Key Takeaways:
Robotics and lidar stocks fell Tuesday as the broad AI trade cooled, with Ouster down 10% to $43 and Aeva Technologies down 12% to $21.
"Customers around the world have continued to scale their investments in Physical AI," Angus Pacala, chief executive at Ouster, said after the company's second-quarter revenue rose 56 percent to $54.6 million.
Symbotic slipped a milder 4 percent to $41, cushioned by a contracted backlog of roughly $22.5 billion anchored by Walmart. The iShares Semiconductor ETF fell 5 percent to $530, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF held near flat at $102. The 30-year Treasury yield touched a 19-year high above 5.33 percent before easing to about 5.29 percent.
The selloff coincided with Anthropic's annualized revenue of $65 billion at the end of July, below the $80 billion-plus figure circulating in Silicon Valley; a Wall Street Journal report that nine top tech companies carry roughly $3 trillion of off-balance-sheet commitments tied to AI; and the jump in long-end yields, which raises the discount rate on pre-profit growth names.
Lidar Names Ran Hardest Into the Rotation
Ouster and Aeva took the brunt because both remain unprofitable and their valuations rest on adoption curves stretching years out. Ouster had climbed about 30 percent over the past month and roughly 122 percent year to date; Aeva was up about 42 percent over the past month and roughly 79 percent year to date. Stocks that have doubled tend to be sold hardest when the trade unwinds.
Both delivered positive news this earnings season. Aeva beat top and bottom line, announced a new Optical Connectivity business for AI data centers, and disclosed a $115 million follow-on that lifted liquidity to $302.9 million, per its SEC filings. Neither report changes the fact that these are Physical AI narratives trading on multi-year total addressable markets.
Symbotic's Backlog Provides a Floor
Symbotic's more modest decline reflects a different profile. The warehouse automation company runs a real revenue business, with its most recent quarter delivering revenue of $721 million, up 22 percent year over year, and adjusted EBITDA that more than doubled to $95 million. The stock is down about 29 percent year to date, a very different setup from a lidar name that has doubled.
The Invesco QQQ Trust fell 1.66 percent, reflecting pressure on high-multiple growth names, while the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF slipped 3 percent to $81.96, though the fund remains up 22 percent year to date.
Ouster's $58 analyst target and Aeva's $33 target both sit meaningfully above current prices, so the next test is whether sell-side sponsors reiterate through the drawdown or wait for a firmer AI capex narrative. The wild swings across the AI space in 2026 mean today could be a one-day event or the start of another downtrend.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
