$UBER · Parkev Tatevosian, CFA · 2026-10-29

Uber's stock has fallen 19% since the start of 2026, as the spread of self-driving car technology has increased downside risks for the company's investors.

The company is scheduled to announce its quarterly financial results on November 4, 2026, and investors are asking me if they should buy the stock before that big update. I will also discuss the key factors that affect the company's valuation, and whether there is any catalyst that might drive its shares up from these levels.

If we looked at Uber's business without taking into account the risks of self-driving car technology, we would be optimistic about its future prospects. Total bookings grew by 24% year-on-year to reach $58 billion .

Revenue increased by 12% to reach $14.2 billion . Operating income grew by 30% to reach $1.9 billion, and cash flow from operations reached $2.9 billion .

Furthermore, the management team anticipates further success in these vital metrics, with total bookings expected to range between 58 and 60 billion in the next quarter. In addition, Uber boasts more than 208 million monthly active users on its platform , representing a 16% year-over-year increase.

I believe this number will continue to rise, given the enormous advantages that Uber offers its customers in the transportation and food delivery sectors .

These convenience features contribute to the remarkable growth in the number of active users on the platform.

However, some things turned out to be more negative than expected for Uber in 2026. Initially, they had partnerships and were happy to enter this market together. But as the year progressed, I saw more indications that Waymo wanted to enter this market on its own without a partnership with Uber. This is not good news for Uber.

Therefore, because of these risks, Uber's stock is now trading at its lowest valuation ever. Based on the price-to- earnings ratio, Uber is trading at 15. This is a valuation of a company that is not growing at levels close to what Uber is achieving, nor is it approaching its profitability or cash flow.

Therefore, the threat of self-driving cars weighs heavily on the company. Investors are still only viewing this risk from one perspective. They see no possibility for Uber to benefit from this technology by investing in it, partnering with other manufacturers, or integrating it into its platform alongside the human drivers it already owns.

One thing that works in Uber’s favor is if it decides to invest in self- driving cars itself, which it is already trying to do through partnerships with Rivian and Lucid, from whom it has ordered cars.

Another factor working in its favor is the existence of a huge oversupply of cars.

If Uber, for example, wanted to buy 100,000 or 500,000 vehicles from a particular supplier or several suppliers, it could get very attractive terms to buy those units for its own fleet. This is in Uber's favor.

After that, it can license self- driving car technology from one of the many manufacturers who are also investing in developing this technology. Today I also updated my fair value estimate for Uber, and I now see the company as worth $122 per share , while its current market price is $66.

It is one of the most undervalued stocks I see in the market, but it is also among the riskiest. There is an imminent threat looming over it , and it is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

In fact, the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Uber is already worth more than it's currently being sold for. But what Uber needs to get its stock price closer to its intrinsic value is to reduce perceived risks. They must work to address the threat posed by self-driving car technology . They need to develop their own plans.

They do not necessarily need to implement those plans, but they do need to develop plans that they can implement if self-driving car technology receives widespread regulatory approval.

They can partner with manufacturers to purchase for their own fleet. They can reach agreements with some of the current players in this sector.

Even if those terms are unfavorable to Uber, they might be able to offer Waymo better terms in order to extend that partnership , because simply reducing the impression that self- driving car technology will kill the company's business will actually benefit shareholders, even if the actual terms of the agreement are not profitable for them.

I think Uber has many options it can take, but I see a lot of uncertainty. Therefore, they do not want to make any decisive decision, and certainly do not want to inform investors or widely publicize this decision because of the competitive implications of such a decision.

So, to answer the question: Should you buy Uber shares before the company provides its update to investors? I think that depends on whether you actually own Uber shares or not.

If you do n't currently own Uber shares , I think it's a great buying opportunity before the earnings announcement. If you already own Uber shares, it makes sense to wait until the company announces these earnings if you are interested in increasing your stake.

Because you already benefit from the potential for an upturn in the event of a major announcement, or a significant exceeding of expectations, or revenues or profits for the next year or the next quarter that exceed expectations.

I own Uber shares myself , and I'm not interested in adding more before the earnings announcement, but I might be interested after it's released.

Once again, I have ranked this stock among the top 10 stocks you can buy right now, and I stand by that ranking today.