone calls to social media interactions, SoundHound could boost its cross-selling potential.
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Of the three companies on this list, SoundHound has the most meaningful revenue generation so far, and it's furthest along in proving its business use case. In 2025, it reported revenue of $168.9 million, a 99% increase from 2024. For 2026, it expects revenue to land in a range between $225 million and $260 million. SoundHound's stock price is down year to date so far, but if it can boost its forecast and surprise markets at some point, the stock could regain its footing and march higher.
2. Aurora Innovation AI is coming to the trucking industry in the form of self-driving vehicles. According to the researchers at Fortune Business Insights, the autonomous truck market is expected to be worth $46.5 billion globally this year, but they forecast it will grow to $107.7 billion by 2034. Still, it's a relatively new market, and there aren't a ton of pure-play investments to consider in it.
One of the few is Aurora, which aims to address the pain points of the freight industry. According to the American Trucking Associations, the driver shortage in the industry is on pace to grow in the coming years, and the number of hours a person can drive in a given day is legally capped for safety reasons. Moreover, the industry faces higher fuel and insurance costs.
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Aurora is still small, but by the end of 2026, it expects to have over 200 autonomous trucks in operation. The company reported revenue of just $3 million in 2025 but expects it to grow to between $14 million and $16 million in 2026. Aurora is already having a strong 2026, so it has the opportunity to keep carrying that momentum into the end of the year.
3. Serve Robotics Serve Robotics describes itself as an "industry leader in physical AI." Its robots use AI to help them navigate the world around them, and their models are continuously refined with new real-world data. This may sound a little futuristic, but it is a rapidly expanding sector: Fortune Business Insights forecasts the global AI robot market will grow from $7.4 billion in 2026 to $60.6 billion by 2034.
Today, the company is mainly involved in the delivery industry through partnerships with DoorDash, as well as Uber Technologies through Uber Eats.
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It's also planning to acquire privately held Diligent Robotic, which is building robot assistants for the healthcare industry. Its Moxi robots have been deployed in more than 25 hospital facilities.
Serve Robotics CEO Dr. Ali Kashani said in his company's press release:
We've proven we can deploy robots safely and reliably at scale in complex urban environments. By extending our platform beyond sidewalks and into hospitals, we're expanding where our Physical AI can operate, learn, and create value. Over time, Serve and Moxi will share one autonomy stack, one data flywheel, and one operating system for robots that work alongside people across city sidewalks and critical institutions. This is how autonomy becomes infrastructure.
The growth potential is there, but this company is still in the very early stages of proving its business model, with 2025 revenue of $2.7 million and projections for revenue of $26 million in 2026. Its stock price is slightly down on the year, but there's still plenty of time for the company to make some moves or announcements that can change its trajectory.
After a successful pilot program with one of the largest private fleets in America, Aurora transitions to driverless commercial operations on select routes
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) and McLane Company, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) subsidiary, today announced an agreement to begin driverless hauls in Texas with the Aurora Driver, an SAE L4 self-driving system that is first being deployed in long-haul trucking. The partnership enables McLane – one of the largest distributors in America, serving chain restaurants, convenience stores, and mass merchants – to move supplies and perishable food more efficiently for America’s most beloved restaurant brands with autonomous trucks.
“The business of moving food is essential to our economy and our way of life. With a 134-year legacy, McLane is deeply woven into the American distribution industry,” said Ossa Fisher, president at Aurora. “We’re excited to enter the next chapter with McLane and transform the American food supply chain with autonomous trucks. Our collective momentum in logistics is palpable."
Proven Safety and Reliability
The companies began their supervised autonomy pilot in 2023. Since then, the Aurora Driver logged over 280,000 autonomous miles in Texas and delivered 1,400 loads for McLane, helping it serve restaurant customers across the state.
Based on Aurora's record of safely delivering goods for McLane with 100% on-time performance, McLane approved the transition to driverless operations between Dallas and Houston. Aurora plans to expand to new routes between McLane distribution centers across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year, with plans to serve additional McLane business in the future.
“We’ve been thoroughly impressed with Aurora’s technology, exceptional safety performance and commitment to operational excellence,” said Susan Adzick, president of McLane Restaurant. “Autonomous technology helps us drive greater efficiency across the supply chain, while our drivers remain focused on the critical last mile—and continuing to serve as the face of our company to customers.”
