Brad Gerstner Says Autonomous Driving a Fundamental Risk for Uber Technologies (UBER) Business Model

We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks Investors Are Monitoring After Tariff Shock. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) stands against other AI stocks investors are monitoring after tariff shock.

The tariff wars and a potential slowdown in AI spending threw water on investors’ AI trade plans and outlook. However, many analysts believe the broader outlook of the industry is still strong.

Ben Bajarin, Creative Strategies CEO, in a latest program on CNBC explained why he is still bullish on the Jensen Huang-led AI giant:

“I think when you look at the technology roadmap … in terms of what they’re doing with Grace Blackwell and Blackwell systems going forward, it’s going to be very, very hard for others to compete. I think they were extremely bullish about how much of the industry—not just the traditional, you know, cloud servers but AI factories and this entirely new infrastructure—and how it is being kind of redeveloped for the AI era. Like, it’s not being built on other things. And so I think when you look at the ecosystem that’s grown around them, they’re deeply entrenched. It doesn’t have any sign of that changing.”

Bajarin said that he sensed “frustration” in Jensen Huang’s tone as the executive feels Wall Street is not modeling the growth potential his company’s AI products truely have.

“And he seems to think that nobody is modeling that in or really understands it. So there’s the—we kind of have a sense of what they’ll sell just product-wise here in 2025, which is where I agree with you. Hard to surprise to the upside to move the stock, but I think he is signaling people don’t understand the magnitude of this opportunity. And I think that’s worth unpacking because there is a lot of growth ahead.”

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Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 136

Brad Gerstner, Altimeter Capital founder & CEO, said in a latest program on CNBC that he believes the rise of autonomous driving poses a challenge to Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) business. However, the fund manager praised the company for forging new partnerships to benefit from the new trend.

“I was a longtime and large shareholder of Uber, and starting in the spring of last year, when we saw full self-driving, you know, 12.3 and then by the end of the year 12.9, we just knew autonomy was here.

And, I have a new Tesla Model S I bought in December. It drives me everywhere. I tweeted about it the other day; I don’t touch the steering wheel. I think it’s quite extraordinary. In fact, I think Faber tweeted something or said something on air that got tweeted over the weekend about how he experienced it.

And so, I’m absolutely convinced Robo-taxi is coming. It’s coming from Tesla and it’s coming from others around the world and many in China, that Uber is partnering with around the world.

And I think this does pose a risk fundamentally to the Uber business model.”

Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“During the quarter, we initiated three new positions in Lennar Corporation, Bank of America Corp., and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER). Uber is a leading platform company that facilitates ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight booking services, which each represent large and underpenetrated markets. Uber is active in more than 10,000 cities and approximately 70 countries globally, and Uber is a market leader with more than 65% market share in nearly all ride-sharing regions in which it operates. Uber should continue to benefit from secular tailwinds, product innovation, expansion, and network effects. The cross-selling of the Uber One membership program should drive both loyalty and engagement. International markets represent half the business and continue to be an important growth driver. Overall, we see sustained healthy topline growth for the company over the next three years with some insulation to global economic trends.”

Overall, UBER ranks 5th on our list of AI stocks investors are monitoring after tariff shock. While we acknowledge the potential of UBER as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UBER but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.