Why Uber Rallied Double-Digits in April

Shares of Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) rallied 11.2% in April, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, vastly outperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which was down 0.7% in a highly volatile month.

After the shock of the April 2 "Liberation Day" tariff announcements, many stocks sold off. However, Uber managed to recover, as the company made several announcements with autonomous driving companies, and late in the month, its CEO said the company wasn't seeing signs of recession.

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Uber aims to become a key partner for robotaxi companies

Coming into this year, some had worried how Uber might fit in to the autonomous driving future. Waymo usage is currently on the rise in California and Austin, and Tesla aims to launch its autonomous robotaxi service next month. Uber does own some 23.5% of autonomous trucking technology company Aurora, but other than that, it doesn't have in-house autonomous technology anymore.

However, Uber made news on several fronts regarding autonomy in April. First, Uber and Volkswagen announced Volkswagen would deploy its autonomous Buzz ID minivans, powered by Volkswagen's in-house autonomous subsidiary Moia, exclusively on the Uber app in Los Angeles in 2026.

That news came on the heels of published data on Waymo's first month of operations in Austin. That's important for Uber because Waymo's March Austin launch was the first city launch made exclusively in partnership through the Uber app. According to Yipit Data, Waymo adoption in Austin's first month has been double that of Waymo's San Francisco launch a year and a half ago. That increased demand can likely be mostly attributed to Uber's dominant position in ride-hailing today, which bodes well for other partnerships with autonomous driving companies going forward.

Image source: Getty Images.

No signs of recession yet

With the tariff-induced downturn in April, many also now fear recession, with possible consequences for Uber. However, at an economic summit in late April, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company hasn't seen signs of recession yet in its business. Moreover, Khosrowshahi pointed out that Uber may be more recession-resistant than some might think. In a recession scenario, Uber's labor costs would come down and prices would follow, spurring incremental demand.

Uber's price elasticity and apparent adaptability to the new age of autonomous driving were thus both positives for the month, thereby driving the company's share price higher in April. Uber investors will get their next bit of data on the company in its earnings release on Wednesday, May 7.

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Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Volkswagen Ag. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.