Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY)
SIC breadcrumb: Manufacturing > Transportation Equipment > SIC 3721 Aircraft
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1819848. Latest filing source: 0001819848-26-000160.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read JOBY's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read JOBY's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 53,425,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-27 |
| Net income | -929,842,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-27 |
| Assets | 1,795,069,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-27 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-27. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001819848.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,032,000 | 136,000 | 53,425,000 | ||||
| Net income | -114,164,000 | -180,324,000 | -258,043,000 | -513,050,000 | -608,034,000 | -929,842,000 | |
| Operating income | -132,236,000 | -259,089,000 | -392,203,000 | -472,094,000 | -596,754,000 | -719,591,000 | |
| Diluted EPS | -1.10 | -0.61 | -0.44 | -0.79 | -0.87 | -1.13 | |
| Operating cash flow | -105,900,000 | -195,749,000 | -235,925,000 | -313,831,000 | -436,267,000 | -509,893,000 | |
| Capital expenditures | 23,713,000 | 32,340,000 | 54,890,000 | 30,597,000 | 40,617,000 | 53,918,000 | |
| Assets | 497,254,000 | 1,488,355,000 | 1,292,984,000 | 1,269,435,000 | 1,203,465,000 | 1,795,069,000 | |
| Liabilities | 12,110,000 | 171,596,000 | 128,243,000 | 235,073,000 | 291,102,000 | 385,356,000 | |
| Stockholders' equity | -177,193,000 | -283,168,000 | 1,316,759,000 | 1,164,741,000 | 1,034,362,000 | 912,363,000 | 1,409,713,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 77,337,000 | 955,563,000 | 146,101,000 | 204,017,000 | 199,627,000 | 240,810,000 | |
| Free cash flow | -129,613,000 | -228,089,000 | -290,815,000 | -344,428,000 | -476,884,000 | -563,811,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -13.69% | -22.15% | -49.60% | -66.64% | -65.96% | ||
| Return on assets | -22.96% | -12.12% | -19.96% | -40.42% | -50.52% | -51.80% | |
| Liabilities / equity | 0.13 | 0.11 | 0.23 | 0.32 | 0.27 | ||
| Current ratio | 56.36 | 95.22 | 35.90 | 23.39 | 20.14 | 24.09 |
Industry Peer Context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001819848-26-000160; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001819848-26-000160; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001819848-26-000160; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001819848-26-000160; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-06. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001819848.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | -0.09 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -0.14 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | -0.19 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-03-31 | -113,393,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | -0.45 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-06-30 | -286,079,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 0.00 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | -115,103,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | ||
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 25,000 | -94,587,000 | -0.14 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-03-31 | -94,587,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 28,000 | -0.18 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-06-30 | -123,292,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 28,000 | -0.21 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 55,000 | -246,277,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 0.00 | -82,406,000 | -0.11 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-03-31 | -82,406,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 15,000 | -0.41 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-06-30 | -324,674,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 22,574,000 | -0.48 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 30,836,000 | -121,536,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 24,246,000 | -109,950,000 | -0.12 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001819848-26-000324; filed 2026-05-06. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001819848-26-000324; filed 2026-05-06. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001819848-26-000324; filed 2026-05-06. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001819848-26-000324.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis provides information that our management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our condensed consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read together with our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. This discussion and analysis includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see the section of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We have spent more than a decade designing and testing a piloted all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) air taxi that we intend to operate as part of a fast, quiet and convenient service in cities around the world. The aircraft is quiet when taking off, near silent when flying overhead and is being designed to transport a pilot and up to four passengers - or a targeted payload of up to 1,000 pounds - at speeds of up to 200 mph. The aircraft is optimized for urban routes, with a target range of up to 100 miles on a single charge. According to our modeling, more than 99% of urban routes in cities such as New York City and Los Angeles are significantly shorter than this, enabling higher utilization through faster turnaround times of our aircraft. By combining the freedom of air travel with the efficiency of our aircraft, we expect to deliver journeys that are up to 10 times faster than driving, and it is our goal to steadily drive down end-user pricing in the years following commercial launch to make the service widely accessible. The low noise enabled by the all-electric powertrain will allow the aircraft to operate around dense, urban areas while blending into the background noise of cities.As the first eVTOL aircraft developer to receive a signed, stage 4 G-1 certification basis which was subsequently published in final form in the Federal Register, we believe we are well positioned to be the first eVTOL manufacturer to earn standard airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”). We have multiple special airworthiness certificates already issued by the FAA for our fleet of pre-type certification aircraft.
We have identified three potential routes to market: (1) Joby owned and operated air taxi service (2) affiliate owned and operated service and (3) direct sales and defense. We plan to manufacture, operate and sell our aircraft, and are building a vertically integrated transportation company to maximize the value of our investments. In addition to building a novel aircraft, we are also building a proprietary operating system that integrates data across aircraft build, operations and maintenance. At the front end, we are developing a convenient app to deliver the first on-demand, aerial ridesharing service. We are targeting carrying our first passengers in 2026. We believe this vertically-integrated business model will generate the greatest economic returns over time, while providing us with end-to-end control and information regarding customer experience to optimize for customer safety, comfort and value.
In August 2025, we acquired Blade Urban Air Mobility, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Blade”), a technology-powered, global urban air mobility platform. Following the acquisition, Blade continues to operate its air charter broker service as our wholly owned subsidiary. We believe the acquisition will unlock immediate market access, including an established customer base, operational expertise, airport relationships and infrastructure across key urban corridors in New York City and Southern Europe and allow us to combine our best-in-class technology with Blade’s experience in delivering premium customer transportation at scale.
Since our inception in 2009, we have been primarily engaged in research and development of eVTOL aircraft. We have incurred net operating losses and negative cash flows from operations in every year since our inception. As of March 31, 2026, we had an accumulated deficit of $2,895.5 million. We have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of stock, convertible notes and the proceeds from our merger in August 2021 with Reinvent Technology Partners, (“RTP”), a special purpose acquisition company, through which we became a publicly-traded company.
Key Factors Affecting Operating Results
For a more comprehensive discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could impact the Company’s business, please see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report.
Development of the Global Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) Market
Our revenue will be directly tied to the continued development of short distance aerial transportation. While we believe the global market for UAM will be large, it remains undeveloped and there is no guarantee of future demand. We are targeting carrying our first passengers in 2026. Our business will require significant investment leading up to launching these services, including, but not limited to, final engineering designs, prototyping and testing, manufacturing, software development, certification, pilot training, infrastructure and commercialization.
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Table of Contents
We believe one of the primary drivers for adoption of our aerial ridesharing service is the value proposition and time savings offered by aerial mobility relative to traditional ground-based transportation. Additional factors impacting the pace of adoption of our aerial ridesharing service may include but are not limited to: perceptions about eVTOL quality, safety, performance and cost; perceptions about the limited range over which eVTOL may be flown on a single battery charge; volatility in the cost of oil and gasoline; availability of competing forms of transportation, such as ground, air taxi or ride-hailing services; the development of adequate infrastructure; consumers’ perception about the safety, convenience and cost of transportation using eVTOL relative to ground-based alternatives; and increases in fuel efficiency, autonomy, or electrification of cars. In addition, macroeconomic factors could impact demand for UAM services, particularly if end-user pricing is at a premium to ground-based transportation alternatives. We anticipate initial operations in the U.S. under the eIPP to be followed by operations in selected high-density metropolitan areas where traffic congestion is particularly acute and operating conditions are suitable for early eVTOL operations.
Competition
We believe that the primary sources of competition for our service are ground-based mobility solutions, other eVTOL developers/operators and local/regional incumbent aircraft charter services. While we expect to be first to market with an eVTOL facilitated aerial ridesharing service, we expect this industry to be dynamic and increasingly competitive; and our competitors could get to market before us, either generally or in specific markets. Even if we are first to market, we may not receive any competitive advantage or may be overtaken by other competitors. If new or existing companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we intend to operate or obtain large-scale capital investment, we may face increased competition. Additionally, our competitors may benefit from our efforts in developing consumer and community acceptance for eVTOL aircraft and aerial ridesharing, making it easier for them to obtain the permits and authorizations required to operate an aerial ridesharing service in the markets in which we intend to launch or in other markets. If we do not capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate, it may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects. For a more comprehensive discussion, please see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report.
Government Certification
We signed a revised, stage 4 “G-1” certification basis for our aircraft with the FAA in July 2022, which was published in final form in the Federal Register in March 2024. This agreement lays out the specific requirements that need to be met by our aircraft for it to be certified for commercial operations. Reaching this milestone marks a key step towards certifying any new aircraft in the U.S. We think of the FAA type certification process in five stages and have made significant progress towards certification. We have completed or substantially completed three of these five stages and are more than halfway through the fourth stage.
In 2022, we received our Part 135 operating certificate, which is required for us to operate an on-demand air service and allows us to operate the service with conventional aircraft. In October 2024, the FAA published the Special Federal Aviation Regulations (“SFARs”), which include operational regulations related to eVTOLs. We will need to comply with these SFARs as we add our aircraft to our Part 135 operating certificate. If the FAA requires further modifications to our existing G-1 certification basis, makes subsequent modifications to the SFARs, or if there are other regulatory changes or revisions, this could delay our ability to obtain type certification, and could delay our ability to launch our commercial passenger service.
