WeRide Turns a Corner in China; Is It Time to Park the Stock in Your Portfolio?

If you're in Beijing, chatting up your taxi driver may not be an option during your next ride. Self-driving car specialist WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) announced that it recently received approval to launch its newest robotaxi service, the GXR, in Beijing, China -- a development that company founder and CEO Tony Han characterizes as "a pivotal achievement."

But does the fact that WeRide is accelerating in its efforts to offer autonomous driving solutions mean that the stock is a buy for investors? Let's kick the tires on where WeRide stock is right now to see if it's a good time to click the buy button.

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Digging into the details

In addition to city roads in the Beijing metropolitan area, authorities granted WeRide approval to launch commercial operations of the fully autonomous GXR on certain highways. The artificial intelligence (AI) that powers the GXR is impressive. According to WeRide, the GXR demonstrates Level 4 automation thanks to the massive AI computing power that underpins it: hardware capable of more than 1,300 tera operations per second (TOPS). For context, the Drive AGX Orin System-on-a-Chip from Nvidia is capable of 254 TOPS.

The company's progress in China represents the latest of several achievements in bringing its self-driving vehicles to global markets. In December 2024, WeRide launched its Robotaxi service on the Uber platform in Abu Dhabi, representing the first time that Uber had provided autonomous vehicles on its platform outside of the U.S. Earlier, in July 2024, WeRide launched the first autonomous Robobus service in Singapore.

In the second quarter of 2025, WeRide plans on deploying several self-driving vehicles in Switzerland for testing in a pilot project that is expected to have up to eight more autonomous vehicles deployed in 2026.

This growth company's financials are suffering from growing pains

While WeRide's success in expanding operations is impressive, the company hasn't recognized commensurate growth in its financials based on its most recent reporting. For the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, 2024, the company reported a 14% decline in revenue, and its net loss declined 22% compared to the same period in 2023.

The rocky road that the company is traveling with regards to its financials seems like it will persist in the near future. In its third-quarter 2024 financial results, management projected full-year 2024 revenue of 350 million renminbi to 380 million renminbi ($48 million to $52.1 million). Should the company achieve the midpoint of this guidance, it will represent a continued decline from the 527.5 million renminbi and 401.8 million renminbi that the company reported in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

While the company didn't forecast 2024 operating income, it's worth noting that WeRide saw this metric fall from a loss of 779.2 million renminbi in 2022 to a loss of 1.57 billion renminbi in 2023.

Keep your eyes on the road

Although WeRide warrants recognition for advancing its autonomous mobility offerings, it's important to also acknowledge that it's not the only game in town. Pony AI (NASDAQ: PONY) also made progress in Chinese markets. The company recently announced that it has launched robotaxi services from multiple locations in the city of Guangzhou to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Guangzhou South Railway Station. In addition, Pony AI announced in January that it's making headway in robotrucking, being named "the first company in China to receive approval for robotruck platooning tests on cross-provincial highways connecting Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province."

And unlike the potholes that WeRide has encountered with falling sales and declining profitability, Pony AI is in the opposite camp. In addition to growing the top line in 2022 and 2023, it narrowed its losses. For risk-averse investors, Pony AI stock certainly seems like a more appealing choice right now compared to WeRide.

Is it time to hitch a ride with WeRide stock?

While WeRide got the green light to proceed with providing robotaxi services in Beijing, it will take time to tell if this actually moves the needle for the company. It's unsurprising that investors who are bullish on autonomous mobility may have had their interests piqued with WeRide's news, but it certainly doesn't make the stock a buy.

A more prudent course of action would be to wait for the company to report improvements in generating revenue and towards achieving profitability. In the meantime, investors can consider alternative inroads to the self-driving industry through AI leaders like Nvidia or other companies with exposure to the industry.

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Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.