Strengthening the Supply Chain with Autonomy
During the pilot, Aurora met the demands of McLane’s rigorous schedule, expanding to two round-trips daily between Dallas and Houston, seven days a week. The workflow utilizes a hybrid model: the Aurora Driver manages the long-haul ‘middle mile,’ while McLane drivers handle local deliveries to customer locations. This hybrid model with autonomous and human drivers will continue as the companies deepen their work together.
Autonomous trucks moving refrigerated hauls 24/7 offer scalable, reliable capacity that can flex with demand—bringing greater efficiency to operations and helping address ongoing labor constraints. By supporting more consistent transit schedules and dependable middle-mile coverage, the Aurora Driver helps keep freight moving smoothly.
About Aurora
Aurora (Nasdaq: AUR) is delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly to make transportation safer, increasingly accessible, and more reliable and efficient than ever before. The Aurora Driver is a self-driving system designed to operate multiple vehicle types, from freight-hauling trucks to ride-hailing passenger vehicles, and underpins Aurora’s driver as a service product for trucking. Aurora is working with industry leaders across the transportation ecosystem, including AUMOVIO, FedEx, Hirschbach, NVIDIA, PACCAR, Ryder, Schneider, Toyota, Uber, Uber Freight, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Werner. To learn more, visit aurora.tech.
About McLane
Founded in 1894, McLane Company Inc. is one of the largest distributors in America, serving convenience stores, mass merchants, and chain restaurants. As an industry-leading partner to the biggest retail and restaurant businesses, McLane buys, sells, delivers, and serves the world’s most beloved brands. With headquarters in Temple, Texas, McLane has more than 80 distribution centers across the country, employs more than 25,000 teammates, and delivers to nearly every zip code in the US. McLane is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, those statements around our driverless operations and future financial and operating performance; our ability to meet customer demand, reduce costs and general expectations beyond that year; the safety benefits of our technology and product; our ability to achieve certain milestones around, and realize the potential benefits of, the development, manufacturing, scaling and commercialization of the Aurora Driver and related services, on the timeframe we expect or at all; our relationships with our partners and customers and anticipated benefits that they may derive from our product; and the anticipated impact of our product on the freight industry and economy. Statements in this press release about McLane’s intent to expand its partnership reflect current plans and discussions, and whether that intent is finalized and results in binding orders is subject to definitive documentation, which may not occur on the expected timeline, or at all. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions and are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, please see the risks and uncertainties identified under the heading “Risk Factors” section of Aurora Innovation, Inc.’s (“Aurora”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 11, 2026, and other documents filed by Aurora from time to time with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. All forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Aurora undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary McLane is planning to deploy self-driving trucking technology from Aurora Innovation on routes in Texas and across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year, expanding on an autonomous freight pilot program the companies began in 2023, McLane and Aurora announced Wednesday.
Temple, Texas-based McLane is one of the largest distribution companies in the U.S., with more than 80 distribution centers that cover nearly every ZIP code in the country, and 25,000 employees. It will use the Aurora Driver technology in long-haul trucking to move supplies, including perishables, to restaurant brands.
The existing pilot includes two round-trips daily between Dallas and Houston, seven days a week, with what is called "supervised" autonomous technology controlling the "middle mile" in long-haul trucking, while McLane drivers take over for last-mile local delivery of loads to customers using separate trucks.
Since 2023, McLane routes using this technology logged 280,000 autonomous miles in Texas, covering 1,400 loads delivered to restaurants. Now McLane has approved driverless operations between Dallas and Houston and plans to add new routes between McLane distribution centers across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year.
"Autonomous technology helps us drive greater efficiency across the supply chain, while our drivers remain focused on the critical last mile — and continuing to serve as the face of our company to customers," Susan Adzick, president of McLane Restaurant, said in a statement.
Trucks operating in the middle mile of logistics networks move orders between centralized distribution facilities and last-mile delivery points. Automating the middle mile is a current focus for many distribution networks, including at Amazon, and for self-driving freight companies.
The companies declined to specify the number of trucks or loads to be part of driverless hauls, only saying that Aurora Driver software-powered trucks will continue to make multiple trips between Dallas and Houston every day.
Importantly, there is still a human "observer" in the cab on these routes, which move loads on trucks from OEM Paccar, which has requested the observers remain in the cabs for now. Unlike "supervised" trips, the observer never operates the vehicle and Aurora Driver is "fully responsible for all driving tasks, including pulling over to a safe location if required," according to the company.
