Joby Aviation Is Burning Over $200 Million a Quarter. Here's How Long the Cash Actually Lasts.
Key Points
Joby is burning over $200 million in cash per quarter.
It’s raising more cash with stock and debt offerings.
It claims to have enough cash for the next two to three years.
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Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY), a developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, is a divisive stock. The bulls expect its revenue to soar after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fully certifies its first commercial flights. Still, the bears warn that its stock is overvalued, its share count is soaring, and that it's burning too much cash.
But is Joby actually in danger of running out of cash before it launches its first commercial flights? Let's see how much cash it's burning through, and if it needs to rein in its spending.
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How much cash is Joby burning each quarter?
To figure out how much cash Joby is burning through each quarter, we should add its net cash used in operating activities to its total capex to calculate its free cash flow (FCF) outflow. That figure has gradually risen above $200 million over the past year. However, its total liquidity -- which includes its cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments -- more than doubled.
|
Period |
Q2 2025 |
Q3 2025 |
Q4 2025 |
Q1 2026 |
Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
FCF Outflow |
($118.7 million) |
($153.2 million) |
($167.0 million) |
($222.4 million) |
($201.8 million) |
|
Total Liquidity |
$991 million |
$978 million |
$1.41 billion |
$2.47 billion |
$2.30 billion |
Data source: Joby Aviation.
Joby's cash burn increased as it accelerated its flight testing, manufacturing setup, and FAA certification activities. To offset that pressure, it raised more cash with a $576 million stock offering in the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by another $600 million stock offering and $690 million convertible debt offering in the first quarter of 2026.
As a result, Joby's share count rose 13% over the past 12 months. It's also increased its share count by 63% over the past five years, and that dilution will likely worsen as it burns more cash. Its total liabilities also surged 156% year over year to $985 million in its latest quarter.
On the bright side, Joby expects its cash runway to last for the next two to three years. That should give it enough time to obtain a full FAA certification for its S4 eVTOLs -- which it expects by the end of 2026 -- and to launch its first commercial flights.
Should investors be worried about Joby's cash?
For now, investors shouldn't fret too much about Joby's cash usage. It's still firmly backed by Toyota, Delta, and Uber, and it's ahead of its closest peer -- Archer Aviation -- in the FAA certification process. They should only worry if Joby doesn't launch its first commercial flights before its cash runs out.
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Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Delta Air Lines and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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