Mobileye IPO Brings Driverless Technology to the Front Page

Cars and Drivers

Published: August 2, 2014 9:50 am

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 1:49 am

There was not a more explosive initial public offering (IPO) last week than Mobileye N.V. (NYSE: MBLY), which priced at $25 a share and opened trading Friday morning at $36. The stock hit a peak of $39.40 during the day before closing at $37.00. Shares even traded higher by $0.20 in the after-hours session. Nearly 37 million shares changed hands Friday, not far from the nearly 41 million that hit the market if you include the 5.34 million overallotment for the underwriters.

Mobileye makes the camera systems and develops software and other technologies for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These are the technologies that make driverless — sometimes called autonomous — cars and trucks possible. It is pretty safe to say that this revolution is one of the forces that will drive the auto industry for the next decade or so, and Mobileye is leading the charge.

Many automakers are already incorporating some of these safety technologies into their new cars, but at relatively steep prices. Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, and other ADAS systems are already available. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) offers an auto-pilot feature called Lane Keeping Assist on a couple of its Acura models. General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) offers a variety of ADAS on some Cadillac models at package prices ranging from $3,000 to $6,000. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) demonstrated its vehicle-to-vehicle technology at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show and how it could be used to supplement ADAS technologies to help avoid collisions.

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According to Mobileye, its technology will be available in 160 different car models from 18 different manufacturers by the end of this year, and Mobileye expects the technology to spread to 237 models from 20 carmakers by the end of 2015.

GM is Mobileye’s biggest customer, accounting for 29% of revenue. Honda and BMW account for 25% and 15%, respectively. In all, some 78% of 2013 revenue came from OEM customers.

Revenues in 2013 totaled $81.2 million and net income for the year totaled $19.9 million. An IPO for a company with positive earnings is a rare thing and Friday’s stampede chose to ignore that Mobileye posted a $19.6 million loss in the first quarter of this year and could be on its way to a loss in the second quarter.

The IPO was all about momentum and not wanting to be left behind when the bus left the station. Can Mobileye maintain its technology leadership and improve its revenues and profits at the same time? Can it do either? We will find out in the next months and years.

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