Aurora has plans to deploy a new fleet of trucks from Volkswagen subsidiary International LT starting this quarter that will not have observers, with 200 trucks in all expected by the end of the year. Aurora declined to say whether McLane has plans to adopt these trucks. Aurora is McLane's only current self-driving truck partner.
The companies said there are plans to expand the effort in the future. McLane Company serves convenience stores and mass merchants, in addition to chain restaurants. One of its biggest customers is Walmart, which once owned McLane and sold the company to Berkshire Hathaway in 2003.
McLane declined to identify customers that the driverless trucking will extend to in the future.
Autonomous freight trucking is expected to scale rapidly starting this year. Autonomous freight companies have converged on Texas as a primary deployment point, and it's not just because of the pro-business, light regulatory touch for which the state is known. The Sun Belt traffics in a massive amount of freight, with routes stretching from Texas to Arizona and California. Lack of severe weather conditions such as snow and ice also removes one variable for the autonomous technology to navigate.
Uber Freight founder and chairman Lior Ron, who joined self-driving tech company Waabi as chief operating officer last August, said automation is the most fundamental shift of the next decade in transportation. "I can't think of something that will be as helpful to the next era of logistics and innovation and how goods are being moved. The technology is now here," he told CNBC in August. In five years time, Ron expects driverless freight trucks will be "a common sight across the U.S. in the supply chain, and especially in the Sunbelt corridors."
Aurora Innovation recently started a 1,000-mile autonomous route between Fort Worth, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, notable for being beyond what a human trucker could handle without a stop. The company also announced earlier this week a deal with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to run a new 200-mile freight route between Dallas and Oklahoma City.
Aurora Innovation will start hauling loads in driverless trucks for distribution giant McLane, the latest company to adopt the startup’s autonomous vehicle technology following a multi-year pilot program.
Under the commercial agreement announced Wednesday, trucks outfitted with Aurora’s self-driving system will be used to transport goods between Dallas and Houston. These trucks will operate autonomously and will not have a human safety driver on board who can take over. However, Aurora will still have what it describes as a “human observer” sitting in the cab — who does not operate the vehicle — per an agreement it has with truck manufacturer Paccar.
Aurora said it plans to expand to new routes between McLane distribution centers across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year.
The companies launched a pilot program in 2023 using autonomous trucks with a human safety operator. The pilot eventually expanded to two round-trips daily between Dallas and Houston.
McLane recently approved moving to driverless operations, which now run seven days a week between the two Texas cities.
The companies are taking a novel approach to this route, using Aurora’s driverless tech for the long-haul portion of the trip before handing it over to a McLane truck driver who makes local deliveries to customers like fast food restaurants. Aurora said this handoff occurs at the company’s Dallas and Houston terminals located right off the freeway.
The commercial contract is the latest win for Aurora as it tries to transition from a developer of autonomous trucks to a commercial operator earning money on its driverless routes. And it comes a year after the company launched its commercial self-driving truck service in Texas. Since then, Aurora has landed a commercial agreement to haul frac sand for Detmar Logistics. Last month, Hirschbach Motor Lines agreed to buy 500 Aurora-powered trucks; that agreement, which is outlined in a memorandum of understanding, is expected to close later this year.
Today, the company operates driverless trucks — some with a human observer still in the cab — on routes between Dallas and Houston, Fort Worth and El Paso, El Paso and Phoenix, Fort Worth and Phoenix, and Laredo and Dallas.
Aurora reports its first-quarter earnings Wednesday after the markets close.
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Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.
You can contact or verify outreach from Kirsten by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at kkorosec.07 on Signal.
Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%) stock took off today after the driverless vehicle technology company announced a new partnership with a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.
Aurora and Berkshire-owned McClane Company announced an arrangement to commence autonomous deliveries in Texas, utilizing an Aurora self-driving system initially being implemented in long-haul trucking. It expands on a prior pilot program, and it sent Aurora shares higher by 11% today, as of 12:45 p.m. ET.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Autonomous truck routes Texas-based McClane serves convenience stores, large retailers, and restaurant chains and is an industry-leading partner to the biggest retail and restaurant businesses. The new agreement stems from a successful pilot program that transported 1,400 loads for McLane, helping serve restaurant clients throughout the state with a 100% on-time delivery rate.
Aurora intends to extend its operations to new routes connecting McLane distribution centers across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year, with plans to accommodate more McLane business in the future.
