Got $1,000? This Agentic AI Growth Stock Is Down 87% From Its Highs

If you hear the experts talk about it, this is the heyday for agentic artificial intelligence (AI) -- programs that can make decisions and perform tasks on their own. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang calls it an "inflection point" for AI. A survey of business executives conducted by International Business Machines projects expectations that fully autonomous robotic systems will be operational by the end of the decade across many industries.

Against this backdrop, you'd think that nearly every agentic AI company would be a big winner right now. But UiPath (NYSE: PATH) is down 87% from its all-time highs and shows little sign of improvement. In 2026 alone, the stock dropped by more than 35%.

What's happening with UiPath? And does this company have a pathway to recovery?

Image source: Getty Images.

About UiPath

Based in New York, UiPath develops software that enables users to automate repetitive office tasks, such as entering data, moving files, processing transactions, and updating systems. As an end-to-end platform, users can run and manage software "robots" in a single place.

On the surface, it sounds like a great business model. Companies are always looking to streamline operations and make things run more efficiently.

However, the growth of mainstream AI poses a substantial threat to the company. Ever since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in November 2023, people have become more accustomed to using AI for everyday tasks. And businesses have been working non-stop to incorporate AI into their processes as well.

As AI continues to evolve and agentic AI begins to take hold, UiPath will face competition to its Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software.

The company's response

UiPath isn't just sitting still. The company is working to transform its platform into one that can both manage AI agents and software bots. "By bringing deterministic automation, agentic AI, and enterprise-grade orchestration together on a single platform, UiPath provides the execution layer enterprises trust to run mission-critical processes in the agentic era," CEO Daniel Dines said.

And the company is seeing some success. Revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended Jan. 31) was $481 million, up 14% from a year ago. Net income of $104.5 million was up from $51.8 million a year ago.

The company also has a solid revenue stream that's continuing to grow. Its annual recurring revenue of $1.85 billion is up 11% from a year ago.

And the company's strategy has given it a clear path to success. According to its earnings report, net income turned positive in the last 12 months. The company is projecting full-year revenue for fiscal 2027 to be $1.75 billion, up from $1.61 billion in fiscal 2026.

Is UiPath a buy now?

It's tempting to pull the trigger on any company working in the intersection of automation and AI right now, particularly when that company is down nearly 90% from its all-time highs. But analysts aren't projecting a major recovery in the near future. The consensus price target on Yahoo! Finance is just $13.81, which is a 24% gain from the stock price at this writing.

The growth of autonomous agents is far from over, and I don't have confidence that UiPath is in a position to ride the wave. And a mere 24% potential gain in stock price isn't dramatic enough to convince me to take a chance. I'm passing on UiPath stock.

Patrick Sanders has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends International Business Machines, Nvidia, and UiPath. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.