We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Serve Robotics vs Teradyne: Which Robotics Stock Is a Buy For 2026?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Key Takeaways
SERV's Q3 revenue jumped 209% YoY as robot deployments passed 1,000 and delivery volume rose 300%.
TER's Q3 revenue hit $769M, driven by AI chip testing demand; Q4 sales expected to rise another 25%.
TER earnings forecasts improved sharply, while SERV's projected 2026 losses widened to $1.72 per share.
Automation and robotics continue to reshape the technology landscape, powering everything from autonomous delivery to advanced semiconductor testing. Two companies at very different stages of maturity—Serve Robotics Inc. (SERV - Free Report) and Teradyne, Inc. (TER - Free Report) —demonstrate how rapidly the robotics and AI ecosystem is evolving. Serve Robotics is a fast-growing, early-stage developer of Level-4 autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, while Teradyne is a global, profitable leader in semiconductor test and industrial automation equipment. Their businesses share a reliance on robotics, AI, and automation tailwinds, which makes evaluating their investment profiles particularly timely as both approach a pivotal 2026.
Now is an important moment to compare the two because the divergence in their financial trajectories is widening. Serve Robotics is entering an aggressive expansion cycle driven by major platform partnerships, while Teradyne is benefiting from extraordinary AI semiconductor demand that is reshaping its growth outlook. Investors looking at robotics-centric opportunities must weigh the long-term potential of Serve Robotics against the immediate earnings power and momentum behind Teradyne.
Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of the two stocks to determine which one is a better investment now.
The Case for Serve Robotics Stock
Serve Robotics is emerging as one of the most ambitious players in autonomous last-mile logistics. Its scale accelerated meaningfully in 2025. According to the company’s third-quarter 2025 results, Serve Robotics crossed 1,000 deployed robots, expanded to Chicago, strengthened its national presence, and saw delivery volume rise 66% sequentially and 300% from the prior year. Third-quarter revenue surged 209% year over year to $687,000, marking continued momentum in both fleet services and software revenues. Leadership emphasized that the company remains on track to deploy 2,000 robots by the end of 2025 and is preparing for an expected 10-fold increase in revenue in 2026, supported by its multi-year agreements with Uber’s (UBER - Free Report) Uber Eats and DoorDash (DASH - Free Report) .
Serve Robotics’ upside comes from its platform combining advanced autonomy, proprietary AI and a scalable fleet. Management says robot reliability is near 100%, with recent AI upgrades reducing interventions, improving decision-making, and extending operating hours. As the fleet expands, each mile strengthens Serve Robotics’ physical-AI training loop, widening its tech moat and enabling new revenue streams like advertising and technology licensing—already reflected in its partnership with Magna.
Yet despite its operational progress, Serve Robotics remains in the early stages of financial viability. The company reported a third-quarter gross loss of $4.4 million (versus $2.9 million loss a year ago) on $687,000 in revenues and an operating loss of $34.8 million (versus $22.6 million loss a year ago). Heavy investments in market expansion, autonomy R&D, and hardware production continue to push profitability further out.
The Case for Teradyne Stock
Teradyne occupies a very different place in the robotics automation ecosystem. Its robotics division includes cobots and mobile robots, but the company’s dominant driver is its leadership in semiconductor testing. This business has been pulled into a powerful AI-driven demand cycle. In the third quarter of 2025, Teradyne delivered $769 million in revenues, up 4% year over year, with Semiconductor Test contributing $606 million. Management noted that outsized demand for AI compute, networking and memory chips pushed results to the high end of guidance and set up an exceptionally strong fourth quarter, which is expected to grow another 25% sequentially.
What underpins Teradyne’s momentum is the explosive complexity of AI-related chips. The company emphasized on its earnings call that its UltraFLEXplus platform has become increasingly essential as AI processors require higher power, greater pin counts, and faster test-data processing. These technical requirements significantly raise test intensity and expand Teradyne’s addressable market. Memory testing has also surged, particularly in HBM, DRAM, and cloud SSD applications. In the third quarter alone, Teradyne’s memory test revenue more than doubled sequentially, driven largely by HBM inserts for AI data centers. The company now participates in all major HBM test stages, strengthening its hold on a critical segment of the AI hardware supply chain.
Even beyond semiconductors, Teradyne’s product test and system-level test segments saw order strength, especially for mobile processors and compute applications slated for 2026. Meanwhile, robotics remains softer, but even there the company reported growing large-customer and OEM demand for AI-related robot applications. Teradyne continues to generate significant free cash flow, invests heavily in R&D and returns capital through share buybacks and dividends.