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Aurora has also just expanded an existing self-driving program with Volvo Group's Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.), featuring a new 200-mile route connecting Dallas and Oklahoma City. Investors will likely hear more about both partnerships when Aurora reports first-quarter earnings after the bell today.
Howard Smith has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) today announced its first quarter 2026 results. Aurora's shareholder letter and financial results are available on its investor relations website at ir.aurora.tech.
“We are hitting a new gear - we are on the cusp of launching a new platform and are on track to put hundreds of driverless trucks on the road this year,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora.
Share “We are hitting a new gear - we are on the cusp of launching a new platform and are on track to put hundreds of driverless trucks on the road this year,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora. “We're also seeing incredible customer momentum with early adopters like Hirschbach planning for 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks. The industry sees the value of the Aurora Driver and what it can do for their businesses."
Business Highlights
Next-Gen Hardware at Scale: Aurora remains on track to launch its second-generation hardware kit on the International® LT® Series vehicle, enabling driverless operations without a partner-requested observer in Q2. Aurora’s next-generation hardware is built to last for a million miles while reducing overall cost by more than half. Aurora anticipates deploying more than 200 driverless trucks by the end of the year. Scaling Driver as a Service: Aurora continues to see significant commercial demand. Notably, Hirschbach has plans to scale their autonomous fleet, with intent to own and operate 500 trucks through Aurora’s Driver as a Service (DaaS) business model. This represents a potential multi-year revenue stream in the hundreds of millions of dollars, with truck delivery slated to begin in 2027. Blue-Chip Customer Adoption: Aurora recently started driverless hauls for McLane Company, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. Aurora now has seven customers within its driverless cohort. Rapid Route Expansion: Aurora validated driverless operations on the bidirectional routes between Dallas and Laredo within just six weeks of initiating supervised autonomous runs. Aurora has also opened a new bi-directional route between Dallas and Oklahoma City, where the Aurora Driver is powering supervised autonomy for a key Volvo Autonomous Solutions customer. The company will host a business review conference call today, May 6, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. The conference call will be webcast on Aurora's investor relations website at ir.aurora.tech, and an accompanying presentation has also been posted to the website. A replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days following the call.
About Aurora
Aurora (Nasdaq: AUR) is delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly to make transportation safer, increasingly accessible, and more reliable and efficient than ever before. The Aurora Driver is a self-driving system designed to operate multiple vehicle types, from freight-hauling trucks to ride-hailing passenger vehicles, and underpins Aurora’s driver as a service product for trucking. Aurora is working with industry leaders across the transportation ecosystem, including AUMOVIO, FedEx, Hirschbach, McLane, NVIDIA, PACCAR, Ryder, Schneider, Toyota, Uber, Uber Freight, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Werner. To learn more, visit aurora.tech.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the prospects of the development, manufacturing, scaling (including, but not limited to, the lane expansion strategy, the transition to our DaaS model, fleet size, fleet ownership, and our product’s availability and capabilities) and commercialization, and realization of the potential benefits, of the Aurora Driver and related services and technology; the relationships and anticipated benefits with customers and partners (including, but not limited to, our ability to finalize and execute on customer contracts or orders, and whether customer intentions to order, such as Hirschbach’s non-binding MOU result in binding agreements and orders); the timing for developing, and the anticipated benefits of, future generations of hardware kits; the anticipated impact of our product on the freight industry and economy; and our financial performance, anticipated investment in truck fleet and expected cash use and cash runway. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions and are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, please see the risks and uncertainties identified under the heading “Risk Factors” section of Aurora Innovation, Inc.’s (“Aurora”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC) on February 11, 2026, and other documents filed by Aurora from time to time with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in Aurora’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. All forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Aurora undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (AUR - Free Report) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.11 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.12. This compares to a loss of $0.12 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +8.33%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post a loss of $0.12 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.12, delivering no surprise.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.
Reinvent Technology Partners Y, which belongs to the Zacks Technology Services industry, posted revenues of $1 million for the quarter ended March 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.53%. This compares to zero revenues a year ago.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Reinvent Technology Partners Y shares have added about 70.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 6%.
What's Next for Reinvent Technology Partners Y?While Reinvent Technology Partners Y has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Reinvent Technology Partners Y was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$0.12 on $1.44 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$0.47 on $15.07 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Technology Services is currently in the bottom 28% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
One other stock from the same industry, Priority Technology (PRTH - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended March 2026. The results are expected to be released on May 11.
