Why WeRide Stock Soared Today

Shares of WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) were flying higher on Wednesday. The company's stock spiked 21.5% as of market close, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) lost 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.

The autonomous driving company reported its Q1 numbers before the market opened today, as well as announcing a share repurchase program.

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WeRide's robotaxi business is growing

While WeRide's revenue only grew by less than 2% year over year (YOY), the company nearly doubled its robotaxi sales. The global robotaxi market is expected to be quite substantial. WeRide's continued and early success here is impressive.

The company also reported a positive quarter from an operational perspective. Tony Han, WeRide's founder, chairman, and CEO, was pleased with the company's momentum, saying he sees that the company's "vision is coming to life across regions in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond... large-scale robotaxi deployment is no longer theoretical and can be commercially viable."

A mark of confidence

WeRide announced its board has approved a substantial share repurchase program of up to $100 million over the next 12 months. The move will help drive value for stockholders and shows leadership is confident in the company's future.

WeRide CFO Jennifer Li said of the decision, "The adoption of the share repurchase program reflects our confidence in our business fundamentals, financial health, and long-term outlook, and underscores our commitment to delivering value to shareholders."

Image source: Getty Images.

WeRide is ahead of the pack

WeRide is finding success early among a field of many autonomous vehicle competitors in the race to bring autonomous technology to market. However, stiff competition remains from major players like Tesla and Alphabet-backed Waymo.

WeRide operates deep in the red, but that is not unusual for such a company. For those with patience and a high risk tolerance, I think WeRide is a good pick.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.