Here's Why Joby Aviation Shares Lifted Off This Week

Shares in electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) stock Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) soared by 17.5% this week as the market warmed to its first quarter results released on Tuesday. The results and management commentary supported expectations that the company is on the cusp of beginning a long-term journey to become a leading transportation-as-a-service (TaaS) company in the eVTOL space.

As a reminder, Joby's business model involves building, owning, and operating its own eVTOL air-taxis rather than selling them to third parties. That's why the market follows the timeline of every developmental milestone, not least because it needs to ensure it starts generating revenue from its air-taxi services before it burns through cash.

Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on a little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly," providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »

The good news is Joby's management confirmed it's on track in 2026.

Joby continues to expect to launch its initial operations this year.

Management discussed the first "FAA-conforming aircraft for Type Inspection Authorization (TIA)" flight that took place in the quarter – a critical step in the Federal Aviation Administration certification process.

Joby completed "the first transition flights with its turbine-electric VTOL aircraft, including a 148-mile flight at maximum take-off weight"

The FAA-conforming flight is arguably the most exciting development, as it prepares the ground for FAA pilots to begin formal testing of an aircraft ready for the exhaustive testing that will, hopefully, lead to certification.

In a sign of its confidence, management affirmed that it continues to scale its manufacturing capability in California and Ohio, and with $2.5 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet, it's well positioned to do so.

Before you buy stock in Joby Aviation, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Joby Aviation wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $471,827!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,319,291!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 986% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 207% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

*Stock Advisor returns as of May 10, 2026.

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Here's Why Joby Aviation Shares Lifted Off This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool