** Shares of ride-hailing firms Uber UBER.N and Lyft LYFT.O fall 8.1% and 7.6% to $66.30 and $15.94, respectively
** Alphabet's Waymo GOOGL.O said it will expand its autonomous ride-hailing services to Miami, Florida
** Waymo aims to launch services to riders in 2026, offering ride-hailing through the Waymo One app
** "Waymo's release of about 300 cars in San Francisco resulted in a drop in Lyft and Uber traffic for drivers," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital, adding that "investors and analysts are extrapolating a similar traffic drop-off for other large metropolitan areas"
** Waymo's expansion plan "proves that it is closer to being not only real competition to the Uber and Lyft fleet of drivers, but starting to eat their lunch" — Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets
** Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist for investment advisory firm Carson Group, says as automated cars continue to roll out, it "will be a big thorn in the side of more traditional ride-sharing platforms"
** YTD, UBER stock up ~9%, LYFT up ~7%
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru)
((HarshitaMary.Varghese@thomsonreuters.com))
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.