Good morning, CFOs. Lyft is investing in autonomous vehicles to boost growth; Axon CFO talks about taser demand and new products; Trump extends China tariff deadline by 90 days.

Lyft is betting on a revenue boost from deploying autonomous vehicles in the U.S. and Europe as the San Francisco-based ride-sharing company works to scale its robotaxi presence.

The company began testing out Ann Arbor, Mich.-based May Mobility’s driverless taxis in Atlanta this summer. Lyft then plans to offer autonomous rides in Dallas in partnership with Marubeni and Mobileye, headquartered in Tokyo and Jerusalem, respectively, next year.

Forecasting the economics of a major new market opportunity is a key task of finance chiefs. The cost of the autonomous vehicles, sensors and related technologies will decline over time as the technology and the market evolve, Lyft Chief Financial Officer Erin Brewer told my colleague Mark Maurer.

“You’re in a very early stage where the vehicles that you’ll see today, on the roads in certain cities, are extraordinarily high-cost,” Brewer said. 

📆 Earnings

• Cardinal Health
• Cava Group
• Circle Internet Group
• CoreWeave
• Madison Square Garden Sports
• On Holding

📈 Economic Indicators

The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for July.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for July.

Axon Enterprise, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based maker of public safety products last week boosted its full-year outlook as sales rose in its latest quarter. Brittany Bagley, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Axon, talked to my colleague Mark Maurer about what drove that move, among other things. Edited excerpts follow.

WSJ: Axon reported strong demand for its tasers, personal sensors and counter-drone equipment in the latest quarter. To what do you attribute that?

Bagley: We continue to innovate. Thirty percent of our bookings [sales orders] are coming from our new products. Our innovation and our new products really are resonating with our customers. I think they resonate with our customers because we have a very customer-first, customer-centric mindset where we're trying to solve real problems for our customers.

In general, with policing and public safety and some of the solutions that we're offering, we're creating new markets. They haven't had these tools before and so we're providing them with new things that they haven't had. That adoption helps our growth because we're not going in and trying to disrupt other companies or necessarily trying to take share. We're going in and trying to solve new challenges.

WSJ: How are bookings factoring into the revenue for new products?

Bagley: Axon is still predominantly a domestic business, and I would say that's particularly true on revenue because we do longer-term contracts so our bookings are not necessarily hitting revenue this year. Some part of them will, but they're really hitting revenue in the future. And so when we talk about new products, not a lot of new product revenue is in our Q2 number. But the strength in the bookings means that our customers are adopting it, and it will start to layer in.

WSJ: How is the Trump administration’s increased scrutiny of federal contracts affecting Axon?

Bagley: Federal still isn't a huge part of our business, so it's not really impacting our business today. Even though it was a little slower, I don't think we've changed our view on the long-term value proposition at all. We have enough drivers that if timing is a little bit off, that's OK as long as we fundamentally believe the value proposition is still there and I really think it is.

U.S. markets closed modestly lower Monday. President Trump extended a deadline for higher tariffs on China, while gold prices were still down following his declaration that there would be no tariff on gold bars.

Much market chatter centered on Nvidia and AMD's deal to pay the government a cut of their sales of artificial-intelligence chips to China, an arrangement that is unusual to say the least.

• Nvidia, AMD to Give U.S. 15% Cut on AI Chip Sales to China
• What to Know About Trump’s Plan to Take 15% of AI Chip Sales to China

📰 Other headlines

• American Companies Are Buying Their Own Stocks at a Record Pace
• Ford’s Answer to Cheap Chinese EVs Starts With a $30,000 Electric Pickup
• Skydance’s Paramount Lands UFC Rights in $7.7 Billion Deal
• With Billions at Risk, Nvidia CEO Buys His Way Out of the Trade Battle
• Forget the White House Sideshow. Intel Must Decide What It Wants to Be.
• U.S. Steel Plant Explosion Kills Two People, Injures 10
• The Era of Big Raises for Low-Paid Workers Is Over
• AI Is Forcing the Return of the In-Person Job Interview
• European Leaders Plan to Meet Trump Before Putin Talks

Ibotta, the Denver-based digital promotions network, hired Matt Puckett as company's new CFO, effective Aug. 25. Ibotta said Puckett, 51 years old, spent more than two decades with VF Corp., most recently serving as finance chief of the apparel maker from June 2021 to July 2024. Puckett will receive an annual base salary of $550,000 and an annual bonus with a target value of $450,000, along with a $9 million award of restricted stock units, the company said.

—Colin Kellaher contributed to today’s Ledger.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

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