JOBY
TL;DR Overview
Core Insight: Joby Aviation is building a vertically integrated air mobility platform—designing and manufacturing its own eVTOL aircraft, operating the service, and controlling the customer funnel—now reinforced by the completed acquisition of Blade’s passenger business and exclusive market access in Dubai.
Key Opportunity: Regulatory and commercial momentum is converging in 2025–2026. Joby has exclusive rights to operate in Dubai for six years, a planned 100+ aircraft JV rollout in Japan with ANA, and will put Blade’s routes into the Uber app—creating a ready-made demand engine once certification unlocks scale.
Primary Risk: Sustained cash burn through certification and industrialization, paired with certification timing risk, could necessitate further capital raises and dilute shareholders if commercialization milestones slip.
Urgency: The company just added approximately $591 million of gross proceeds via an October 2025 equity offering at $16.85 per share, extending runway into key 2026 launch milestones (Dubai service, FAA TIA flight testing, and early U.S. operations via the White House eIPP) while materially increasing the public float.
1. Executive Summary
Joby’s long-term strategy is to control the full stack of electric air taxi operations while selectively enabling third-party channels where they accelerate adoption. The operating model is anchored by three routes to market identified in management’s filings: owned air taxi services, aircraft sales, and partnered services. The last twelve months added tangible distribution and regulatory scaffolding to that model. Joby completed the acquisition of Blade’s passenger business, giving it terminals, lounges, and proven routes in New York and Southern Europe, and immediately announced plans to integrate Blade flights into the Uber app, positioning a scaled consumer funnel when Joby aircraft enter service. Internationally, Joby secured six-year exclusive rights to operate in Dubai and began building out vertiport infrastructure, while in Japan it formed a joint venture with ANA to deploy over 100 aircraft starting in Tokyo and conducted public flight demos at Expo 2025 to advance JCAB pathways.
On certification and operations, Joby progressed deep into Stage 4 of FAA type certification, commenced final assembly of its first FAA-conforming aircraft for TIA flight testing, and achieved piloted full transition flights—demonstrating maturity of its flight control and propulsion systems. The company added a defense autonomy vector through its acquisition of Xwing’s Superpilot program and a L3Harris collaboration to develop a gas turbine hybrid variant for low-altitude missions, strengthening dual-use potential and optionality for aircraft sales. Manufacturing capacity in Marina, California doubled to up to 24 aircraft per year with Toyota manufacturing methodologies and expanded facilities, and Joby is standing up an Ohio site for components on the path toward much larger volumes over time.
Financially, Joby ended Q2 2025 with $991 million in cash and short-term investments and closed the first $250 million tranche of Toyota’s $500 million strategic investment, then followed with a $591 million gross equity raise in October 2025 at $16.85 per share. Management continues to guide to 2025 cash use of $500–$540 million. The Q2 2025 MD&A reported a quarterly net loss of $324.7 million, substantially higher than Q1’s $82.4 million net loss; the disclosure does not break down drivers, but the increase underscores the need for disciplined capital allocation through certification and ramp. The capital stack is now calibrated for type certification, manufacturing scale-up, and near-term commercial launches, but dilution and further financing remain key watch items until positive unit economics and flight-hour revenue are proven at scale.
2. Trading Analysis
The October 2025 underwritten offering priced at $16.85 per share and delivered approximately $591 million in gross proceeds, with 35,075,000 shares issued in total, including 4,575,000 shares from the full exercise of the underwriters’ option. All shares were sold by the company, materially increasing free float and liquidity while diluting existing holders. The pricing marks a sharp step-up from the October 2024 raise at $5.05, reflecting improved sector sentiment and Joby’s execution on certification, global market access, and manufacturing readiness. From a supply–demand standpoint, the larger float and Morgan Stanley-led syndication should enhance market depth, but investors should expect near-term digestion of new supply as the stock assimilates the incremental shares.
Use of proceeds is tightly aligned with key catalysts: certification work, manufacturing scale-up, commercial launch preparation, and general corporate purposes. This follows the May 2025 closing of Toyota’s first $250 million tranche and Q2 ending cash of $991 million, implying a significantly extended runway into 2026 milestones. The combination of a larger float, ample cash, and visible operational catalysts (Dubai vertiport completion targeted for Q1 2026, FAA TIA flight testing of conforming aircraft, early U.S. operations under the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program) creates a busy news flow window that can drive trading volatility. While the stronger balance sheet reduces immediate financing risk, the company’s stated 2025 cash use and elevated Q2 net loss from the MD&A highlight that additional capital needs over time remain plausible until revenue scale is achieved.