Share Price Performance: SERV vs. TER – A Diverging Trajectory
Serve Robotics shares have gained 17.6% over the past year. This return puts SERV ahead of the S&P 500’s 15.9% gain but well behind the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s 28.7% advance. The disparity reflects the mixed sentiment toward high-risk, high-loss robotics firms.
Teradyne’s stock, by contrast, has risen 65.9% in the past year, handily outperforming both the broader tech sector and the S&P 500. Its surge mirrors strengthening AI-related fundamentals and improving earnings power.
SERV & TER Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SERV vs. TER – Premium Speculation vs. Priced-In Profitability
Based on the forward 12-month price-to-sales, Serve Robotics trades at 36.77X, while Teradyne trades at 7.66X against a sector average of 6.66X. Serve Robotics’ valuation implies a premium that assumes long-run dominance in autonomous delivery despite widening losses, whereas Teradyne’s multiple appears far more grounded given its profitability and forecasted EPS acceleration.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings Outlook: SERV vs. TER
Serve Robotics’ earnings trajectory continues to deteriorate. The 2025 consensus loss widened from $1.30 to $1.55 per share in the past 30 days, and 2026 losses are projected to deepen to $1.72. Although revenues are projected to grow sharply—more than 38% in 2025 and more than 800% in 2026—the path to positive earnings remains distant.
SERV Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Teradyne’s earnings expectations are improving meaningfully. Analysts have raised the 2025 EPS estimate from $3.14 to $3.51, and the company is projected to grow earnings by 45.1% in 2026. These upward revisions reflect powerful AI-related demand across compute and memory test systems. Revenues are expected to increase 8.1% in 2025 and 22.5% in 2026, implying healthy operating leverage as the AI cycle strengthens.
TER Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Which Robotics Automation Stock Is the Better Buy for 2026?
Serve Robotics offers a bold vision of autonomous delivery at a massive scale. It has achieved rapid operational momentum, expanded its partnerships, and built a compelling technology platform. However, the company remains deeply unprofitable, trades at an exceptionally high valuation, and carries substantial execution and dilution risk. SERV stock’s Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) appropriately reflects near-term concerns about widening losses and limited visibility into profitability.
Teradyne, on the other hand, is benefiting directly from the largest AI semiconductor build-out in history. Its earnings power is rising, its guidance is strengthening, and its valuation is comparatively reasonable. With a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), improving estimate revisions, and accelerating demand across compute, networking, and memory test equipment, Teradyne offers a more favorable risk-reward profile for 2026. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Serve Robotics vs Teradyne: Which Robotics Stock Is a Buy For 2026?
Key Takeaways
Automation and robotics continue to reshape the technology landscape, powering everything from autonomous delivery to advanced semiconductor testing. Two companies at very different stages of maturity—Serve Robotics Inc. (SERV - Free Report) and Teradyne, Inc. (TER - Free Report) —demonstrate how rapidly the robotics and AI ecosystem is evolving. Serve Robotics is a fast-growing, early-stage developer of Level-4 autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, while Teradyne is a global, profitable leader in semiconductor test and industrial automation equipment. Their businesses share a reliance on robotics, AI, and automation tailwinds, which makes evaluating their investment profiles particularly timely as both approach a pivotal 2026.
Now is an important moment to compare the two because the divergence in their financial trajectories is widening. Serve Robotics is entering an aggressive expansion cycle driven by major platform partnerships, while Teradyne is benefiting from extraordinary AI semiconductor demand that is reshaping its growth outlook. Investors looking at robotics-centric opportunities must weigh the long-term potential of Serve Robotics against the immediate earnings power and momentum behind Teradyne.
Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of the two stocks to determine which one is a better investment now.
The Case for Serve Robotics Stock
Serve Robotics is emerging as one of the most ambitious players in autonomous last-mile logistics. Its scale accelerated meaningfully in 2025. According to the company’s third-quarter 2025 results, Serve Robotics crossed 1,000 deployed robots, expanded to Chicago, strengthened its national presence, and saw delivery volume rise 66% sequentially and 300% from the prior year. Third-quarter revenue surged 209% year over year to $687,000, marking continued momentum in both fleet services and software revenues. Leadership emphasized that the company remains on track to deploy 2,000 robots by the end of 2025 and is preparing for an expected 10-fold increase in revenue in 2026, supported by its multi-year agreements with Uber’s (UBER - Free Report) Uber Eats and DoorDash (DASH - Free Report) .