This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.22 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Priority Technology's revenues are expected to be $240.35 million, up 7% from the year-ago quarter.
Self-driving has been “almost here” for over a decade. But somewhere between DARPA challenges and a handful of driverless trucks hauling freight between Dallas and Houston, Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson’s story changed. The self-driving truck company started commercial driverless operations last April and is now scaling from a handful of trucks to hundreds this year.
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, we’re bringing you a conversation Rebecca Bellan had with Urmson at the HumanX conference in San Francisco. The pair dug into the long road from lab to highway and how physical AI differs from the LLM boom everyone else is chasing.
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
Why long-haul trucking may crack the autonomy business case before robotaxis ever do What “verifiable AI” means and why Urmson thinks end-to-end systems are a liability when lives are on the line The surprisingly common-sense solution to the driverless truck safety triangle problem What Aurora’s roadmap looks like beyond trucking, and which companies in the autonomy space have Urmson genuinely excited Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Rebecca Bellan is a senior reporter at TechCrunch where she covers the business, policy, and emerging trends shaping artificial intelligence. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, and other publications.
You can contact or verify outreach from Rebecca by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at rebeccabellan.491 on Signal.
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing [email protected].
Shares of Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%) shot up 16% this week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The autonomous driving technology company posted earnings this week and announced a new route for its semi-truck partnerships.
Aurora Innovation's stock is up 80% this year. Here's why the stock was soaring yet again this week, and whether now is a great time to buy this red-hot stock.
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Earnings release and new partnerships Autonomous vehicles are growing in popularity across the United States, and Aurora Innovation is trying to get in on the trend. However, instead of serving passenger drivers, Aurora is looking to win contracts for self-driving routes for long-haul trucks.
It is still in the early stages, but it just launched a new truck route with Volvo between Dallas and Oklahoma City. The opportunity in self-driving trucks is massive, with millions operating in the United States at any one time. By the end of 2026, management aims to have 200 trucks in its fleet and $80 million in run-rate revenue. In the first quarter, it only generated $1 million in sales and lost $244 million, making this an audacious goal.
Image source: Getty Images.
Time to buy this hot stock? Aurora is an interesting business opportunity, but the stock is much too expensive today. Shares trade at a market cap of $13.66 billion, which would be expensive even if it had 10,000 trucks in operation. That is many years away, if it ever gets there. Avoid chasing Aurora Innovation stock; leave it on the sidelines for now.
Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%), a developer of autonomous driving systems for various vehicle types and applications, closed Thursday at $7.14, down 1.79%. The stock moved lower after a multi-day rally driven by upbeat Q1 results, new trucking deployments, and analyst support. Investors will now be watching execution on 2026 driverless semi-truck and revenue targets.
Trading volume reached 48.4 million shares, coming in about 136% above its three-month average of 20.6 million shares. Aurora Innovation IPO'd in 2021 and has fallen 29% since going public.
How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.47%) slipped 0.38% Thursday to 7,337, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.36%) eased 0.13% to finish at 25,806. Among self-driving vehicle technology names, industry peers Alphabet (GOOGL +1.15%) closed at $397.99 (-0.01%) and Tesla (TSLA +1.17%) finished at $411.81 (+3.28%), highlighting mixed sentiment across autonomy-focused names.
What this means for investorsAurora Innovation shares soared yesterday after the company updated investors with its first-quarter results, and announced a new partnership with McLane Company, a Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA +0.33%) (BRKB 0.05%) subsidiary.
The stock dipped today, though, after investors digested that news. After a successful pilot program, McClane will begin autonomous semi-truck deliveries in Texas, using an Aurora self-driving system that is currently being used in long-haul trucking.
After that news, analysts at Needham expressed confidence in Aurora and established a $13 price target for the company. Investors, though, should be aware that the company continues to burn cash, using approximately $159 million in operating cash during Q1. Its autonomous vehicle aspirations still have a long road to travel.
Howard Smith has positions in Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
For a company working to prove out its business model, a big endorsement can go a long way. That's what happened with the autonomous trucking company Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%) and its expansion agreement with the Berkshire Hathaway transportation subsidiary, McLane.
This is an important development for Aurora, and receiving even an indirect nod of approval from Berkshire can carry some weight.
Image source: Getty Images.