We expect the FAA type certificate will be validated in certain international markets pursuant to bilateral agreements between the FAA and its counterpart civil aviation authorities in other countries. In 2022, we applied for aircraft certification in the United Kingdom and Japan. In 2023, we signed an agreement with Road and Transport Authority of Dubai (“RTA”) for Joby to provide air taxi services in Dubai. The RTA agreement includes a roadmap for local approval by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority that could precede type certification by the FAA. These arrangements provide a means of efficient international expansion as we develop commercial operations around the world.
In addition to certifying our aircraft, we will also need to obtain authorizations and certifications related to the production of our aircraft and the deployment of our aerial ridesharing service. We anticipate being able to meet the requirements of such authorizations and certifications. If we fail to obtain any of the required authorizations or certifications, or do so in a timely manner, or if any of these authorizations or certifications are modified, suspended or revoked after we obtain them, we may be unable to launch our commercial service or do so on the timelines we project, which would have adverse effects on our business, prospects, financial condition and/or results of operations.
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Table of Contents
U.S. Government Contracts
In December 2020, we became, to our knowledge, the first company to receive airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft for a flight clearance from the USAF to conduct a government test. Our multi-year relationship with the DOD and other U.S. government agencies has provided us with a compelling opportunity to more thoroughly understand the operational capabilities and maintenance profiles of our aircraft in advance of commercial launch.
With growing USAF interest in hybrid powertrains and autonomy in aviation, we leveraged our existing aircraft platform to address these areas. In the summer of 2025, we participated in the USAF’s Resolute Force Pacific (“REFORPAC”) exercise, successfully demonstrating our Superpilot(TM) autonomous flight technology. We continue to work on autonomy programs with the USAF. Additionally, we are working with L3Harris on leveraging our platform to address opportunities to se
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis provides information that our management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. We have elected to omit discussion on the earliest of the three years covered by the consolidated financial statements presented. Refer to Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations located in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed on February 27, 2025, for reference to discussion of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the earliest of the three fiscal years presented. This discussion and analysis includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see the section of this Annual Report titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We have spent more than a decade designing and testing a piloted all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) air taxi that we intend to operate as part of a fast, quiet and convenient service in cities around the world. The aircraft is quiet when taking off, near silent when flying overhead and is being designed to transport a pilot and up to four passengers - or a targeted payload of up to 1,000 pounds - at speeds of up to 200 mph. The aircraft is optimized for urban routes, with a target range of up to 100 miles on a single charge. According to our modeling, more than 99% of urban routes in cities such as New York City and Los Angeles are significantly shorter than this, enabling higher utilization through faster turnaround times of our aircraft. By combining the freedom of air travel with the efficiency of our aircraft, we expect to deliver journeys that are up to 10 times faster than driving, and it is our goal to steadily drive down end-user pricing in the years following commercial launch to make the service widely accessible. The low noise enabled by the all-electric powertrain will allow the aircraft to operate around dense, urban areas while blending into the background noise of cities. In August 2025, we added another milestone flight to thousands of successful test flights, with our piloted eVTOL flight between two public airports in FAA-controlled airspace, demonstrating operational maturity and integration with existing air traffic. As the first eVTOL aircraft developer to receive a signed, stage 4 G-1 certification basis which was subsequently published in final form in the Federal Register, we believe we are well positioned to be the first eVTOL manufacturer to earn standard airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”). We have multiple special airworthiness certificates already issued by the FAA for our fleet of pre-type certification aircraft.
We have identified three potential routes to market: (1) Joby owned and operated air taxi service (2) affiliate owned and operated service and (3) direct sales and defense. We plan to manufacture, operate and sell our aircraft, and are building a vertically integrated transportation company to maximize the value of our investments. In addition to building a novel aircraft, we are also building a proprietary operating system that integrates data across aircraft build, operations and maintenance. At the front end, we are developing a convenient app to deliver the first on-demand, aerial ridesharing service. We are targeting carrying our first passengers in 2026. We believe this vertically-integrated business model will generate the greatest economic returns over time, while providing us with end-to-end control and information regarding customer experience to optimize for customer safety, comfort and value.
In August 2025, we acquired Blade Urban Air Mobility, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Blade”), a technology-powered, global urban air mobility platform. Following the acquisition, Blade continues to operate its air charter broker service as our wholly owned subsidiary. The transaction is expected to unlock immediate market access, including an established customer base, operational expertise, airport relationships and infrastructure across key urban corridors in New York City and Southern Europe and allow us to combine our best-in-class technology with Blade’s experience in delivering premium customer transportation at scale.
Since our inception in 2009, we have been primarily engaged in research and development of eVTOL aircraft. We have incurred net operating losses and negative cash flows from operations in every year since our inception. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $2,785.6 million. We have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of stock, convertible notes and the proceeds from our merger in August 2021 with Reinvent Technology Partners (“RTP”), a special purpose acquisition company, through which we became a publicly-traded company.
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Table of Contents
Key Factors Affecting Operating Results
See the section entitled “Risk Factors” for a further discussion of these considerations.
Development of the Global Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) Market
Our revenue will be directly tied to the continued development of short distance aerial transportation. While we believe the global market for UAM will be large, it remains undeveloped and there is no guarantee of future demand. We delivered our first aircraft for initial service operations with the DOD in September 2023 and are targeting carrying our first passengers in 2026. Our business will require significant investment leading up to launching these services, including, but not limited to, final engineering designs, prototyping and testing, manufacturing, software development, certification, pilot training, infrastructure and commercialization.
We believe one of the primary drivers for adoption of our aerial ridesharing service is the value proposition and time savings offered by aerial mobility relative to traditional ground-based transportation. Additional factors impacting the pace of adoption of our aerial ridesharing service may include but are not limited to: perceptions about eVTOL quality, safety, performance and cost; perceptions about the limited range over which eVTOL may be flown on a single battery charge; volatility in the cost of oil and gasoline; availability of competing forms of transportation, such as ground, air taxi or ride-hailing services; the development of adequate infrastructure; consumers’ perception about the safety, convenience and cost of transportation using eVTOL relative to ground-based alternatives; and increases in fuel efficiency, autonomy, or electrification of cars. In addition, macroeconomic factors could impact demand for UAM services, particularly if end-user pricing is at a premium to ground-based transportation alternatives. We anticipate initial operations in the U.S. under the eIPP to be followed by operations in selected high-density metropolitan areas where traffic congestion is particularly acute and operating conditions are suitable for early eVTOL operations.
Competition
We believe that the primary sources of competition for our service are ground-based mobility solutions, other eVTOL developers/operators and local/regional incumbent aircraft charter services. While we expect to be first to market with an eVTOL facilitated aerial ridesharing service, we expect this industry to be dynamic and increasingly competitive; and our competitors could get to market before us, either generally or in specific markets. Even if we are first to market, we may not receive any competitive advantage or may be overtaken by other competitors. If new or existing companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we intend to operate or obtain large-scale capital investment, we may face increased competition. Additionally, our competitors may benefit from our efforts in developing consumer and community acceptance for eVTOL aircraft and aerial ridesharing, making it easier for them to obtain the permits and authorizations required to operate an aerial ridesharing service in the markets in which we intend to launch or in other markets. If we do not capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate, it may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
Government Certification
We signed a revised, stage 4 “G-1” certification basis for our aircraft with the FAA in July 2022, which was published in final form in the Federal Register in March 2024. This agreement lays out the specific requirements that need to be met by our aircraft for it to be certified for commercial operations. Reaching this milestone marks a key step towards certifying any new aircraft in the U.S. We think of the FAA type certification process in five stages and have made significant progress towards certification. We have completed or substantially completed three of these five stages and are more than halfway through the fourth stage.
In 2022, we received our Part 135 operating certificate, which is required for us to operate an on-demand air service and allows us to operate the service with conventional aircraft. In October 2024, the FAA published the Special Federal Aviation Regulations (“SFARs”), which include operational regulations related to eVTOLs. We will need to comply with these SFARs as we add our aircraft to our Part 135 operating certificate. If the FAA requires further modifications to our existing G-1 certification basis, makes subsequent modifications to the SFARs, or if there are other regulatory changes or revisions, this could delay our ability to obtain type certification, and could delay our ability to launch our commercial passenger service.
We expect the FAA type certificate will be validated in certain international markets pursuant to bilateral agreements between the FAA and its counterpart civil aviation authorities in other countries. In 2022, we applied for aircraft certification in the United Kingdom and Japan. In 2023, we signed an agreement with Road and Transport Authority of Dubai (“RTA”) for Joby to provide air taxi services in Dubai. The RTA agreement includes a roadmap for local approval by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority that could precede type certification by the FAA. These arrangements provide a means of efficient international expansion as we develop commercial operations around the world.
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In addition to certifying our aircraft, we will also need to obtain authorizations and certifications related to the production of our aircraft and the deployment of our aerial ridesharing service. We anticipate being able to meet the requirements of such authorizations and certifications. If we fail to obtain any of the required authorizations or certifications, or do so in a timely manner, or if any of these authorizations or certifications are modified, suspended or revoked after we obtain them, we may be unable to launch our commercial service or do so on the timelines we project, which would have adverse effects on our business, prospects, financial condition and/or results of operations.
U.S. Government Contracts
In December 2020, we became, to our knowledge, the first company to receive airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft for a flight clearance from the USAF to conduct a government test. Our multi-year relationship with the DOD and other U.S. government agencies has provided us with a compelling opportunity to more thoroughly understand the operational capabilities and maintenance profiles of our aircraft in advance of commercial launch.