Serve Robotics’ upside comes from its platform combining advanced autonomy, proprietary AI and a scalable fleet. Management says robot reliability is near 100%, with recent AI upgrades reducing interventions, improving decision-making, and extending operating hours. As the fleet expands, each mile strengthens Serve Robotics’ physical-AI training loop, widening its tech moat and enabling new revenue streams like advertising and technology licensing—already reflected in its partnership with Magna.
Yet despite its operational progress, Serve Robotics remains in the early stages of financial viability. The company reported a third-quarter gross loss of $4.4 million (versus $2.9 million loss a year ago) on $687,000 in revenues and an operating loss of $34.8 million (versus $22.6 million loss a year ago). Heavy investments in market expansion, autonomy R&D, and hardware production continue to push profitability further out.
The Case for Teradyne Stock
Teradyne occupies a very different place in the robotics automation ecosystem. Its robotics division includes cobots and mobile robots, but the company’s dominant driver is its leadership in semiconductor testing. This business has been pulled into a powerful AI-driven demand cycle. In the third quarter of 2025, Teradyne delivered $769 million in revenues, up 4% year over year, with Semiconductor Test contributing $606 million. Management noted that outsized demand for AI compute, networking and memory chips pushed results to the high end of guidance and set up an exceptionally strong fourth quarter, which is expected to grow another 25% sequentially.
What underpins Teradyne’s momentum is the explosive complexity of AI-related chips. The company emphasized on its earnings call that its UltraFLEXplus platform has become increasingly essential as AI processors require higher power, greater pin counts, and faster test-data processing. These technical requirements significantly raise test intensity and expand Teradyne’s addressable market. Memory testing has also surged, particularly in HBM, DRAM, and cloud SSD applications. In the third quarter alone, Teradyne’s memory test revenue more than doubled sequentially, driven largely by HBM inserts for AI data centers. The company now participates in all major HBM test stages, strengthening its hold on a critical segment of the AI hardware supply chain.
Even beyond semiconductors, Teradyne’s product test and system-level test segments saw order strength, especially for mobile processors and compute applications slated for 2026. Meanwhile, robotics remains softer, but even there the company reported growing large-customer and OEM demand for AI-related robot applications. Teradyne continues to generate significant free cash flow, invests heavily in R&D and returns capital through share buybacks and dividends.
Share Price Performance: SERV vs. TER – A Diverging Trajectory
Serve Robotics shares have gained 17.6% over the past year. This return puts SERV ahead of the S&P 500’s 15.9% gain but well behind the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s 28.7% advance. The disparity reflects the mixed sentiment toward high-risk, high-loss robotics firms.
Teradyne’s stock, by contrast, has risen 65.9% in the past year, handily outperforming both the broader tech sector and the S&P 500. Its surge mirrors strengthening AI-related fundamentals and improving earnings power.
SERV & TER Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SERV vs. TER – Premium Speculation vs. Priced-In Profitability
Based on the forward 12-month price-to-sales, Serve Robotics trades at 36.77X, while Teradyne trades at 7.66X against a sector average of 6.66X. Serve Robotics’ valuation implies a premium that assumes long-run dominance in autonomous delivery despite widening losses, whereas Teradyne’s multiple appears far more grounded given its profitability and forecasted EPS acceleration.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings Outlook: SERV vs. TER
Serve Robotics’ earnings trajectory continues to deteriorate. The 2025 consensus loss widened from $1.30 to $1.55 per share in the past 30 days, and 2026 losses are projected to deepen to $1.72. Although revenues are projected to grow sharply—more than 38% in 2025 and more than 800% in 2026—the path to positive earnings remains distant.
SERV Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Teradyne’s earnings expectations are improving meaningfully. Analysts have raised the 2025 EPS estimate from $3.14 to $3.51, and the company is projected to grow earnings by 45.1% in 2026. These upward revisions reflect powerful AI-related demand across compute and memory test systems. Revenues are expected to increase 8.1% in 2025 and 22.5% in 2026, implying healthy operating leverage as the AI cycle strengthens.
TER Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Which Robotics Automation Stock Is the Better Buy for 2026?
Serve Robotics offers a bold vision of autonomous delivery at a massive scale. It has achieved rapid operational momentum, expanded its partnerships, and built a compelling technology platform. However, the company remains deeply unprofitable, trades at an exceptionally high valuation, and carries substantial execution and dilution risk. SERV stock’s Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) appropriately reflects near-term concerns about widening losses and limited visibility into profitability.
Teradyne, on the other hand, is benefiting directly from the largest AI semiconductor build-out in history. Its earnings power is rising, its guidance is strengthening, and its valuation is comparatively reasonable. With a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), improving estimate revisions, and accelerating demand across compute, networking, and memory test equipment, Teradyne offers a more favorable risk-reward profile for 2026. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.