Here's My Top Autonomous Driving Stock (Hint: It's Not Tesla)
Alphabet is still in a strong position to deliver shareholders' strong returns.
10 stocks we like better than Alphabet ›
Autonomous driving has been in the news quite a bit lately, with Tesla launching its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. While I think Tesla is a great pick in this space, there's one that I like more at the moment. That's Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
Alphabet is known as the parent company of Google, but it also owns Waymo, the undisputed leader in autonomous driving right now (at least in terms of deployed footprint). Alphabet is my top autonomous driving stock, and investors can essentially acquire it for free, given Alphabet's current stock price.
Waymo is currently available in five cities: Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Austin. As the robotaxi expands its footprint in Austin, it will be an interesting study on how consumers choose one over the other. This is a battle to keep an eye on, and the winner here could be a wake-up call for the loser.
Further expansions are also planned in Miami and Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., is probably the most intriguing location on this list, as it has one key factor in common with the other six cities: It snows. If it can conquer this tricky element to drive in, that can open up Waymo to some very lucrative markets, such as New York City and Chicago, the largest and third-largest metropolitan populations in the U.S. (Los Angeles is the second-largest).
Waymo's footprint gives it a significant lead in the autonomous driving space, but Tesla could eventually catch up due to its cost advantage. Although information about the cost of a Waymo vehicle isn't publicly available, some estimates place the cost as high as $200,000 per vehicle. That's far more expensive than a Tesla, and although Waymo can likely bring that price down, it will be some time before it costs the same as a Tesla.
This is a significant factor for Waymo, but if it can demonstrate that its safety technology is superior to Tesla's, it may have an easier path to success.
The autonomous driving battles are slated to continue for the next decade or longer, making this a long-term investment. Fortunately, Alphabet is excelling right now and comes with an incredibly cheap stock price.
While there has been considerable discussion about how Alphabet's legacy Google Search business will fare in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI), the company has performed quite well overall. In Q1, Alphabet's revenue rose 12% year over year, and diluted earnings per share increased 49%. That's an impressive performance for any company, yet the stock trades for far less than most of its big-tech peers.
Alphabet's stock can be scooped up for a mere 19.9 times trailing earnings. It has seldom traded for a level this cheap, which tells me that Alphabet is being solely valued on its legacy search business, as many of its other successful business units (like Google Cloud and Waymo) weren't around the last time that Alphabet traded this cheaply.
As a result, I'm confident that Alphabet's stock is a great buy today. Alphabet's core business is still performing admirably and integrating generative AI technologies into the Google Search product to keep it relevant. Waymo is another exciting division within Alphabet and could emerge as a significant revenue generator for the business over the next decade.
There's significant upside in Alphabet's stock, and I think investors should consider buying shares while they're still relatively affordable.
Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Alphabet wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $722,181!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $968,402!*
Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,069% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 177% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join .
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Here's My Top Autonomous Driving Stock (Hint: It's Not Tesla) was originally published by The Motley Fool
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Unusual Social Security email touts Trump bill. Here's what to know.
Social Security beneficiaries are accustomed to getting occasional emails from the program about matters like a benefits statement, but many were perplexed to get a different kind of message from the Social Security Administration late in the evening on Thursday, July 3. "The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans," the email, reviewed by USA TODAY, said. The message is referring to the legislative package of Trump's priorities for cuts to taxes and spending on social programs that was passed by the House of Representatives earlier that day. The agency also published a news release titled "Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors" that mirrored the email. Issuing an overtly political statement is unusual for the agency that oversees Social Security, which makes monthly payments to 73 million retirees, their survivors, and people with disabilities. "It's completely unprecedented," said Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, a left-leaning advocacy organization focused on retirement benefits. "It's an enormous breach of trust." Lawson contends that the email praising Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" violates the Hatch Act, a law against partisan political activity by federal government employees. The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking clarification. The White House referred USA TODAY's request to SSA. During his campaign, Trump promised to eliminate income taxes on Social Security benefits. Instead, the just-passed bill − which Trump will sign in the late afternoon on July 4 − creates a $6,000 federal income tax deduction for Americans 65 and older. Since Social Security benefits are often a large part of seniors' income, some portion of those benefits will now be untaxed for those who qualify for the deduction. "It reduces the amount of Social Security benefits subject to tax, but it's not just for Social Security," explains Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a center-right think tank. 'This is a historic step forward for America's seniors,' said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, a former Wall Street executive appointed by Trump. 