With growing USAF interest in hybrid powertrains and autonomy in aviation, we leveraged our existing aircraft platform to address these areas. In the summer of 2025, we participated in the USAF’s Resolute Force Pacific (“REFORPAC”) exercise, successfully demonstrating our Superpilot(TM) autonomous flight technology. We continue to work on autonomy programs with the USAF. Additionally, we are working with L3Harris on leveraging our platform to address opportunities to sell aircraft for defense applications. We are actively pursuing additional contracts with the DOD and other government agencies in these areas and believe that our investments in hydrogen-electric and autonomous technology will position us well to capitalize on these opportunities, but we may be unable to secure additional contracts or continue to grow our relationship with the U.S. government and/or DOD.
Vertically-Integrated Business Model
Our primary business model is to serve as a vertically-integrated eVTOL transportation service provider. Present projections indicate that payback periods on aircraft will result in a viable business model over the long-term as production volumes scale and unit economics improve to support sufficient market adoption. As with any new industry and business model, numerous risks and uncertainties exist. Our projections are dependent on certifying and delivering aircraft on time and at a cost that will allow us to offer our service at prices that a sufficient number of customers will be willing to pay for the time and efficiency savings they receive from utilizing our eVTOL services. Our aircraft include parts and manufacturing processes unique to eVTOL aircraft, in general, and our product design, in particular. We have used our best efforts to estimate costs in our planning projections. However, the variable cost associated with assembling our aircraft at scale remains uncertain at this stage of development. Our vertically-integrated business model also relies, in part, on developing and certifying component parts rather than sourcing already certified parts from third-party suppliers. While we believe this model will ultimately result in a more performant aircraft and better operating economics, the increased time and effort required to develop and certify these components may result in delays compared to alternative approaches.
Our vertically-integrated approach is also dependent on recruiting, developing and retaining the right talent at the right time to support engineering, certification, manufacturing, and go-to-market operations. As we progress through the certification process, we will have an increasing need to accelerate hiring in selected areas. If we are unable to add sufficient headcount it could impact our ability to meet our expected timelines for certification and entry into service.
The global economy has recently seen a significant rise in tariffs and other protective trade measures that have applied to a wide range of finished goods and raw materials. While tariffs have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations to date due to the limited scale of our prototype manufacturing and focus on certification efforts, over time new tariffs or other restrictions imposed in connection with trade wars or political instability could increase the costs of raw materials and other goods, both for us and our suppliers, particularly as we begin to scale our manufacturing operations and produce aircraft for commercial use. We believe that our high level of vertical integration, coupled with our investments in U.S. manufacturing facilities, give us a competitive advantage with increased flexibility to adapt to future trade policy changes and are actively working to minimize the potential impact of any such tariffs or other restrictions.
The success of our business is also dependent, in part, on the utilization rate of our aircraft, which is the amount of time our aircraft spend in the air carrying passengers. We intend to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate, and reductions in utilization will adversely impact our financial performance. High daily aircraft utilization is achieved in part by reducing turnaround times at vertiports. Aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations from various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, security requirements, air traffic congestion and unscheduled maintenance events.
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Components of Results of Operations
Revenue
Revenue consists of passenger revenue and other revenue.
Passenger revenue primarily includes revenue generated from the transportation of passengers via helicopter or fixed wing aircraft, booked through Blade. Flights are typically booked through Blade associates, the Blade app, or third-party channels and paid for principally via credit card transactions, wire transfers, checks, customer credits, and gift cards. Flight payments are typically collected at the time of booking before the performance of the related service, and revenue is recognized when the service is completed.
Other revenue primarily includes revenue from government flight services, customer demonstration and exhibition activities, and engineering services. Government flight services revenue primarily includes consideration for our performance of customer-directed flights and on-base operations for various U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) agencies. The other revenue is recognized (i) over time, as the performance obligations are satisfied, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those services, typically measured based on flight hours, service hours, milestones, or other relevant metrics; or (ii) at a point in time, upon termination of a contract, if applicable, when we have fulfilled our obligations and no further performance is required.
Operating expenses
Cost of Revenue
Cost of Revenue consist primarily of costs related to operators of aircraft and vehicles, flight support, maintenance personnel, expenses associated with support aircraft such as rent and fuel, depreciation of capitalized ground support equipment, and our aircraft fuel or electricity cost, landing fees, pilot salaries, as directly attributed to our performance of the flight services and customer demonstration and exhibition activities, and costs of providing engineering services. Flight services expenses do not include the costs of manufacturing our aircraft and aircraft parts as such costs are expensed when incurred as Research and Development Expenses (see below).
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, costs of consulting, equipment and materials, depreciation and amortization and allocations of overhead, including rent, information technology costs and utilities. Research and development expenses are partially offset by payments we received in the form of government grants, including those received under the Agility Prime program.
We expect our research and development expenses to increase as we increase staffing to support aircraft engineering and software development, build aircraft, and continue to explore and develop next generation aircraft and technologies.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, related to executive management, finance, legal, and human resource functions. Other costs include business development, contractor and professional services fees, audit and compliance expenses, insurance costs and general corporate expenses, including allocated depreciation, rent, information technology costs and utilities.
We expect our selling, general and administrative expenses to increase as we hire additional personnel and consultants to support the growth of our operations and comply with applicable regulations.
Loss from changes in Fair Value of Warrants, Earnout Shares and Contingent Consideration
Publicly-traded warrants (“Public Warrants”), private placement warrants issued to Sponsor (“Private Placement Warrants”), warrants issued to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta Warrants”), shares of common stock owned by Sponsor subject to certain terms on vesting, lock-up and transfer (“Earnout Shares”) and contingent consideration related to Blade acquisition EBITDA Earnout are recorded as liabilities and subject to remeasurement to fair value at each balance sheet date. We expect to incur incremental income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations for the fair value adjustments for these outstanding liabilities at the end of each reporting period, except for the Private Placement Warrants, which were fully exercised on August 11, 2025 as described in Note 8 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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2025 Acquisition
On August 29, 2025, the Company completed the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding equity of Blade Urban Air Mobility, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Strata Critical Medical, Inc, f/k/a Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (“Seller”). Blade Urban Air Mobility, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Blade”) operate a technology-powered, global urban air mobility platform through which they provide air charter broker and other services. The transaction is expected to unlock immediate market access and infrastructure across key urban corridors in New York City and Southern Europe and allow the Company to combine its best-in-class technology with Blade’s experience of delivering premium customer transportation at scale.
The Company acquired all assets and assumed liabilities of Blade for total purchase consideration of approximately $92.4 million, consisting of (i) 5,325,585 shares of the Company’s common stock with an aggregate fair value of $74.5 million, calculated net of $1.5 million attributed to the Company’s post-combination compensation expense, (ii) payments contingent upon the achievement of future Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”) targets with a fair value of approximately $7.6 million (“EBITDA Earnout”), (iii) indemnity holdback amount of $10.0 million (“Indemnity Holdback”), and (iv) pre-combination-attributed fair value of substitution RSUs of approximately $0.3 million. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination in accordance with ASC 805, Business Combinations, which requires that the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination be recognized at their estimated acquisition-date fair values (see Note 4).
Interest and Other Income, Net
Interest income consists primarily of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our provision for income taxes consists of an estimate of federal, state, and foreign income taxes based on enacted federal, state, and foreign tax rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in tax law. Due to the level of historical losses, we maintain a valuation allowance against U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets as it has been concluded it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will not be realized.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2025 to the Year Ended December 31, 2024
The following table summarizes our historical results of operations for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ($) | (%) | |||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 53,425 | $ | 136 | $ | 53,289 | n.m * | |||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of Revenue | 29,328 | 67 | 29,261 | n.m * | ||||||||||
| Research and development | 581,101 | 477,156 | 103,945 | 22 | % | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 162,587 | 119,667 | 42,920 | 36 | % | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 773,016 | 596,890 | 176,126 | 30 | % | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (719,591) | (596,754) | (122,837) | 21 | % | |||||||||
| Interest and other income, net | 43,164 | 42,822 | 342 | 1 | % | |||||||||
| Loss on common stock issuance in private placement | (40,258) | — | (40,258) | 100 % | ||||||||||
| Loss from change in fair value of warrants, earnout shares and contingent consideration | (211,850) | (53,973) | (157,877) | 293 | % | |||||||||
| Total other loss, net | (208,944) | (11,151) | (197,793) | n.m * | ||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (928,535) | (607,905) | (320,630) | 53 | % | |||||||||
| Income tax expense | 1,307 | 129 | 1,178 | 913 | % | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (929,842) | $ | (608,034) | $ | (321,808) | 53 | % |
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n.m* marks changes that are not meaningful.
Revenue
Revenue increased by $53.3 million to $53.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 from $0.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to the passenger service revenue from our Blade offering after Blade acquisition and higher revenue from on-base operations for a DOD agency, demonstration flights, and engineering services provided to third parties.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of Revenue increased by $29.3 million to $29.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 from $0.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to the passenger service costs from our Blade offering after Blade acquisition and cost of performing demonstration flights and providing engineering services.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased by $103.9 million, or 22%, to $581.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 from $477.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily attributable to increases in personnel to support aircraft engineering, software development, prototype manufacturing, and certification and a decrease in expense reduction due to lower grants earned as part of our government contracts.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $42.9 million, or 36%, to $162.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 from $119.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily attributable to Blade acquisition costs and payroll and other indirect operating expenses after the Blade acquisition and increases in legal and marketing spend.