3. Team Overview & Governance
Joby’s leadership remains founder-led, with CEO JoeBen Bevirt emphasizing vertical integration, disciplined certification progress, and strategic partnerships. Key operating leaders include Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM, who is front-and-center on certification and test milestones, and Bonny Simi, President of Operations, who is building the pilot pipeline and operational safety infrastructure, including FAA Part 141 Flight Academy approval and FAA acceptance of Joby’s Safety Management System. Executive Chairman Paul Sciarra has consistently articulated the staged commercialization playbook across owned, partnered, and sales channels.
The finance function is undergoing a scale-up transition. Rodrigo Brumana was appointed CFO effective May 29, 2025, tasked with optimizing capital allocation across certification, manufacturing, acquisitions, and market launches; this was followed by the Q2 disclosure of cash use guidance and the October equity raise. On the acquired operations side, Blade’s passenger subsidiary continues under founder and CEO Rob Wiesenthal, preserving institutional knowledge, customer relationships, and route operations that will be integrated into Joby’s go-to-market and the Uber app. The documents provided do not detail board composition or committee structures; as a result, deeper governance analysis is limited by the source materials.
4. Business Model
Joby’s operating model blends a rideshare-style service with aerospace-grade manufacturing, supported by three monetization routes: operating its own air taxi service, selling aircraft, and partnering in select markets. The strategy is deliberately city-led and partnership-heavy. In the UAE, Joby secured exclusive rights in Dubai for six years, began vertiport construction at DXB, and is targeting first passenger service in 2026. In Japan, the joint venture with ANA plans a phased rollout starting in Tokyo with more than 100 aircraft, aligned with vertiport networks, pilot training, and maintenance support. In the U.K., a partnership with Virgin Atlantic will seed routes from major hubs like Heathrow and Manchester, mirroring Joby’s collaboration approach with established carriers. In Saudi Arabia, an MoU with Abdul Latif Jameel contemplates up to 200 aircraft and services, including local MRO and potential local operations, illustrating the aircraft sales and services pathway.
In the U.S., the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program is intended to facilitate early operations ahead of full certification in select markets, leveraging Joby’s 40,000+ miles of test flights and first piloted eVTOL flight between two public airports. The completed acquisition of Blade’s passenger business gives Joby immediate terminal infrastructure, loyal flyers, and urban route density, while integration with the Uber app is expected to transform awareness and booking friction once Joby aircraft enter service. Together, these moves position the company to control the customer experience while lowering customer acquisition cost and accelerating ramp in high-value corridors.
5. Financial Strategy
The financial strategy is built around staged capital formation mapped to certification and industrialization milestones. In 2024, Joby raised gross proceeds of roughly $202 million at $5.05 per share. In May 2025, it closed a $250 million tranche from Toyota, part of a $500 million strategic investment, strengthening manufacturing and design integration with a key partner. The company ended Q2 2025 with $991 million in cash and short-term investments, guided to 2025 cash use of $500–$540 million, and subsequently raised approximately $591 million gross in October 2025 at $16.85 per share. Proceeds are earmarked for certification, manufacturing, operations launch, and general corporate purposes. This sequence extends runway through critical 2026 milestones while maintaining strategic flexibility for partnerships and selective M&A.
Profitability timing remains contingent on certification, fleet scale, and utilization rates. The Q2 2025 MD&A disclosed a net loss of $324.7 million for the quarter, materially higher than the $82.4 million Q1 net loss; the documents provided do not break down the variance, but investors should expect elevated expenses as flight test, conforming aircraft builds, and manufacturing footprint expand. Non-dilutive support includes a $9.8 million California grant and approximately $10 million in equipment cost reductions, as well as ongoing U.S. Department of Defense engagements that may fund further autonomous and hybrid development. The Abdul Latif Jameel MoU contemplates up to $1 billion of aircraft and services over time, but revenue recognition will depend on firm orders and regulatory timing, neither of which is specified in the provided materials.
6. Technology & Innovation
Joby’s aircraft is designed to carry a pilot plus up to four passengers at speeds up to 200 mph with a low acoustic footprint and zero operating emissions. Technically, the company transitioned to piloted full transition flights, a critical validation that the vehicle can seamlessly shift from vertical lift to wing-borne cruise with low pilot workload. Joby advanced into the FAA’s final certification phase for key components, including for-credit static load testing on a conforming tail structure, and began final assembly of its first FAA-conforming aircraft to enter TIA flight tests. The company’s vertically integrated approach—designing, building, and testing aerostructures in-house—has been emphasized as an accelerator of certification and iteration speed.