'For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump's promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they've earned." There are many Social Security recipients and seniors who won't get a tax cut, however. About 5% of retired Social Security beneficiaries are ages 62 to 64. There are also deceased workers' survivors and disabled workers who are younger than 65. Among those 65 and older, many have incomes below the standard deduction of $14,600 per person or $29,200 per couple, so they already aren't paying income taxes anyway. At the other end of the spectrum, the deduction phases out for individuals making more than $75,000 or couples earning more than $150,000. "Lower-income earners benefit less than middle and upper-middle income households," Watson said. On average, seniors in the bottom 20% income will save just 0.1% on their tax bill, according to the Tax Policy Foundation's analysis, about one-tenth of what those in the middle of the income distribution will save. "It's been marketed as tax relief for seniors, but a lot of seniors are going to be surprised when they find out it doesn't apply to them," Watson said. "I'm getting asked all the time by folks what this actually means for their tax situation." And while some will soon benefit from lower taxes, the lost tax revenue could trigger a future automatic benefit cut for all beneficiaries. That's because Social Security benefits aren't taxed like normal income. Instead of being used as general revenues, they go specifically into the trust funds that provide a backstop for Medicare and Social Security. The Social Security and Medicare Hospital Insurance trust funds were on track to be depleted by 2033, but now that date will be moved up to 2032, because the senior citizen tax deduction will lop an estimated $30 billion per year off the tax revenues those trust funds collect, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. That, in turn, will trigger a future automatic benefit cut of 24% to all recipients, the centrist think tank projects. Those problems will only grow worse, Watson noted, if Congress renews, increases or makes permanent the senior tax deduction, when it expires in 2028. "It's a mixed bag for seniors, because some seniors will get some tax relief; the cost of that, though, is borne by the entire Social Security system," Lawson said. Critics are pouncing on the message arriving at a time when the Social Security Administration has been suffering from problems with customer service. The Trump administration has reduced the agency's staff and instituted new rules on identification for applicants, resulting in average wait times that have ballooned to 90 minutes. In June, the agency stopped making public real-time performance metrics about how long they will have to wait to reach a live person on the phone, and how long applications for new benefits take to be approved, USA TODAY reported on June 26. Multiple times, USA TODAY reporters called Social Security's 1-800 line they did not reach a live person before the line disconnected with no warning. Contributing: Sarah D. Wire This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Unusual Social Security Administration email touts Big, Beautiful Bill
News24
16 minutes ago
- News24
Trump says tariff letters to 12 countries signed, going out Monday
US President Donald Trump said he had signed letters to 12 countries outlining the various tariff levels they would face on goods they export to the United States, with the "take it or leave it" offers to be sent out on Monday. Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to New Jersey, declined to name the countries involved, saying that would be made public on Monday. Trump had earlier on Thursday told reporters that he expected a first batch of letters to go out on Friday, a national holiday in the United States, though the date has now shifted. In a global trade war that has upended financial markets and set off a scramble among policymakers to guard their economies, Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate and additional amounts for most countries, some ranging as high as 50%. However, all but the 10% base rate were subsequently suspended for 90 days to allow more time for negotiations to secure deals. That period ends on July 9, although Trump early on Friday said the tariffs could be even higher - ranging up to 70% - with most set to go into effect August 1. "I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably twelve," Trump said, when asked about his plans on the tariff front. "Different amounts of money, different amounts of tariffs." Trump and his top aides initially said they would launch negotiations with scores of countries on tariff rates, but the U.S. president has soured on that process after repeated setbacks with major trading partners, including Japan and the European Union. He touched on that briefly late on Friday, telling reporters: "The letters are better ... much easier to send a letter." He did not address his prediction that some broader trade agreements could be reached before the July 9 deadline. The shift in the White House's strategy reflects the challenges of completing trade agreements on everything from tariffs to non-tariff barriers such as bans on agricultural imports, and especially on an accelerated timeline. Most past trade agreements have taken years of negotiations to complete. The only trade agreements reached to date are with Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10% rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines, and with Vietnam, cutting tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20% from his previously threatened 46%. Many U.S. products would be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free. A deal expected with India has failed to materialize, and EU diplomats on Friday said they have failed to achieve a breakthrough in trade negotiations with the Trump administration, and may now seek to extend the status quo to avoid tariff hikes.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Memphis schools could lose $17M in federal funds, district says
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis-Shelby County Schools says that possible changes in federal funding could impact around $17 million in support for the district. MSCS released a statement on Thursday announcing that it was monitoring potential changes in funding. The district says if funding isn't restored, nearly 100 positions in the district could be impacted. The district's statement comes after the news that the United States House of Representatives has passed President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' which includes sweeping tax cuts and cutbacks to social services such as Medicaid and food stamps. MSCS says the funding plays a 'vital role in sustaining essential services across the district, including professional development for educators, instructional support, extended learning opportunities, and services for immigrant students.' The district says it is developing contingency plans to 'minimize disruption' and continue providing support to students, families, and staff. MSCS says it may be required to make 'difficult decisions' if funding is not reinstated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
