Archer Aviation stock fell as spending in early 2026 looks higher than investors expected.
On Monday evening, the maker of electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft reported an Ebitda loss of $137.9 million from sales of less than $1 million. Ebitda is short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
Wall Street was looking for an Ebitda loss of $122 million from no sales, according to FactSet. A year ago, Archer reported an Ebitda loss of $95 million from no sales.
Shares were down 4.7% in after-hours trading at $7.17. Shares rose 5.8% in regular trading, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat and down 0.2%, respectively.
eVTOLs, sometimes called flying cars, are quiet and relatively low-cost, opening up a potential new market for urban air taxis. Most aren’t yet certified for commercial flight. Archer hopes to start commercial service in the Middle East in 2026.
That’s still the plan. What’s more, aircraft certification with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration could come as early as late 2026. That’s positive. Still, the Ebitda loss was slightly larger than expected, and the outlook for 2026 indicates some pressure on expenses.
For the first quarter of 2026, Archer expects an Ebitda loss between $160 million and $180 million. Wall Street was projecting closer to $110 million.
For the full year, analysts projected an Ebitda loss of about $500 million from sales of $31 million. Positive Ebitda is expected in 2029, when sales are estimated to top $1.7 billion.
The company has a lot of spending to do before it reaches that level of profitability. Archer ended the quarter with $2 billion in liquidity. That can carry the company to 2029 based on analysts’ projections for cash usage.
Coming into the week, Archer’s stock was down 20% over the past 12 months. The stock was still up more than 100% from October 2024 levels. The second Trump administration gave the eVTOL sector a boost as investors believed it would smooth the regulatory pathway for air taxis to start commercial operations.