Beyond the core eVTOL, two innovation vectors provide strategic leverage. First, autonomy: Joby acquired Xwing’s autonomy division in 2024 and in September 2025 completed a first-of-its-kind U.S. defense exercise, logging more than 7,000 autonomous miles with “Superpilot” across varied airspace and mission profiles. Second, hybridization: a collaboration with L3Harris aims to develop a gas turbine hybrid VTOL variant for low-altitude defense missions with both crewed and fully autonomous modes, with flight testing targeted for fall 2025 and operational demos in 2026. On the ecosystem side, Joby is deploying its Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) at Jetex private terminals to support Middle East operations and has built an FAA-approved Flight Academy (Part 141) and SMS for operations—cornerstones for scalable, safe service.
7. Manufacturing & Operations
Joby expanded its Marina, California facility to double annual production capacity to up to 24 aircraft and is leveraging Toyota production methodologies to enhance quality and efficiency. A newly renovated facility in Dayton, Ohio will manufacture and test components, laying groundwork for much higher volumes over time; the company references an eventual plan to build up to 500 aircraft annually in Dayton, indicating a multi-year industrialization roadmap. The sixth aircraft in the test fleet entered final functional checks in early 2025, reinforcing program maturity.
Operationally, Joby is seeding networks ahead of certification. In Dubai, construction began on the first vertiport at DXB, with completion targeted for Q1 2026 and additional sites planned across the city. In Ras Al Khaimah, a partnership with RAKTA and Skyports targets service by 2027, connecting to Joby’s planned Dubai operations. In Japan, Joby and ANA outlined vertiports, pilot training, and maintenance support as part of their phased rollout, and public demonstration flights at Expo 2025 Osaka supplied data to inform JCAB pathways. In the U.S., Joby completed the first piloted eVTOL flight between two public airports, operating in FAA-controlled airspace, and is preparing for FAA-conforming TIA flight tests and the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program to jumpstart early operations. These steps complement maintenance training with the U.S. Air Force, signaling readiness to operate, maintain, and scale the fleet.
8. Regulatory & Market Access
Regulatory foundations strengthened notably. The FAA published the powered-lift SFAR in October 2024, described by the FAA as the “final piece of the puzzle” to safely introduce these aircraft, while Joby hosted regulators from the U.K., Japan, and Australia for technology familiarization to speed international validation. Domestically, Joby advanced into TIA, completed for-credit structural tests, and targeted first TIA flight testing with a conforming aircraft in 2025. The company also obtained FAA Part 141 certification for its Flight Academy and FAA acceptance of its Safety Management System under Part 5, creating a structured pipeline for pilot training and operational safety.
Internationally, Joby secured six-year exclusive operating rights in Dubai, started vertiport construction, and is pursuing an Air Operator Certificate with the UAE GCAA. In Japan, public demos at Expo 2025 and structured collaboration with JCAB aim to define AAM regulatory pathways, while the ANA JV formalizes a multi-aircraft rollout blueprint. The U.K. partnership with Virgin engages regulators and airport operators for corridor development. In Korea, Joby completed flights in the K-UAM Grand Challenge, furthering regional credibility. Within the U.S., participation in the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program is designed to enable early market operations ahead of full FAA certification in select geographies, anchored by Joby’s extensive test record. Collectively, these steps represent a coherent market access strategy spanning bilateral validation, targeted exclusivity, and early-ops programs to compress time-to-revenue.
9. Historical Context
From late 2024 through 2025, Joby moved from program credibility to market activation. The company capped 2024 with the FAA’s SFAR publication, for-credit structural testing, and initial TIA activities. In parallel, it raised $202 million at $5.05 per share and closed 2024 with $933 million in cash and investments, then secured up to $500 million from Toyota with the first $250 million tranche closed in May 2025. Early 2025 brought piloted full transition flights, the first piloted eVTOL hop between two public U.S. airports, and multi-week piloted flights in Dubai, while the Dubai vertiport broke ground and the six-year exclusivity agreement was formalized with RTA and Skyports.
Commercial scaffolding accelerated mid-2025. Joby partnered with Virgin Atlantic for U.K. operations, announced an ANA JV to deploy 100+ aircraft in Japan, and signed an MoU with Abdul Latif Jameel for potential Saudi distribution of up to 200 aircraft and related services. The acquisition of Blade’s passenger business closed in August 2025, followed in September by plans to bring Blade services into the Uber app, reinforcing a powerful customer acquisition and operations platform. On defense and autonomy, Joby acquired Xwing’s Superpilot division in 2024 and executed a landmark autonomous operations exercise in 2025, while also launching a hybrid VTOL collaboration with L3Harris. Manufacturing scaled with Marina’s expansion to up to 24 aircraft per year and an Ohio component facility, and final assembly began on the first FAA-conforming aircraft for TIA flight testing. The October 2025 equity raise at $16.85 per share brought in approximately $591 million of gross proceeds, positioning Joby to fund the final leg to commercial service as it targets passenger operations in Dubai in 2026 and readies for early U.S. operations through federal integration programs.