Total Other Loss, Net
Total other loss, net increased by $197.8 million to a loss of $208.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 from a loss of $11.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily driven by a $157.9 million increase in loss from changes in fair value of warrants, earnout shares and contingent consideration, and loss on common stock issuance in private placement of $40.3 million.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have incurred net losses and negative operating cash flows from operations since inception, and we expect to continue to incur losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future until we successfully commence sustainable commercial operations. To date, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the Merger and issuance of stock and convertible notes.
In August 2021, we raised net proceeds of $1,067.9 million from the Merger and $843.3 million from the issuances of Legacy Joby’s redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible notes prior to the Merger.
In October 2022, we raised net proceeds of $60.0 million from the sale of 11,044,232 shares of our common stock and warrants to Delta Air Lines, Inc.
In May 2023, we raised $180.2 million in net proceeds from our issuance and sale, in a registered direct offering to certain institutional investors of 43,985,681 shares of our common stock.
In June 2023, we raised net proceeds of $99.9 million from our issuance and sale of 15,037,594 shares of our common stock to SKT.
In October 2024, we raised $221.8 million in net proceeds from an underwritten public offering of 46,000,000 shares of our common stock.
In December 2024, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Allen & Company LLC, as sales agents (“Equity Distribution Agreement”), through which we may offer and sell, from time to time at our sole discretion, up to an aggregate of $300.0 million of our common stock in an “at-the-market” offering (“ATM Offering”). As of December 31, 2025, 29,950,799 shares of our common stock have been sold pursuant to the Equity
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Distribution Agreement for net proceeds of $282.4 million. As of December 31, 2025, $8.1 million remains available for sale under the Equity Distribution Agreement.
In May 2025, we issued 49,701,790 shares at a price per share of $5.03 for net proceeds of $249.9 million pursuant to a stock purchase agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation (“Toyota”) that we entered in October 2024. Pursuant to the agreement, Toyota has committed to invest an additional $250.0 million, subject to certain closing conditions (“Toyota Investment”).
In October 2025, we raised $575.9 million in net proceeds from an underwritten public offering of 35,075,000 shares of our common stock.
As of December 31, 2025, we have received $34.6 million from the exercise of our Public Warrants.
As of December 31, 2025, we had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $241.7 million and short-term investment in marketable securities of $1,167.1 million. Restricted cash, totaling $0.9 million, primarily reflects cash temporarily retained for security deposit on leased facilities. We believe that our cash, cash equivalent and short-term investments will satisfy our working capital and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months.
In January 2026, we have received $70.0 million from the exercise of the first tranche of Delta Warrant (Note 8 ).
In February 2026, we raised net proceeds of approximately $576.0 million from an underwritten public offering of 52,863,437 shares of our common stock (the “February 2026 Equity Offering”), and net proceeds of approximately $670.4 million from an underwritten public offering of $690.0 million principal amount of 0.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032 (the “Notes”).
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We expect our cash and cash equivalents on hand together with the proceeds of future sales under the ATM Offering, additional proceeds from the Toyota Investment, the proceeds of the February 2026 Equity Offering, the issuance of the Notes, the Overallotment Option, if exercised, and cash we expect to generate from future operations will provide sufficient funding to support us beyond the initial launch of our commercial operations. Until we generate sufficient operating cash flow to fully cover our operating expenses, working capital needs and planned capital expenditures, or if circumstances evolve differently than anticipated, we expect to utilize a combination of equity and debt financing to fund any future remaining capital needs. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, dilution to stockholders may result. Any equity securities issued may also provide for rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of holders of common stock. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities would have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of preferred and common stockholders. The terms of debt securities or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations. The capital markets have in the past, and may in the future, experience periods of upheaval that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing.
Our principal uses of cash in recent periods were to fund our research and development activities, personnel cost and support services. Near-term cash requirements will also include spending on manufacturing facilities, ramping up production and supporting production certification, scaled manufacturing operations for commercialization, infrastructure and vertiports development, pilot training facilities, software development and production of aircraft. We do not have material cash requirements related to current contractual obligations. As such, our cash requirements are highly dependent upon management’s decisions about the pace and focus of both our short and long-term spending.
Cash requirements can fluctuate based on business decisions that could accelerate or defer spending, including the timing or pace of investments, infrastructure and production of aircraft. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our revenue growth rate, the timing and the amount of cash received from our customers, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, and the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts. In the future, we may enter into arrangements to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, and technologies, which could require us to seek additional equity or debt financing. If we require additional financing we may not be able to raise such financing on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to continue our research and development and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If adequate funds are not available, we may need to reconsider our investments in production operations, the pace of our production ramp-up, infrastructure investments in vertiports, expansion plans or limit our research and development activities, which could have a material adverse impact on our business prospects and results of operations.
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Cash Flows
The following tables set forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ($) | (%) | |||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by: | ||||||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | (509,893) | $ | (436,267) | $ | (73,626) | 17 | % | ||||||
| Investing activities | (475,416) | 70,763 | (546,179) | (772) | % | |||||||||
| Financing activities | 1,026,643 | 361,114 | 665,529 | 184 | % | |||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | 41,334 | $ | (4,390) | $ | 45,724 | n.m. |
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $509.9 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $929.8 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $127.9 million in stock-based compensation expense, a $211.9 million loss from change in the fair value of warrants, earnout shares and contingent consideration, $40.2 million in depreciation and amortization expense, $40.3 million loss on common stock issuance in private placement and $7.6 million net decrease in our net working capital, partially offset by $7.8 million net accretion of our investments in marketable securities.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $436.3 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $608.0 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $104.4 million in stock-based compensation expense, $54.0 million loss from change in the fair value of warrants and earnout shares, $35.6 million in depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by $15.8 million net accretion of our investments in marketable securities and $6.4 million net increase in our net working capital.
Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 of $475.4 million was primarily due to purchases of marketable securities of $1,170.4 million and purchases of property and equipment of $53.9 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $745.4 million and $3.5 million net cash from the Blade acquisition.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $70.8 million was primarily due to proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $715.2 million, partially offset by purchases of marketable securities of $603.8 million and purchases of property and equipment of $40.6 million.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 of $1,026.6 million was primarily due to net proceeds of $575.9 million from issuance of common stock in underwritten public offering, net proceeds of $249.9 million from issuance of common stock in private placement with Toyota, net proceeds of $153.6 million from issuance of common stock in at-the-market public offering, $36.8 million proceeds from exercise of stock options and issuance of common stock warrants and proceeds from the issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan of $12.1 million, partially offset by $1.6 million repayments of obligation under finance leases and tenant improvement loan.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $361.1 million was primarily due to net proceeds of $221.8 million from issuance of common stock in underwritten public offering and net proceeds of $128.8 million from issuance of common stock in at-the-market public offering, proceeds from the issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan of $11.2 million and $1.7 million proceeds from exercise of stock options and issuance of common stock warrants, partially offset by $2.4 million repayments of obligations under finance leases and tenant improvement loan.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions for the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue,
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expenses and related disclosures. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and any such differences may be material.
The significant accounting policies of the Company are described in more detail in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. We believe the following accounting policies and estimates to be critical to the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure and record the expense related to stock-based payment awards based on the fair value of those awards as determined on the date of grant. When the observable market price or volatility we use to determine grant date fair value does not reflect certain material non-public information known to the Company but unavailable to marketplace participants at the time the market price is observed, we determine whether an adjustment to the observable market price is required. We recognize stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period of the individual grant, generally equal to the vesting period and use the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation, and account for forfeitures as they occur. Some of our awards contain service-based vesting conditions as well as performance-based vesting conditions. We consider the probability of achieving each of the performance goals at the end of each reporting period and recognize expense over the requisite period when achievement of the goal is determined to be probable, and adjust the expense if the probability of achieving the goal later changes. The Company estimates the probabilities based on available information about the progress made towards performance goals at each reporting period. Our performance based awards issued under annual Bonus Plans are classified as equity or, initially, as a liability, depending on the terms of the plan. For liability classified awards, the liability is reclassified to equity when the respective milestones have been met. If it is determined that the milestone cannot be met, the liability is reversed.
We selected the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model as the method for determining the estimated fair value for stock options and awards under our ESPP program. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions, which determine the fair value of share-based awards, including the option’s expected term, expected volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate and expected dividend yield.
Expected volatility - We estimate the expected volatility of our common stock on the date of grant based on the historical stock price volatility of our own common shares within the same length of period as the expected term. Where, in some cases, our common share trading history is shorter than the expected term, and for periods prior to the Merger since we were not a publicly traded company, we estimated the expected volatility for our stock options and awards under our ESPP program by using an average of historical volatilities of selected industry peers deemed to be comparable to our business corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Risk-free interest rate - The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for zero-coupon U.S. Treasury notes with maturities corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Expected dividend yield - The expected dividend rate is zero as we currently have no history or expectation of declaring dividends on our common stock.
Expected term - The expected term represents the period these stock awards are expected to remain outstanding and is based on historical experience of similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms of the stock-based awards, vesting schedules, and expectations of future employee behavior.
