The robotaxi industry is becoming increasingly important for investors to watch. 

Whether we’re talking about Tesla (TSLA) and its incredible recovery over the past three months, thanks in large part to its recent robotaxi launch, or Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) with their impressive investments in Zoox and Waymo, there’s no shortage of mega-cap tech giants playing in the robotaxi sandbox. 

For now, I am going to focus on Amazon’s Zoox investment, and what the company’s production updates could mean for its growth prospects in 2025 and beyond. 

Big Investment in Robotaxi Technology 

Amazon’s $1.3 billion purchase of Zoox in 2020 was an investment that is certainly starting to look like it will pay off… big time. 

The e-commerce giant has continued to pour more capital into the robotaxi maker, with the hopes of significantly ramping up production capacity at its core San Francisco facility. This facility is expected to be able to produce as many as 10,000 robotaxis per year when at maximum capacity, although right now the Amazon subsidiary is targeting one per day. 

Will This Business Have a Meaningful Impact on Amazon’s Bottom Line?

The reality is that Amazon is an absolute behemoth in the e-commerce and cloud sectors. The tech giant’s status in these two markets is going to dwarf any of its other bets in emerging technologies. 

That’s not to say this robotaxi business can’t or won’t have a meaningful impact on Amazon’s bottom line in the years to come. Famously, Amazon’s outside investment in building out a cloud infrastructure decades ago was viewed skeptically by many investors, before being accepted as the true cash flow generation machine it is in propelling Amazon stock to its current heights. 

Amazon’s Zoox investment isn’t a one-time payment; the e-commerce giant will likely need to continue to pump capital into it to achieve growth and keep up with robotaxi competition. But with a few dozen robotaxis currently on the road and plans for the Amazon affiliate to launch hundreds per year moving forward, the race is on for market share in what could prove to be a highly competitive space. 

What Do Analysts Think?

Amazon’s ability to really reinforce its core competitive advantageshas driven a valuation that continues to remain elevated relative to the market. But relative to its own historical levels, Amazon’s multiples have come down considerably, lending positively to the idea that this is a stock that could have further room to run from here. 

Analysts appear to agree, with an impressive 47 analysts out of 54 in coverage rating AMZN stock a “Strong Buy.” 

And with a consensus price target of $244.41 that implies roughly 5% upside from here, there’s certainly no shortage of believers out there who want to continue to remain exposed to the long-term growth Amazon is expected to provide. Plus, its Street-high price target of $305 suggests shares could gain 31% over the next 12 months. 

That’s not a story I want to bet against.