Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV) investors were already nursing loss after disappointing quarterly financial results. Another blow came days later when long0time Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) dumped its entire stake in the autonomous delivery robot company.
According to a regulatory filing on Friday, Uber disclosed that it sold the rest of its stake in Serve Robotics. The ride hailing company had been selling off portions of its stake in recent years, as reported by TechCrunch.
Among the surprised is Serve Robotics. The startup was reportedly unaware of Uber’s exit until news of the regulatory filing surfaced.
Serve Robotics and Uber have been partners since 2022, a partnership that was expanded in May 2023 to include up to 2,000 sidewalk robots from Serve that could be used by customers on the Uber app in several U.S. cities.
That partnership has since soured and Serve hinted that the deal will not be renewed after expiration in 2027, Bloomberg reported.
Robot Reversal Of Fortune
"From the first quarter of 2022 through the first quarter of this year, delivery volume through Uber grew for 17 consecutive quarters. In Q2, that trend reversed for the first time. This was caused by lower-than-expected robot utilization," Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani said during the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call.
Kashani also said at the time that the two companies have "differing views" when it comes to their shared autonomous fleet and potential operating model.
The silver lining for Serve is that deliveries with another food delivery partner were up around 50% in the recent quarter, Kashani added.
Uber has partnerships with more than 30 autonomous vehicle companies according to the report, including companies the ride-share giant has taken investment stakes in.
Uber acquired the Serve Robotics division when it acquired Postmates in 2020 for $2.65 billion. The company, which was originally known as Postmates X, was spun off as Serve Robotics in 2021.
Five years later, the ownership stake is gone and the partnership looks to be ending.
Serve Robotics Financials
In the second quarter, Serve Robotics reported revenue of $3.28 million. The total missed a Street consensus estimate of $3.49 million.
The company reported a lower loss per share than analysts expected in the quarter.
"Serve is driving innovation in last-mile delivery as our scaled robot fleet is powering deliveries across multiple verticals," Kashani said.
The CEO said the company was looking for more diversified revenue streams and new monetization opportunities.
Serve lowered its 2026 revenue outlook to a range of $9 million to $10 million. That’s down from a prior guide of $26 million for the full fiscal year.
"The revision reflects lower than expected delivery volume through the company’s Uber Eats partnership," the company said.
Price Action
Serve stock is up 2.9% to $5.04 on Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $4.32 to $18.64. Year to date, the stock is down 57.4%.
Photo: Walter Cicchetti / Shutterstock
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