Accounting for Long-Lived Assets
In accounting for long-lived assets, we make estimates about the expected useful lives, projected residual values, and the potential for impairment. In estimating useful lives and residual values of our property and equipment, we have relied upon actual industry experience with the same or similar property and equipment types and our anticipated utilization of the property and equipment. Changing market prices of new and used property and equipment, government regulations, and changes in our maintenance program or operations could result in changes to these estimates.
Our long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment as of the end of each reporting period for events and circumstances that indicate the assets may be impaired. Indicators include operating or cash flow losses, significant decreases in market value, or changes in technology.
If we conclude that events and circumstances indicate the assets may be impaired, to determine if impairment exists for our property and equipment used in operations, we group our property and equipment by type (the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows) and then estimate their future cash flows based on projections of capacity, asset age,
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maintenance requirements, and other relevant conditions. An impairment occurs when the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the aggregate carrying value of the assets. The impairment loss recognized is the amount by which the assets' carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value. We estimate our property and equipment's fair value using third party valuations which consider the effects of the current market environment, age of the assets, and marketability.
We have not identified any events and circumstances that would indicate that our long-lived assets may be impaired. Accordingly, we have not recorded any impairment charge to our existing property and equipment during the twelve months ended December 31, 2025.
Fair value measurements involving significant estimation uncertainty
We apply fair value measurement guidance in a number of areas of our consolidated financial statements. Some of our fair value measurements involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty, generally because they require valuation models and inputs that are not directly observable in the market or otherwise require significant judgment. These estimates are critical because changes in key assumptions can materially affect the recorded amounts of the related assets and liabilities and, in certain cases, our results of operations. These estimates have had, or are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
Fair value of warrant, earnout, and contingent consideration liabilities
Certain of our financial instruments, including our Earnout Shares Liability, Delta warrant liability, and contingent consideration liabilities such as the EBITDA Earnout, are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and remeasured each reporting period until exercised, settled, or otherwise extinguished. Changes in the fair value of these liabilities are recognized in other income (loss), net, and can cause variability in our results of operations.
Valuation of these liabilities requires significant judgment because certain inputs are not directly observable in the market (“Level 3”). We estimate fair value using valuation techniques that may include quoted market prices for similar instruments and, for Level 3 instruments, option-pricing and Monte Carlo simulation models. Key assumptions can include our common stock price (and the sensitivity of the instruments’ value to changes in our stock price), expected volatility, expected term, and for instruments with milestone or other contingent settlement features, the probability and timing of achieving such milestones. For contingent consideration arrangements such as the EBITDA Earnout, significant unobservable inputs may also include projected adjusted EBITDA, achievement probabilities, and the discount rate used to present value expected payments.
Changes in these assumptions, particularly expected volatility, our stock price, the probability and timing of milestone achievement, forecasted operating results, and discount rates, can have a significant impact on the fair value of these liabilities and the resulting gains or losses recognized in other income (loss), net. Changes in our stock price, volatility assumptions, and milestone or earnout expectations from period to period can drive significant remeasurement gains or losses.
Business combinations and valuation of acquired intangible assets (including the Blade acquisition)
Our accounting for business combinations requires us to estimate the fair value of acquired assets and liabilities, including identifiable intangible assets and contingent consideration, and to recognize goodwill for the excess of purchase consideration over the estimated fair value of net identifiable assets acquired. Determining the fair value of acquired intangible assets requires significant judgment and the use of valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow models and other income and cost approaches.
These valuation techniques rely on assumptions including forecasted revenues and EBITDA, customer demand, expected margins, attrition and royalty rates (as applicable), contributory asset charges, the expected useful lives of the assets, and the selection of an appropriate discount rate. Changes in these assumptions could materially affect the recorded amounts of acquired intangible assets and goodwill, future amortization expense, and, if indicators of impairment arise, the timing and amount of impairment charges.
Accounting for Leases
We determine if an arrangement is a lease, or contains a lease, at inception. We analyze our contractual arrangements to evaluate whether they have any embedded leases. The asset component of our operating leases is recorded as right-of-use assets, and the liability component is recorded as current lease liabilities and long-term lease liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. Due to significant volume of contractual arrangements we enter, we may not be able to identify all embedded leases arrangements, resulting in understatement of our right-of-use
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assets and liabilities. This assessment also includes evaluating whether certain passenger transportation arrangements and service contracts contain embedded leases (including aircraft leases embedded within agreements with third-party aircraft operators).
As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) to calculate present value of future minimum lease payments, which is the estimated rate we would be required to pay for fully collateralized borrowing over the period similar to lease terms. Determining IBR requires us to estimate our credit rating for secured borrowing and to identify appropriate interest rates for comparable companies with similar credit rating. If we are not able to correctly estimate IBR, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect. Our incremental borrowing rate is an estimate based on an analysis of available market data for debt instruments of companies with credit and financial profiles similar to ours and may be impacted by changes in market conditions.
Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Determining that options are reasonably certain to be exercised requires us to make certain assumptions about our future operations and space and assets requirements. Incorrect assumptions may result in our lease term being incorrect, impacting our right-of-use assets and liabilities. Certain arrangements may include renewal or termination options, and judgment is required in determining whether such options are reasonably certain to be exercised, which affects the measurement of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities.
Assumptions made by us at the commencement date are re-evaluated upon occurrence of certain events, including a lease modification. A lease modification results in a separate contract when the modification grants the lessee an additional right of use not included in the original lease and when lease payments increase commensurate with the standalone price for the additional right of use. When a lease modification results in a separate contract, it is accounted for in the same manner as a new lease. If we are not able to re-evaluate lease changes and modifications appropriately, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect. In addition, for embedded leases within passenger transportation agreements, we may be required to estimate and allocate the portion of consideration that represents lease components versus non-lease components, which can impact the measurement of the related right-of-use assets and lease liabilities.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001819848-25-000196.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis provides information that our management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. We have elected to omit discussion on the earliest of the three years covered by the consolidated financial statements presented. Refer to Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations located in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed on February 27, 2024, for reference to discussion of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the earliest of the three fiscal years presented. This discussion and analysis includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see the section of this Annual Report titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We have spent more than a decade designing and testing a piloted all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft that we intend to operate as part of a fast, quiet and convenient service in cities around the world. The aircraft is quiet when taking off, near silent when flying overhead and is being designed to transport a pilot and up to four passengers - or an expected payload of up to 1,000 pounds - at speeds of up to 200 mph. The aircraft is optimized for urban routes, with a target range of up to 100 miles on a single charge. According to our modeling, more than 99% of urban routes in cities such as New York City and Los Angeles are significantly shorter than this, enabling higher utilization through faster turnaround times of our aircraft. By combining the freedom of air travel with the efficiency of our aircraft, we expect to deliver journeys that are up to 10 times faster than driving, and it is our goal to steadily drive down end-user pricing in the years following commercial launch to make the service widely accessible. The low noise enabled by the all-electric powertrain will allow the aircraft to operate around dense, urban areas while blending into the background noise of cities. With thousands of successful test flights already completed, and as the first eVTOL aircraft developer to receive a signed, stage 4 G-1 certification basis which was subsequently published in final form in the Federal Register, we believe we are well positioned to be the first eVTOL manufacturer to earn airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”).
We do not currently intend to sell these aircraft to independent third parties or individual consumers as a primary business model. Instead, we plan to manufacture, own and operate our aircraft, building a vertically integrated transportation company that will deliver transportation services to our customers, including government agencies such as the U.S. Air Force (“USAF”) through sales or contracted operations, and to individual end-users through a convenient app-based aerial ridesharing service. We are targeting initial passenger operations in 2025 or 2026. We believe this vertically-integrated business model will generate the greatest economic returns over time, while providing us with end-to-end control over the customer experience to optimize for customer safety, comfort and value. There may be circumstances in which it is either required (for example, due to operating restrictions on foreign ownership in other countries) or otherwise desirable to sell aircraft in the future. We do not expect this would change our core focus on building a vertically integrated transportation company.
Since our inception in 2009, we have been primarily engaged in research and development of eVTOL aircraft. We have incurred net operating losses and negative cash flows from operations in every year since our inception. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1,855.7 million. We have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of stock, convertible notes and the proceeds from our merger in August 2021 with Reinvent Technology Partners (“RTP”), a special purpose acquisition company, through which we became a publicly-traded company.
Key Factors Affecting Operating Results
See the section entitled “Risk Factors” for a further discussion of these considerations.
Development of the Global Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) Market
Our revenue will be directly tied to the continued development of short distance aerial transportation. While we believe the global market for UAM will be large, it remains undeveloped and there is no guarantee of future demand. We delivered our first aircraft for initial service operations with the DOD in September 2023 and are targeting initial passenger operations in 2025 or 2026. Our business will require significant investment leading up to launching these services, including, but not limited to, final engineering designs, prototyping and testing, manufacturing, software development, certification, pilot training, infrastructure and commercialization.
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We believe one of the primary drivers for adoption of our aerial ridesharing service is the value proposition and time savings offered by aerial mobility relative to traditional ground-based transportation. Additional factors impacting the pace of adoption of our aerial ridesharing service may include but are not limited to: perceptions about eVTOL quality, safety, performance and cost; perceptions about the limited range over which eVTOL may be flown on a single battery charge; volatility in the cost of oil and gasoline; availability of competing forms of transportation, such as ground, air taxi or ride-hailing services; the development of adequate infrastructure; consumers’ perception about the safety, convenience and cost of transportation using eVTOL relative to ground-based alternatives; and increases in fuel efficiency, autonomy, or electrification of cars. In addition, macroeconomic factors could impact demand for UAM services, particularly if end-user pricing is at a premium to ground-based transportation alternatives or more permanent work-from-home behaviors persist. We anticipate initial operations with our U.S. government customers to be followed by operations in selected high-density metropolitan areas where traffic congestion is particularly acute and operating conditions are suitable for early eVTOL operations.
