Waymo Hits 200 Million Miles in 10 Cities; GCP Growth Forecast Raised to 60%
Alphabet-backed Waymo expanded robotaxi service to 10 cities, logging over 200 million autonomous miles and targeting one million weekly rides by year-end, while NHTSA investigates 3,000 units. Separately, Wells Fargo raised its 2026 GCP revenue growth forecast to 60% y/y and Jefferies lifted cloud operating income projections 10–15% above consensus.
1. Waymo Expands to 10 Cities
Waymo rolled out autonomous ride-hailing in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Orlando on February 25, bringing its total service footprint to 10 U.S. cities. The division recorded over 200 million autonomous miles driven and aims to double weekly rides from 450,000 to one million by the end of the year.
2. Safety Scrutiny and Competitive Pressure
NHTSA has opened probes into more than 3,000 Waymo vehicles following collisions with parked cars and a pedestrian in California school zones. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Cybercab, priced under $30,000, enters production in April and Baidu’s Apollo Go has surpassed 300,000 weekly rides, signed partnerships with Uber and Lyft for London trials.
3. Strong Cloud and AI Outlook
Wells Fargo now forecasts Google Cloud Platform revenue growth of 60% in 2026, 16% above consensus for 2027 and 12% for 2028. Jefferies projects GCP compute capacity rising to 16.9GW by 2028, lifts 2026–27 cloud operating income estimates 10–15% above Street, and sees Gemini subscriptions reaching $12 billion ARR.