Driverless operations McLane has over 80 U.S. distribution centers, serving markets that range from retail to restaurants. It began using Aurora's tech in 2023 and has since recorded 280,000 supervised autonomous miles in Texas. The current pilot program includes two daily round-trips, where the technology drives the middle mile, which is typically the longest stretch of the drive.
The expansion approves driverless operations between Dallas and Houston, with new routes being developed. "Aurora plans to expand to new routes between McLane distribution centers across the U.S. Sun Belt by the end of the year, with plans to serve additional McLane business in the future," Aurora said in its press release.
This is an important milestone because it shows that a large company saw enough value in Aurora's tech to expand its partnership. That vote of confidence can lead to other clients.
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Still in the early stages of the Aurora Innovation story The global autonomous truck market is expected to more than double from $46.7 billion in 2025 to $139.4 billion by 2033, according to Grand View Research. As one of the few pure-play autonomous trucking stocks, there's a lot of potential here. Still, the potential reward must be weighed against the risk.
Aurora has fewer than 200 trucks on the road. The company's revenue was just $3 million for all of 2025, while the net loss totaled $816 million. That doesn't negate the future upside potential, but it just needs to be balanced with managing the risk, which can be accomplished by taking a measured investment approach.
Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Autonomous long-haul trucking is poised for significant deployment, offering substantial investment opportunities for those who understand the technology and market and are committed to the long term. Technology viability is proven, with Aurora logging 12 million autonomous miles and Kodiak deploying 28 customer-owned trucks as of Q1 2026. Autonomous trucking offers compelling cost advantages, projecting 2030 per-mile costs at $2.06 versus $3.21 for human-driven, primarily from labor cost elimination.
For investing in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, it can often feel like a lot of the biggest gains have already been made through chipmakers, and that you may have missed the boat if you didn't already own them. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is up over 250%, Advanced Micro Devices has gained more than 500%, and Nvidia jumped roughly 1,000% over the past five years, respectively.
Digging a little deeper, however, there are still plenty of promising AI growth stocks that aren't chipmakers that could still lead to long-term gains. To be clear, these are speculative companies, and there is plenty of risk involved. Still, trading below $10 at this time, SoundHound AI (SOUN 1.07%) and Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%) also offer plenty of upside potential.
Image source: Getty Images.
The AI voice agent stock SoundHound is an AI voice agent company, with its technology found across industries that range from retail to finance to healthcare. It just reported record revenue of $44.2 million for its 2026 first-quarter results, which was up 52% from the previous year.
It also shared several updates on its agreements with other companies, including with Walmart for its TV brand. The company reaffirmed its 2026 full-year revenue guidance, expecting it to be between $225 million and $260 million.
It was a strong quarter, but that may have led the market to want a revenue guidance raise, which didn't happen. Also, some are worried about SoundHound's pending acquisition of LivePerson, a conversational AI company, in an all-stock transaction valued at $43 million. There are execution risks with the acquisition, especially given that LivePerson has been struggling over the last few years.
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Still, if SoundHound can extract value from LivePerson, it could prove to be a savvy purchase, as management expects the acquisition target to add $100 million in annual revenue by 2027.
The key will be successful integration, as there's already skepticism around this deal, and it doesn't help that SoundHound is unprofitable today. There's not much room for error or underwhelming quarters moving forward. But as markets are dismissive, that's also the kind of setup that could set the stock price up for big gains over the long term if LivePerson adds the kind of value SoundHound expects.
The autonomous trucking stock
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The trucking industry is facing a series of challenges, including a looming driver shortage, higher gas prices, and restrictions on driver hours. Aurora Innovation, with its autonomous trucking technology, believes it can address those concerns.
The company says "AI is essential to the success of self-driving systems" and that it leverages AI to "navigate complex and dynamic scenarios." Its AI combines machine learning with programmed safety rules, such as coming to a complete stop at a stop sign.
Aurora has been starting small to prove the safety of its tech, but it expects more than 200 driverless trucks to be operational by the end of 2026. It also just announced an expansion to an earlier agreement with the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, McLane, to now allow driverless trips in Texas.
There's a lot of promise with Aurora Innovation, but as mentioned previously, it's also a speculative investment, as its revenue was just $3 million in 2025. The stock price is more than two and a half times as volatile as the broader markets, so for most investors planning to hold on for the long haul, it will feel like a bit of a roller coaster at times.
Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Berkshire Hathaway, Nvidia, SoundHound AI, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
On May 21, 2026, Ralph Lauren Corp RL released its 8-K filing reporting fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results. The quarter delivered higher-than-expected revenue alongside margin gains, while earnings per share came in below analyst forecasts. Founded by designer Ralph Lauren in 1967 in New York City, Ralph Lauren Corp. designs, markets, and distributes lifestyle merchandise across North America, Europe, and Asia. Best known for its polo shirts, the company’s portfolio spans apparel, footwear, eyewear, jewelry, handbags, home goods, and fragrances under brands such as Ralph Lauren Collection, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Lauren Ralph Lauren, with distribution through wholesale, retail, e-commerce, and licensing.
Quarter and Full-Year Highlights Revenue in Q4 FY2026 rose 17% year over year to $2.0 billion on a reported basis, or 12% in constant currency. GAAP diluted EPS was $2.45. Adjusted diluted EPS was $2.80. Global direct-to-consumer comparable store sales increased 17% in the quarter, supported by mid-teens average unit retail (AUR) growth and strong full-price selling.
For fiscal 2026, revenue grew 15% to $8.1 billion reported, up 12% in constant currency. GAAP diluted EPS was $15.11. Adjusted diluted EPS was $16.59. Adjusted gross and operating margins expanded above management’s outlook, with full-year adjusted operating margin up 200 basis points year over year to 16.0%.
“For nearly 60 years, our brand has stood for optimism, quality, authenticity, and a life well lived.”“Our teams around the world executed with excellence and agility to deliver a strong first year of our Next Great Chapter: Drive strategic plan… we exceeded our financial commitments in Fiscal 2026 with revenues surpassing $8 billion for the first time on healthy quality of sales.”Performance vs. Analyst Estimates Revenue of $2.0 billion was above the estimated revenue of 1,836.85 million. GAAP diluted EPS of $2.45 was below the estimated EPS of 4.16. Adjusted diluted EPS of $2.80 was below the estimated EPS of 4.16.
Operational and Regional Trends Ralph Lauren Corp RL benefited from broad-based strength in direct-to-consumer, with digital and brick-and-mortar both positive across regions. AUR increased by mid-teens in Q4 and for the full year, reflecting brand elevation, favorable mix, and reduced discounting. Regional sales in Q4 were led by Asia, while North America and Europe also posted gains, with Europe’s reported growth aided by foreign exchange.
By region in Q4: North America revenue increased 8% to $763 million. Comparable store sales in North America increased 16%, with brick-and-mortar up 14% and digital commerce up 21%. Europe revenue increased 18% to $620 million reported and 6% in constant currency; retail comps rose 5% and wholesale grew double digits reported. Asia revenue increased 31% to $564 million reported and 28% in constant currency, with comparable store sales up 25%.
Margins, Balance Sheet, and Cash Returns Q4 gross margin was 69.7%, up 110 basis points year over year on both a GAAP and adjusted basis, driven by mix, AUR, and lower cotton costs, which more than offset higher U.S. tariffs and other product costs. Adjusted operating margin improved to 11.0%, up 70 basis points. For the full year, adjusted operating margin expanded to 16.0%, up 200 basis points, supported by sales growth and operating expense leverage.
The company ended fiscal 2026 with $2.1 billion in cash and short-term investments and $1.2 billion in total debt. Inventory was $1.0 billion, up 7% year over year. Capital expenditures were $408 million, reflecting real estate, store expansion and renovations, and technology investments. Shareholder returns topped $700 million via dividends and share repurchases, including approximately $500 million in buybacks and a 10% dividend increase to $1.00 per share quarterly ($4.00 annualized), with $1.4 billion remaining under the repurchase authorization.
