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  • This Ride-Hailing Giant Just Put A Robotaxi On Your Thanksgiving Plate

This Ride-Hailing Giant Just Put A Robotaxi On Your Thanksgiving Plate

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Noah Zelvis
November 29, 2025

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While you’re arguing about who burned the stuffing, one app is quietly trying to be the default way you move people and inflatable flamingos around town.

You don’t need to be a transport expert to follow the story.

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What Just Happened

Uber (UBER) has quietly evolved from a ride-hailing app into a global transportation and logistics engine, stitching together rides, food delivery, freight, and now autonomous mobility under one increasingly profitable umbrella.

With its scale, data advantage, and expanding international footprint, the company is starting to look less like a scrappy disruptor and more like an essential infrastructure player in everyday movement.

That backdrop sets the stage for where the stock stands today—and why the momentum behind it matters.

As of November 27, the shares are hanging out around $86:

  • Up about 36% year to date

  • Up about 20% over the last 12 months

  • Still roughly 15% below the 52-week high near $102

In other words, it’s not at the bargain bin, but you’re not buying the all-time high, either.

The latest bounce came from a three-item Thanksgiving combo:

  • Robotaxis: fully driverless rides just launched in Abu Dhabi, the first time the app has totally driverless cars in the Middle East.

  • Credit glow-up: S&P moved its outlook on the company’s debt from stable to positive, basically hinting, keep this up and you’ll get a credit upgrade.

  • Street praise: big banks are still dropping Buy ratings with price targets in the $110–$120 range, implying decent upside if the story stays on track.

The last earnings report looked like this:

  • Trips up about 22%

  • Active users up about 17%

  • Total bookings (rides + deliveries) up about 21%

  • Revenue up about 20%

  • Operating profit and cash flow both growing solidly

The annoyances: a chunky legal bill that made the quarter look messier than it felt, and cautious profit guidance that disappointed traders who wanted fireworks.

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The Business In One Breath

This is no longer just a rides app. It’s basically a three-legged stool:

  • Rides: getting people from A to B (airports, offices, questionable house parties)

  • Delivery: food, groceries, and everything you suddenly “need” at 11:30 p.m.

  • Freight: trucks and logistics in the background, still the messiest child

The strategy is to own the demand side.

Be the app everyone taps for get me there and get this to me, then plug in whatever supply makes sense, with drivers today, more automated options tomorrow.

The more volume runs through one system, the easier it is to squeeze a little more profit from each trip.

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What’s Cooking

  • Growth still in fifth gear
    Trips, users, and bookings are all growing around the high-teens to low-20s %. That is not mature, sleepy giant energy. That’s we’re still expanding energy.

  • Real cash, not just PowerPoint
    The company is now generating billions in operating profit and free cash flow on a yearly basis. That gives plenty of room to invest, pay down debt, and still send cash back to shareholders through buybacks.

  • Credit outlook turning positive
    S&P’s nicer outlook says: if growth and cash keep trending like this, a proper upgrade is on the table. Better credit rating = cheaper borrowing = more flexibility the next time they want to do something big.

  • Robotaxis as a working demo
    Fully driverless rides in Abu Dhabi join existing autonomous pilots in places like Austin, Phoenix, and Atlanta. Financially, it’s tiny today, but it’s proof that the future part of the story is not just a slide in an investor deck.

  • Two growth engines, not one
    Rides are still strong, but Delivery is growing even faster. If people slow down on nights out, they might order in more. Either way, the same app is sitting in the middle.

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The Turkey Bones

  • Legal and regulatory indigestion
    Recent quarters came with hefty one-time legal and regulatory charges that hit profit even though demand was solid.

    On top of that, Europe is sniffing around how the app uses algorithms to set pay and prices.

    That can take years to settle and may tweak how much money is made per trip in certain markets.

  • Autonomy is a slow roast
    Robotaxis look cool on social media, but turning them into a big profit driver worldwide will take time, money, and political patience.

    Any safety incident or regulatory spasm can delay the whole menu.

  • Competition and politics
    Local ride-hail apps, delivery rivals, and old-school taxis all fight for the same riders.