Competition
We believe that the primary sources of competition for our service are ground-based mobility solutions, other eVTOL developers/operators and local/regional incumbent aircraft charter services. While we expect to be first to market with an eVTOL facilitated aerial ridesharing service, we expect this industry to be dynamic and increasingly competitive; and our competitors could get to market before us, either generally or in specific markets. Even if we are first to market, we may not receive any competitive advantage or may be overtaken by other competitors. If new or existing aerospace companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we intend to operate or obtain large-scale capital investment, we may face increased competition. Additionally, our competitors may benefit from our efforts in developing consumer and community acceptance for eVTOL aircraft and aerial ridesharing, making it easier for them to obtain the permits and authorizations required to operate an aerial ridesharing service in the markets in which we intend to launch or in other markets. If we do not capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate, it may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
Government Certification
We signed a revised, stage 4 “G-1” certification basis for our aircraft with the FAA in July 2022, which was published in final form in the Federal Register in March 2024. This agreement lays out the specific requirements that need to be met by our aircraft for it to be certified for commercial operations. Reaching this milestone marks a key step towards certifying any new aircraft in the U.S. We think of the FAA type certification process in five stages and have made significant progress towards certification. We have completed or substantially completed three of these five stages.
In 2022, we received our Part 135 operating certificate, which is required for us to operate an on-demand air service and allows us to operate the service with conventional aircraft. In October 2024, the FAA published the Special Federal Aviation Regulations (“SFARs”), which include operational regulations related to eVTOLs. We will need to comply with these SFARs as we add our aircraft to our Part 135 operating certificate. If the FAA requires further modifications to our existing G-1 certification basis, makes subsequent modifications to the SFARs, or if there are other regulatory changes or revisions, this could delay our ability to obtain type certification, and could delay our ability to launch our commercial passenger service.
We expect the FAA type certificate will be reciprocated in certain international markets pursuant to bilateral agreements between the FAA and its counterpart civil aviation authorities. In 2022, we applied for aircraft certification in the United Kingdom and Japan. In 2023, we signed an agreement with Road and Transport Authority of Dubai (“RTA”) for Joby to provide air taxi services in Dubai. The RTA agreement includes a roadmap for local approval by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority that could precede type certification by the FAA. These arrangements provide a means of efficient international expansion as we develop commercial operations around the world.
In addition to certifying our aircraft, we will also need to obtain authorizations and certifications related to the production of our aircraft and the deployment of our aerial ridesharing service. We anticipate being able to meet the requirements of such authorizations and certifications. If we fail to obtain any of the required authorizations or certifications, or do so in a timely manner, or if any of these authorizations or certifications are modified, suspended or revoked after we obtain them, we may be unable to launch our commercial service or do so on the timelines we project, which would have adverse effects on our business, prospects, financial condition and/or results of operations.
U.S. Government Contracts
In December 2020, we became the first company to receive airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft for a flight clearance from the USAF to conduct a government test, and in the first quarter of 2021 we officially began on-base
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operations under contract pursuant to the USAF’s Agility Prime program. Our multi-year relationship with the DOD and other U.S. government agencies has provided us with a compelling opportunity to more thoroughly understand the operational capabilities and maintenance profiles of our aircraft in advance of commercial launch. We believe that the DOD is potentially shifting its priorities under the Agility Prime program towards hybrid aircraft and autonomous flight technologies and as a result our existing contracts may be reduced or modified. We are actively pursuing additional contracts with the DOD and other government agencies in these areas and believe that our investments in hydrogen-electric and autonomous technology will position us well to capitalize on these opportunities, but we may be unable to secure additional contracts or continue to grow our relationship with the U.S. government and/or DOD.
Vertically-Integrated Business Model
Our business model is to serve as a vertically-integrated eVTOL transportation service provider. Present projections indicate that payback periods on aircraft will result in a viable business model over the long-term as production volumes scale and unit economics improve to support sufficient market adoption. As with any new industry and business model, numerous risks and uncertainties exist. Our projections are dependent on certifying and delivering aircraft on time and at a cost that will allow us to offer our service at prices that a sufficient number of customers will be willing to pay for the time and efficiency savings they receive from utilizing our eVTOL services. Our aircraft include parts and manufacturing processes unique to eVTOL aircraft, in general, and our product design, in particular. We have used our best efforts to estimate costs in our planning projections; however, the variable cost associated with assembling our aircraft at scale remains uncertain at this stage of development. Our vertically-integrated business model also relies, in part, on developing and certifying component parts rather than sourcing already certified parts from third-party suppliers. While we believe this model will ultimately result in a more performant aircraft and better operating economics, the increased time and effort required to develop and certify these components may result in delays compared to alternative approaches.
Our vertically-integrated approach is also dependent on recruiting, developing and retaining the right talent at the right time to support engineering, certification, manufacturing, and go-to-market operations. As we progress through the certification process, we will have an increasing need to accelerate hiring in selected areas. If we are unable to add sufficient headcount it could impact our ability to meet our expected timelines for certification and entry into service.
The success of our business is also dependent, in part, on the utilization rate of our aircraft, which is the amount of time our aircraft spend in the air carrying passengers. We intend to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate, and reductions in utilization will adversely impact our financial performance. High daily aircraft utilization is achieved in part by reducing turnaround times at vertiports. Aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations from various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, security requirements, air traffic congestion and unscheduled maintenance events.
Components of Results of Operations
Revenue
Flight services
Flight services revenue primarily includes consideration received for our performance of customer-directed flights and on-base operations for various DOD agencies. We recognize revenue as we fulfill our performance obligations in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive.
Operating expenses
Flight services
Flight services expenses consist primarily of costs related to flight, flight support, and maintenance personnel, expenses associated with support aircraft such as rent and fuel, depreciation of capitalized ground support equipment, and our aircraft electricity cost, as directly attributed to our performance of the flight services. Flight services expenses do not include the costs of manufacturing our aircraft and aircraft parts as such costs are expensed when incurred as Research and Development Expenses (see below).
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, costs of consulting, equipment and materials, depreciation and amortization and allocations of overhead,
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including rent, information technology costs and utilities. Research and development expenses are partially offset by payments we received in the form of government grants, including those received under the Agility Prime program.
We expect our research and development expenses to increase as we increase staffing to support aircraft engineering and software development, build aircraft, and continue to explore and develop next generation aircraft and technologies.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, related to executive management, finance, legal, and human resource functions. Other costs include business development, contractor and professional services fees, audit and compliance expenses, insurance costs and general corporate expenses, including allocated depreciation, rent, information technology costs and utilities.
We expect our selling, general and administrative expenses to increase as we hire additional personnel and consultants to support our operations and comply with applicable regulations, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) and other SEC rules and regulations.
Gain (Loss) from changes in Fair Value of Warrants and Earnout Shares Liabilities
Publicly-traded warrants (“Public Warrants”), private placement warrants issued to Sponsor (“Private Placement Warrants”) and warrants issued to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta Warrants”) and shares of common stock owned by Sponsor subject to certain terms on vesting, lock-up and transfer (“Earnout Shares”) are recorded as liabilities and subject to remeasurement to fair value at each balance sheet date. We expect to incur an incremental income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations for the fair value adjustments for these outstanding liabilities at the end of each reporting period.
2024 Acquisitions
On May 31, 2024, we completed the acquisition of certain assets of an aerospace company that develops modular autonomy technology for aviation in exchange for 1,944,990 shares of our common stock with an aggregate acquisition date fair value of $9.5 million. The transaction is expected to contribute to development of autonomous capabilities of our aircraft and to accelerate the execution of our contract deliverables with the U.S. Department of Defense. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination as the assets acquired constituted a business in accordance with ASC 805 Business Combinations.
As part of the acquisition, we also issued 1,375,245 shares of the Company common stock subject to lock-up period of twelve month following the acquisition date (“Holdback Equity”). The number of shares of Holdback Equity to be released at the end of the lock-up period depends on the continuing employment of selected employees of the aerospace company, whose employment transitioned to us as a result of the acquisition, and the weighted volume average price of our common stock at the end of the lock-up period. The number of shares of Holdback Equity to be released may additionally be reduced to satisfy certain indemnification obligations, if any, of the seller. We accounted for the Holdback Equity under ASC 718 Compensation — Stock Compensation as a compensation arrangement separate from the business combination and will recognize $8.7 million as stock-based compensation expense over the lock-up period, commencing on the acquisition date.
The purchase consideration of $9.5 million was preliminarily allocated to $7.4 million of total intangible assets comprising of $6.9 million of acquired developed technology and $0.5 million of contract assets, $1.6 million of acquired fixed assets comprising of aircraft, related equipment and other long lived assets, $0.3 million of acquired goodwill, and $0.2 million of acquired current assets.
The acquired goodwill is not tax deductible. It represents the excess of the acquisition price over the preliminary fair value of identifiable assets acquired at the acquisition date and is primarily attributable to the assembled workforce and expected synergies at the time of the acquisition.