Metric Q4 FY2026 YoY / Notes Revenue $2.0 billion +17% reported; +12% constant currency Gross Margin (adj.) 69.7% +110 bps Operating Margin (adj.) 11.0% +70 bps GAAP EPS $2.45 vs. $2.03 in Q4 FY2025 Adjusted EPS $2.80 vs. $2.27 in Q4 FY2025 Global DTC Comps +17% Mid-teens AUR growth Metric FY2026 YoY / Notes Revenue $8.1 billion +15% reported; +12% constant currency Gross Margin (adj.) 69.9% +130 bps Operating Margin (adj.) 16.0% +200 bps GAAP EPS $15.11 Tax rate 20% Adjusted EPS $16.59 Tax rate 20% Cash & Short-Term Investments $2.1 billion Debt: $1.2 billion Inventory $1.0 billion +7% YoY Capital Expenditures $408 million vs. $216 million in FY2025 Share Repurchases ~$500 million $1.4 billion authorization remaining Dividend $1.00 per quarter +10% increaseWhy This Matters for Apparel & Accessories Investors Ralph Lauren Corp RL ’s ability to lift AUR in the mid-teens alongside higher full-price sell-through is a key indicator of brand pricing power in a highly promotional category. Sustained gross margin near 70% underscores the benefits of mix shift toward direct-to-consumer and premium product, which typically converts to stronger cash generation over time. The strong regional performance in Asia, with robust comps and digital gains, showcases the brand’s resonance with new and existing consumers in higher-growth markets.
Challenges remain. The earnings per share shortfall versus consensus suggests higher operating costs and the cadence of investments can weigh on near-term profitability. Tariffs and non-cotton cost inflation pressured product costs, an industry-wide headwind that can compress margins if price/mix tailwinds fade. Inventory rose 7%, which requires disciplined channel management to avoid markdown risk. Capital expenditures nearly doubled year over year, which can elevate execution risk but also support long-term omnichannel capabilities.
Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Context Income statement strength centered on revenue acceleration and margin expansion. Adjusted operating expenses increased 17% in Q4, and the adjusted operating expense rate ticked up to 58.6% from 58.4%, highlighting continued investment. Balance sheet liquidity remained solid, with cash exceeding total debt by roughly $0.9 billion. Shareholder capital returns were meaningful through both repurchases and a higher dividend, signaling confidence and providing support to total return profiles typical for established premium brands in this industry.
GuruFocus Valuation Check Based on GuruFocus data, the stock screens as overvalued relative to intrinsic estimates. GF Value stands at $237.08 against a current price of $329.24, implying the shares trade approximately 38.9% above the GF Value assessment.
The GF Score of 90/100 (Strong) reflects a favorable composite of fundamentals, supported by a Financial Strength score of 7/10, Profitability Rank of 8/10, and Growth Rank of 9/10. These metrics point to a well-capitalized company with solid margins and robust growth execution. However, Predictability is just 1 star, indicating historical variability in revenue and earnings patterns that can lead to wider valuation swings. A Moat Score of 6/10 suggests a moderate competitive advantage consistent with established premium brands but not immune to industry pressures.
Insider Activity shows $0.4 million in insider sales over the last three months with no reported insider buying. This is a mild caution signal rather than a definitive negative, but it is noteworthy when shares trade above GF Value. For a deeper dive, visit the Ralph Lauren Corp stock page on GuruFocus.
Explore the complete 8-K earnings release (here) from Ralph Lauren Corp for further details.
This stock alert was generated using automated technology and GuruFocus financial data to provide readers with timely and accurate market reporting. This content was reviewed by GuruFocus editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Aurora Innovation (AUR +1.59%), a self-driving hardware and software developer, closed at $6.16, down 1.60%. Shares are reacting to ongoing pressure from Uber (UBER 1.80%)’s recent block sale and broader weakness in autonomous-driving names. Investors are also watching execution on driverless truck deployments and platform launches.
Trading volume reached 59.8 million shares, coming in about 132% above its three-month average of 25.8 million shares. Aurora Innovation IPO'd in 2021 and has fallen 38% since going public.
How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.47%) slipped 0.26% to close at 7,386, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.36%) declined 0.97% to close at 25,679. Among self-driving technology peers, Alphabet (GOOGL +1.15%) closed at $364.26 (+0.26%) and Tesla (TSLA +1.17%) closed at $396.68 (-3.00%), underscoring mixed sentiment across autonomous-vehicle players.
What this means for investorsAurora Innovation shares have been under pressure for almost a month since Uber, its largest shareholder, announced it was raising capital and using some of its Aurora ownership as collateral. Aurora shares are down 25% since May 14.
Uber also sold a block of 67.5 million Aurora shares at $7.10 per share on June 2. Uber still owns over 258 million shares, though, representing about 15.6% ownership of Aurora.
It also hasn’t helped that investors have been moving away from various types of tech stocks recently, including self-driving technology names. Neither transaction should be viewed as a change in Uber’s confidence in Aurora’s technology. But investors should expect volatility in a speculative name like Aurora.
Howard Smith has positions in Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Tesla, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.