Pony AI (PONY) is scaling fast, and investors are taking notice. Shares jumped Tuesday after the China-based autonomous driving company delivered third-quarter results that show its robotaxi business is hitting its stride across major Chinese cities.

The numbers tell a growth story that's hard to ignore. Revenue surged 72% year-over-year to $25.44 million (181.1 million Chinese yuan), powered primarily by robotaxi services and licensing revenue. The robotaxi segment alone saw revenue climb 89.5% to $6.7 million, reflecting expanding user adoption, growing demand in tier-one cities, and a rapidly growing fleet of deployed vehicles.

Meanwhile, the company's robotruck services generated $10.2 million in revenue, up 8.7% year-over-year. But the robotaxi business is clearly where the momentum lives right now.

Margins Matter More Than Ever

Here's what's particularly encouraging: Pony AI isn't just growing revenue, it's doing so more profitably. Gross profit jumped to $4.7 million from $1.4 million a year ago, while gross margin expanded to 18.4% from 9.2%. That improvement stems from the company's focused strategy of prioritizing high-margin revenue sources within its robotaxi and robotruck services.

The company posted an adjusted loss of 14 cents per share, a dramatic improvement from the $3.50 loss in the prior year's quarter. As of September 30, 2025, Pony AI held $587.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, and restricted cash.

Scaling the Fleet Aggressively

Chairman and CEO Dr. James Peng highlighted a major milestone: the company's dual primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which secures long-term capital to fund commercialization. He also pointed to the launch of the seventh-generation robotaxi across major tier-one Chinese cities as a leap forward for fully driverless mobility.

The fleet expansion is proceeding at pace. Pony AI now operates 961 robotaxis, including 667 Gen-7 vehicles. The company remains on track to exceed 1,000 vehicles by year-end and progress toward 3,000 vehicles by the end of 2026.

Perhaps most importantly, Gen-7 robotaxis have achieved city-wide unit economics breakeven. That's a critical validation point—it confirms the business model works at scale and paves the way for expansion both within China and internationally. The company also managed to reduce Gen-7 ADK bill-of-materials costs by another 20% for 2026 production compared to the 2025 baseline, which should only improve margins as the fleet grows.

During the earnings call, CTO Dr. Tiancheng Lou emphasized the company's mission of "autonomous mobility everywhere," signaling ambitions that extend well beyond China's borders.

Price Action: PONY shares were trading higher by 14.06% to $14.36 in premarket trading Tuesday.