The fair values of the acquired assets are still provisional and subject to change within the measurement period. The final determination of the fair values of the acquired assets is expected to be completed as soon as practicable, but no later than one year from the acquisition date.
Interest and Other Income, Net
Interest income consists primarily of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
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Provision for Income Taxes
Our provision for income taxes consists of an estimate of federal, state, and foreign income taxes based on enacted federal, state, and foreign tax rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in tax law. Due to the level of historical losses, we maintain a valuation allowance against U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets as it has been concluded it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will not be realized.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2024 to the Year Ended December 31, 2023
The following table summarizes our historical results of operations for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ($) | (%) | |||||||||||
| Revenue: | ||||||||||||||
| Flight services | $ | 136 | $ | 1,032 | $ | (896) | (87) | % | ||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||
| Flight services | 67 | 200 | (133) | (67) | % | |||||||||
| Research and development | 477,156 | 367,049 | 110,107 | 30 | % | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 119,667 | 105,877 | 13,790 | 13 | % | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 596,890 | 473,126 | 123,764 | 26 | % | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (596,754) | (472,094) | (124,660) | 26 | % | |||||||||
| Interest and other income, net | 42,822 | 45,561 | (2,739) | (6) | % | |||||||||
| Loss from change in fair value of warrants and earnout shares | (53,973) | (86,378) | 32,405 | (38) | % | |||||||||
| Total other loss, net | (11,151) | (40,817) | 29,666 | (73) | % | |||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (607,905) | (512,911) | (94,994) | 19 | % | |||||||||
| Income tax expense | 129 | 139 | (10) | (7) | % | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (608,034) | $ | (513,050) | $ | (94,984) | 19 | % |
Revenue
Flight Services
Flight services revenue primarily includes consideration for our performance of customer-directed flights and on-base operations for various DOD agencies. We recognize revenue as we fulfill our performance obligations in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive.
Operating expenses
Flight services
Flight services expenses consist primarily of costs related to flight, flight support, and maintenance personnel, expenses associated with support aircraft such as rent and fuel, depreciation of capitalized ground support equipment, and our aircraft electricity cost, as directly attributed to our performance of the flight services. Flight services expenses do not include the costs of manufacturing our aircraft and aircraft parts as such costs are expensed when incurred as Research and Development Expenses.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased by $110.1 million, or 30%, to $477.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 from $367.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to increases in personnel to support aircraft engineering, software development, prototype manufacturing, and certification,
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as well as increased quantity of materials used in prototype development and testing, partially offset by increase in expense reduction due to higher grants earned as part of our government contracts.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $13.8 million, or 13%, to $119.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 from $105.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to increased headcount to support operations growth, including IT, legal, facilities, HR, and finance, as well as an increase in professional services cost related to legal, accounting and recruiting support.
Total Other Loss, Net
Total other loss, net decreased by $29.7 million, or 73%, to a loss of $11.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 from a loss of $40.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by a $32.4 million reduction in loss from changes in fair value of warrants and earnout shares, partially offset by $2.7 million decrease in interest and other income due to decreased interest rates on lower invested funds.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have incurred net losses and negative operating cash flows from operations since inception, and we expect to continue to incur losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future until we successfully commence sustainable commercial operations. To date, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the Merger and issuance of stock and convertible notes.
In August 2021, we raised net proceeds of $1,067.9 million from the Merger and $843.3 million from the issuances of Legacy Joby’s redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible notes prior to the Merger.
In October 2022, we raised net proceeds of $60.0 million from the sale of 11,044,232 shares of our common stock and warrants to Delta Air Lines, Inc.
In May 2023, we raised $180.2 million in net proceeds from our issuance and sale, in a registered direct offering to certain institutional investors of 43,985,681 shares of our common stock.
In June 2023, we raised net proceeds of $99.9 million from our issuance and sale of 15,037,594 shares of our common stock to SKT.
In October 2024, we raised $221.8 million in net proceeds from an underwritten public offering (the “Public Offering”) of 46,000,000 shares of our common stock.
In December 2024, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Allen & Company LLC, as sales agents (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”), through which we may offer and sell, from time to time at our sole discretion, up to an aggregate of $300,000,000 of our common stock in an “at-the-market” offering (the “ATM Offering”). As of December 31, 2024, 16,158,784 shares of our common stock have been sold pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement for net proceeds of $128.8 million. As of December 31, 2024, $167.0 million remain available for sale under the Equity Distribution Agreement.
In addition, on October 1, 2024, we entered a stock purchase agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation pursuant to which Toyota has committed to invest up to $500.0 million, subject to certain closing conditions, as described in Note 9. Stockholders' Equity (the “Toyota Investment”).
As of December 31, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $200.4 million and short-term investment in marketable securities of $733.2 million. Restricted cash, totaling $0.8 million, reflects cash temporarily retained for security deposit on leased facilities. We believe that our cash, cash equivalent and short-term investments will satisfy our working capital and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We expect our cash and cash equivalents on hand together with the proceeds of future sales under the ATM Offering, the expected proceeds from the Toyota Investment and cash we expect to generate from future operations will provide sufficient funding to support us beyond the initial launch of our commercial operations. Until we generate sufficient operating cash flow to fully cover our operating expenses, working capital needs and planned capital expenditures, or if
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circumstances evolve differently than anticipated, we expect to utilize a combination of equity and debt financing to fund any future remaining capital needs. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, dilution to stockholders may result. Any equity securities issued may also provide for rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of holders of common stock. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities would have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of preferred and common stockholders. The terms of debt securities or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations. The capital markets have in the past, and may in the future, experience periods of upheaval that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing.
Our principal uses of cash in recent periods were to fund our research and development activities, personnel cost and support services. Near-term cash requirements will also include spending on manufacturing facilities, ramping up production and supporting production certification, scaled manufacturing operations for commercialization, infrastructure and vertiport development, pilot training facilities, software development and production of aircraft. We do not have material cash requirements related to current contractual obligations. As such, our cash requirements are highly dependent upon management’s decisions about the pace and focus of both our short and long-term spending.
Cash requirements can fluctuate based on business decisions that could accelerate or defer spending, including the timing or pace of investments, infrastructure and production of aircraft. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our revenue growth rate, the timing and the amount of cash received from our customers, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, and the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts. In the future, we may enter into arrangements to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, and technologies, which could require us to seek additional equity or debt financing. If we require additional financing we may not be able to raise such financing on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to continue our research and development and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If adequate funds are not available, we may need to reconsider our investments in production operations, the pace of our production ramp-up, infrastructure investments in vertiports, expansion plans or limit our research and development activities, which could have a material adverse impact on our business prospects and results of operations.
Cash Flows
The following tables set forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ($) | (%) | |||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by: | ||||||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | (436,267) | $ | (313,831) | $ | (122,436) | 39 | % | ||||||
| Investing activities | 70,763 | 80,304 | (9,541) | (12) | % | |||||||||
| Financing activities | 361,114 | 288,239 | 72,875 | 25 | % | |||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | (4,390) | $ | 54,712 | $ | (59,102) | (108) | % |
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $436.3 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $608.0 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $104.4 million in stock-based compensation expense, a $54.0 million loss from change in the fair value of warrants and earnout shares, $35.6 million in depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by $15.8 million net accretion of our investments in marketable securities and $6.4 million net increase in our net working capital.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $313.8 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $513.1 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $93.6 million in stock-based compensation expense, $86.4 million loss from change in the fair value of warrants and earnout shares, $30.5 million in depreciation and amortization expense and a net decrease in our net working capital of $8.9 million, partially offset by $20.2 million net accretion of our investments in marketable securities.
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Net Cash Provided by Investing Activities
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $70.8 million was primarily due to proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $715.2 million, partially offset by purchases of marketable securities of $603.8 million and purchases of property and equipment of $40.6 million
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $80.3 million was primarily due to proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $920.9 million, partially offset by purchases marketable securities of $810.0 million and purchases of property and equipment of $30.6 million.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $361.1 million was primarily due to net proceeds of $221.8 million from issuance of common stock in underwritten public offering and net proceeds of $128.8 million from issuance of common stock in at-the-market public offering, proceeds from the issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan of $11.2 million and $1.7 million proceeds from exercise of stock options and issuance of common stock warrants, partially offset by $2.4 million repayments of obligation under finance leases and tenant improvement loan.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $288.2 million was primarily due to net proceeds of $180.2 million from our registered direct offering to certain institutional investors and net proceeds of $99.9 million from our issuance of common shares to SKT, proceeds from the issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan of $6.9 million and $2.1 million, proceeds from exercise of stock options and issuance of common stock warrants, partially offset by repayments for finance lease obligations and tenant improvement loan totaling $0.8 million.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions for the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosures. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and any such differences may be material.
The significant accounting policies of the Company are described in more detail in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. We believe the following accounting policies and estimates to be critical to the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure and record the expense related to stock-based payment awards based on the fair value of those awards as determined on the date of grant. When the observable market price or volatility we use to determine grant date fair value does not reflect certain material non-public information known to the Company but unavailable to marketplace participants at the time the market price is observed, we determine whether an adjustment to the observable market price is required. We recognize stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period of the individual grant, generally equal to the vesting period and use the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation, and account for forfeitures as they occur. Some of our awards contain service-based vesting condition as well as performance-based vesting condition. We consider the probability of achieving each of the performance goals at the end of each reporting period and recognize expense over the requisite period when achievement of the goal is determined to be probable, and adjust the expense if the probability of achieving the goal later changes. The Company estimates the probabilities based on available information about the progress made towards performance goals at each reporting period. Our performance based awards issued under annual Bonus Plans are classified as an equity or, initially, as a liability, depending on the terms of the plan. For liability classified awards, the liability is reclassified to equity when the respective milestones have been met. If it is determined that the milestone cannot be met, the liability is reversed.
