Joby’s eVTOL Rally Loses Altitude After Early 2026 Surge — What’s Dragging The Stock?

• The stock is currently down over 1% in overnight trading, according to Yahoo Finance, and is setting course for a second straight day of declines.
• Joby’s this week started with the company’s announcement that it has accepted the first of two flight simulators developed in partnership with CAE.
• The company on Wednesday revealed it would acquire a manufacturing facility in the Dayton, Ohio area that spans more than 700,000 square feet.

Last year, Joby Aviation saw a sharp surge in retail investor interest after announcing plans to double its U.S. manufacturing capacity and participate in the White House’s Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program.

That momentum carried into 2026, with the stock jumping 18% over the first three trading days of the year and adding more than $2 billion in market capitalization. On Jan. 5, shares closed up 11.7%, marking their best session since September. However, investor optimism soon faded, with the stock snapping its winning streak and closing nearly 5% lower on Wednesday.

Joby shares are down more than 1% in overnight trading, according to Yahoo Finance, setting up a second consecutive day of declines. The pullback comes despite the company’s recent announcement that it will acquire a manufacturing facility in the Dayton, Ohio, area spanning more than 700,000 square feet.

January’s First Positive

Joby kicked off the week by saying it had accepted the first of two flight simulators developed in partnership with CAE. The simulators are scheduled to be qualified amongst the highest Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) classifications for flight simulation and are expected to provide the environment required for commercial single-pilot eVTOL operations.

“These simulators are central to the FAA certification process and are being delivered on time to support pilot training ahead of Joby’s first commercial flights planned for this year,” said Bonny Simi, President of Operations for Joby. 

In November, Joby Aviation said that it reached a critical milestone on the path to certifying its aircraft for commercial use, with the start of power-on testing of the first of several FAA-conforming aircraft to be built for Type Inspection Authorization (TIA).

TIA testing is the final stage of the FAA Type Certification process, during which FAA test pilots will fly Joby’s aircraft.

A L3Harris Retail Angle

Last year, Joby and L3Harris decided to partner to develop a vertical take-off and landing aircraft for defense applications. L3Harris has plans to equip Joby’s commercial hybrid aircraft to address defense applications, such as contested logistics, “loyal wingman” operations and low-altitude support.

A bullish user on Stocktwits noted that L3Harris’ integration of defense-specific systems, sensors, communications, and autonomy is reminiscent of how the U.S. military put Harley motorcycles “on the map.”

How Are Stocktwits Users Reacting?

Retail sentiment on Joby Aviation improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bearish’ a week ago, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

Archer Aviation, which has also said it intends to participate in the White House program, saw sentiment in the ‘bullish’ territory from ‘bearish’ a week ago, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels.

Shares of Joby Aviation have gained nearly 64% in the last 12 months, while Archer Aviation has declined about 20% in the same period.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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