    City councils and regulators sometimes treat the whole category like a Thanksgiving guest they regret inviting.

  • Insider selling and chart drama
    Executives have been cashing in portions of their shares after a big multi-year run. Perfectly normal, but it doesn’t exactly scream we think the stock is cheap.

    Meanwhile, the price slipping below its longer-term trend line in November scared off some momentum traders.

What To Watch Next

If you want a simple checklist over the next few quarters, focus on:

  • Trips, users, and bookings still growing comfortably in the high-teens % range or better

  • Profit and cash flow climbing faster than revenue (more money per dollar of activity)

  • Legal and regulatory costs shrinking back toward annoying instead of headline

  • Clear evidence that automation (robotaxis, delivery tech) is nudging costs down in at least a few markets

  • Ongoing share buybacks that do not come with a big jump in debt

Think of it as more rides, more cash, fewer surprises.

How I’d Frame A Position

Not personal advice, just a way to think about it while the tryptophan kicks in.

  • Starter on soggy days
    With the stock still below its highs and sentiment not fully healed, building a starter position on red days can make more sense than chasing every robotaxi headline.

  • Let consistency earn the second helping
    Consider only adding more if you see 2–3 quarters of solid growth, cleaner legal expenses, and steady improvement in profit and cash. You’re rewarding execution, not storytelling.

  • Trim into sugar rush rallies
    If the stock sprints back toward $100+ on hype about one deal or one city, without matching improvement in earnings, taking a little off the table can prevent a holiday hangover later.

  • Treat it as a key side dish, not the whole turkey
    For a balanced portfolio, this likely fits better as a mid single-digit position, big enough that it matters if the story keeps working, small enough that one gnarly headline doesn’t wreck your year.

Bull vs. Bear, Lightning Carve

Bull case:

  • High-teens growth in rides and delivery continues for years.

  • Cash flow keeps climbing and buybacks quietly shrink the share count.

  • Automation slowly cuts costs per trip, turning a good margin story into a great one.

  • A credit upgrade lowers financing costs and makes the whole machine more efficient.

Bear case:

  • Legal and regulatory hits keep popping up, turning one-time items into a recurring holiday special.

  • Rivals and local rules cap long-term pricing power.

  • Robotaxis and new bets soak up cash but take longer than expected to pay off.

  • A broad growth-stock slump drags the valuation down, even if the business keeps doing fine.

Valuation Without The Jargon

At roughly 18x earnings, this is not a bargain-bin fixer-upper, but it’s also not in nosebleed territory for a company still growing this fast.

You’re paying a fair, grown-up price for:

  • Double-digit growth

  • A global network that’s hard to copy

  • Real cash flow today plus optionality from automation tomorrow

If profits keep compounding and the legal stuff fades into the background, today’s price can age pretty well.

If growth slows or the legal tab stays spicy, that multiple can shrink faster than your willpower around pumpkin pie.

The Bottom Line

On this Thanksgiving edition, you’ve got a company serving up strong growth, real cash, and a side of sci-fi robotaxis, all wrapped inside a stock that just went through a mini mood swing.

If you believe people will keep tapping an app instead of waving at taxis, and that this platform can gradually make each ride more profitable without getting roasted by regulators, then the recent wobble looks more like a refill than a red flag.

Start small, stay picky, and let the next few quarters decide whether this ride-hailing giant deserves a permanent seat at your portfolio table.

Action Recap

✅Starter: Consider nibbling on weak days if you want long-term exposure to a global rides + delivery platform with real cash flow
✅ Add On Proof: Wait for 2–3 clean quarters of strong growth, improving profit, and calmer legal costs before sizing up
⚠️ Trim On Trouble: Cut back if legal hits keep smashing profits, guidance softens, or the autonomy story turns into a money pit
👀 Watch Next: Growth in trips and users, cash returned via buybacks, legal headlines, and early signs that automation is helping margins, not just making cool promo videos

That's our coverage for today; thanks for reading! Reply to this email with feedback or any tech stocks you want me to check out.

Best Regards,
—Noah Zelvis
Tech Stock Insider