Is Joby Aviation Stock a Buy Right Now?

Despite its monolithic run-up successful 2025, aviation pioneer Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) has had a unspeakable commencement to 2026. Not lone are its shares down astir 25% twelvemonth to date, but they're besides really trading little than they were 5 years ago:

But sometimes a stock's crisp tumble tin beryllium a buying accidental for clever investors. At a full marketplace headdress of $9.6 billion, is Joby a bargain now?

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Joby designs and manufactures electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Unlike a helicopter, which uses a azygous ample cardinal rotor powered by liquid fuel, eVTOLs usage respective smaller rotors powered by an electrical battery, overmuch similar those connected tiny quadricopter artifact drones.

The S-4, Joby's flagship design, features six rotors that tin individually rotate to supply vertical assistance oregon guardant thrust. It's designed to transportation up to 4 passengers and 4 carry-on bags, positive a pilot, for up to 150 miles astatine a apical velocity of 200 mph. The S-4 is inactive being evaluated for information by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), truthful Joby has not yet deployed its fleet commercially successful the U.S. However, it expects to statesman aerial taxi work successful Dubai this twelvemonth and is manufacturing astir 2 craft per period astatine accumulation facilities successful California and Ohio.

Joby's stock terms of little than $10 is trading much than 50% beneath its 2025 highs, truthful people it looks compellingly priced astatine archetypal glance. But looks tin beryllium deceiving.

At its peak, the institution was valued astatine astir $17.5 billion, which enactment its valuation concisely connected par with Southwest Airlines, an existent aerial proscription institution with existent flights, bookings, and passengers. Even now, Joby's marketplace headdress is higher than that of American Airlines Group, aesculapian chopper proscription work TransMedics Group, and ride-hailing level Lyft, which are valued astatine $8.2 billion, $5.5 billion, and $5.1 billion, respectively.

Given that Joby intends to run its fleet of eVTOLs arsenic an aerial taxi work done an app -- overmuch similar Uber Technologies, the $158 cardinal institution whose aerial transportation part Joby purchased successful 2020 -- it's a spot concerning to spot that its as-yet-unproven exertion and concern exemplary are being valued acold higher than companies that are successfully operating akin businesses. The marketplace for a rider aerial taxi work is apt to beryllium considerably smaller than the marketplace for level flights, exigency aesculapian transportation, oregon crushed taxi rides.