Autonomous driving will be one of the applications for artificial intelligence that will impact consumers over the next decade or more. That means it’s time for investors to look for high-potential autonomous driving stocks that can drive growth in their portfolios.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is an obvious name to consider. One of the big news that came out of the company’s earnings report was its plans to spend $1 billion on its autonomous driving initiative titled “Project Dojo.” This will be another reason that TSLA will be a growth stock to watch for years to come.
And it can easily make some investors millionaires. However, for this list of high-potential autonomous driving stocks, I’ve decided to look beyond Tesla. This list includes one undervalued large-cap and two small mid-cap companies that are attractively priced for the outsized gains that define millionaire-making stocks.
Qualcomm (QCOM)
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) is frequently thought of for its leadership in developing patents and intellectual property in the mobile device chip sector. Notably, the company (for now) continues to supply chips for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
But Qualcomm has also become a serious competitor in the autonomous vehicle market. In January 2023, the company unveiled its Snapdragon Ride platform. This car-based computer system can provide Level 1 (parking assistance) to Level 5 (no human driver) autonomous capabilities. The company is currently working with many automakers to seed this system into the market.
Currently QCOM stock looks undervalued at just over 13x earnings. The company is expected to increase earnings by approximately 20%, which aligns with anticipated stock price growth of 17%. And considering that this is only the beginning of a multi-year cycle in autonomous driving, QCOM can be one of the autonomous driving stocks with big returns.
Ambarella (AMBA)
Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA) is known for its system-on-a-chip (SOC) designs that it calls Computer Vision. As it relates to autonomous vehicles, the company’s hardware platforms “deliver the flexibility required to implement all levels of automation, including partial, conditional, high, and full autonomy.”
Earlier this year, Ambarella was selected by Hyperview, a Shanghai-based company, to provide its SOCs for its autonomous driving platforms. This gives the company a foothold in the Chinese market.
That would be welcome news for investors since Ambarella is not profitable and wis not expected to be through 2025. However, analysts are giving the stock a 19% upside from its current level. And institutional ownership in AMBA stock sits at over 78% with buying activity outpacing selling activity by over 2:1.
Ambarella can’t be considered an inexpensive stock. But with a long runway for growth, it’s a solid choice as one of the high-potential autonomous vehicle stocks.
Luminar Technologies (LAZR)
If you’re going to invest in high-potential autonomous vehicle stocks, you should be familiar with LiDAR technology. This is the backbone of self-driving cars, and Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) is one of the leaders in this space.
However, like many groundbreaking technologies, LiDAR comes at a premium to existing radar technologies. That’s been a drag on LAZR stock. And investors should be mindful that Luminar continues to be unprofitable which could bring about further share dilution.
On the other hand, Luminar has secured contracts with several automakers. This will help LiDAR adoption as will the company’s efforts to make LiDAR sensors more aesthetically pleasing.
With a market cap of just over $2 billion dollars, Luminar could still be considered a small-cap stock. And like many small-caps it carries significant short interest. For LAZR stock that sits at over 27% as of this writing. But that’s part of the risk-reward that investors must consider with millionaire-maker stocks. The long-term outlook for LAZR stock could be a risk worth taking. And institutional investors seem to agree. They own 64% of the company’s stock and buying (in terms of dollars invested) has outpaced selling by over 5:1.
On the date of publication, Chris Markoch did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.