We selected the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model as the method for determining the estimated fair value for stock options and awards under our ESPP program. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions, which determine the fair value of share-based awards, including the option’s expected term, expected volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate and expected dividend yield.
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Expected volatility - We estimate the expected volatility of our common stock on the date of grant based on the historical stock price volatility of our own common shares within the same length of period as the expected term. Where, in some cases, our common share trading history is shorter than the expected term, and for periods prior to the Merger since we were not a publicly traded company, we estimated the expected volatility for our stock options and awards under our ESPP program by using an average of historical volatilities of selected industry peers deemed to be comparable to our business corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Risk-free interest rate - The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for zero-coupon U.S. Treasury notes with maturities corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Expected dividend yield - The expected dividend rate is zero as we currently have no history or expectation of declaring dividends on our common stock.
Expected term - The expected term represents the period these stock awards are expected to remain outstanding and is based on historical experience of similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms of the stock-based awards, vesting schedules, and expectations of future employee behavior.
Accounting for Long-Lived Assets
In accounting for long-lived assets, we make estimates about the expected useful lives, projected residual values, and the potential for impairment. In estimating useful lives and residual values of our property and equipment, we have relied upon actual industry experience with the same or similar property and equipment types and our anticipated utilization of the property and equipment. Changing market prices of new and used property and equipment, government regulations, and changes in our maintenance program or operations could result in changes to these estimates.
Our long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment as of the end of each reporting period for events and circumstances that indicate the assets may be impaired. Indicators include operating or cash flow losses, significant decreases in market value, or changes in technology.
If we conclude that events and circumstances indicate the assets may be impaired, to determine if impairment exists for our property and equipment used in operations, we group our property and equipment by type (the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows) and then estimate their future cash flows based on projections of capacity, asset age, maintenance requirements, and other relevant conditions. An impairment occurs when the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the aggregate carrying value of the assets. The impairment loss recognized is the amount by which the assets' carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value. We estimate our property and equipment's fair value using third party valuations which consider the effects of the current market environment, age of the assets, and marketability.
We have not identified any events and circumstances that would indicate that our long-lived assets may be impaired. Accordingly, we have not recorded any impairment charge to our existing property and equipment during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024.
Accounting for Leases
We determine if an arrangement is a lease, or contains a lease, at inception. We analyze our contractual arrangements to evaluate whether they have any embedded leases. The asset component of our operating leases is recorded as right-of-use assets, and the liability component is recorded as current lease liabilities and long-term lease liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. Due to significant volume of contractual arrangements we enter, we may not be able to identify all embedded leases arrangements, resulting in understatement of our right-of-use assets and liabilities.
As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) to calculate present value of future minimum lease payments, which is the estimated rate we would be required to pay for fully collateralized borrowing over the period similar to lease terms. Determining IBR requires us to estimate our credit rating for secured borrowing and to identify appropriate interest rates for comparable companies with similar credit rating. If we are not able to correctly estimate IBR, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect.
Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Determining that options are reasonably certain to be exercised requires us to make certain assumptions about our future operations and space and assets requirements. Incorrect assumptions may result in our lease term being incorrect, impacting our right-of-use assets and liabilities.
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Assumptions made by us at the commencement date are re-evaluated upon occurrence of certain events, including a lease modification. A lease modification results in a separate contract when the modification grants the lessee an additional right of use not included in the original lease and when lease payments increase commensurate with the standalone price for the additional right of use. When a lease modification results in a separate contract, it is accounted for in the same manner as a new lease. If we are not able to re-evaluate lease changes and modifications appropriately, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001819848-24-000125.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis provides information that our management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have elected to omit discussion on the earliest of the three years covered by the consolidated financial statements presented. Refer to Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations located in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed on March 1, 2023, for reference to discussion of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, the earliest of the three fiscal years presented. This discussion and analysis includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We have spent more than a decade designing and testing a piloted all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft that we intend to operate as part of a fast, quiet and convenient service in cities around the world. The aircraft is quiet when taking off, near silent when flying overhead and is designed to transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with a range optimized for urban markets of 100 miles on a single charge. The low noise enabled by the all-electric powertrain will allow the aircraft to operate around dense, urban areas while blending into the background noise of cities. With more than 1,000 successful test flights already completed, and as the first eVTOL aircraft developer to receive a signed, stage 4 G-1 certification basis, we believe we are well positioned to be the first eVTOL manufacturer to earn airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”).
We do not currently intend to sell these aircraft to independent third parties or individual consumers as a primary business model. Instead, we plan to manufacture, own and operate our aircraft, building a vertically integrated transportation company that will deliver transportation services to our customers, including government agencies such as the U.S. Air Force (“USAF”) through sales or contracted operations, and to individual end-users through a convenient app-based aerial ridesharing service. We delivered our first aircraft for initial service operations with the U.S Department of Defense (“DOD”) in September 2023 and are targeting commercial passenger operations in 2025. We believe this vertically-integrated business model will generate the greatest economic returns, while providing us with end-to-end control over the customer experience to optimize for customer safety, comfort and value. There may be circumstances in which it is either required (for example, due to operating restrictions on foreign ownership in other countries) or otherwise desirable to sell aircraft in the future. We do not expect this would change our core focus on building a vertically integrated transportation company.
Since our inception in 2009, we have been primarily engaged in research and development of eVTOL aircraft. We have incurred net operating losses and negative cash flows from operations in every year since our inception. As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $1,247.7 million. We have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of stock, convertible notes and the proceeds from our February 2021 merger with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company (the “Merger”).
Key Factors Affecting Operating Results
See the section entitled “Risk Factors” for a further discussion of these considerations.
Development of the Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) Market
Our revenue will be directly tied to the continued development of short distance aerial transportation. While we believe the market for UAM will be large, it remains undeveloped and there is no guarantee of future demand. We delivered our first aircraft for initial service operations with the DOD in September 2023 and are targeting commercial passenger operations in 2025. Our business will require significant investment leading up to launching these services, including, but not limited to, final engineering designs, prototyping and testing, manufacturing, software development, certification, pilot training, infrastructure and commercialization.
We believe one of the primary drivers for adoption of our aerial ridesharing service is the value proposition and time savings offered by aerial mobility relative to traditional ground-based transportation. Additional factors impacting the pace of adoption of our aerial ridesharing service may include but are not limited to: perceptions about eVTOL quality, safety, performance and cost; perceptions about the limited range over which eVTOL may be flown on a single battery charge; volatility in the cost of oil and gasoline; availability of competing forms of transportation, such as ground, air taxi or ride-hailing services; the development of adequate infrastructure; consumers’ perception about the safety, convenience and cost
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of transportation using eVTOL relative to ground-based alternatives; and increases in fuel efficiency, autonomy, or electrification of cars. In addition, macroeconomic factors could impact demand for UAM services, particularly if end-user pricing is at a premium to ground-based transportation alternatives or more permanent work-from-home behaviors persist. We anticipate initial operations with our U.S. government customers to be followed by operations in selected high-density metropolitan areas where traffic congestion is particularly acute and operating conditions are suitable for early eVTOL operations.
Competition
We believe that the primary sources of competition for our service are ground-based mobility solutions, other eVTOL developers/operators and local/regional incumbent aircraft charter services. While we expect to be first to market with an eVTOL facilitated aerial ridesharing service, we expect this industry to be dynamic and increasingly competitive; and our competitors could get to market before us, either generally or in specific markets. Even if we are first to market, we may not receive any competitive advantage or may be overtaken by other competitors. If new or existing aerospace companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we intend to operate or obtain large-scale capital investment, we may face increased competition. Additionally, our competitors may benefit from our efforts in developing consumer and community acceptance for eVTOL aircraft and aerial ridesharing, making it easier for them to obtain the permits and authorizations required to operate an aerial ridesharing service in the markets in which we intend to launch or in other markets. If we do not capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate, it may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
Government Certification
We agreed to a signed, stage 4 “G-1” certification basis for our aircraft with the FAA in 2020. This agreement lays out the specific requirements that need to be met by our aircraft for it to be certified for commercial operations. Reaching this milestone marks a key step towards certifying any new aircraft in the U.S. Our aircraft was originally intended to be certified in line with the FAA’s existing Part 23 requirements for Normal Category Airplanes, with special conditions introduced to address requirements specific to our unique aircraft. In May 2022, the FAA indicated that they were revisiting the decision to certify all eVTOLs under Part 23 and would, instead, require certification under the “powered lift” classification. Based on the FAA’s revised certification requirements, we re-signed an updated stage 4 "G-1" certification basis in July 2022, which was published in the federal register in November 2022.
In 2022, we received our Part 135 operating certificate, which is required for us to operate an on-demand air service. While that currently allows us to operate the service with conventional aircraft, the FAA will need to publish operational regulations related to eVTOLs before we add our aircraft to our Part 135 operating certificate. The FAA has indicated that they do not expect the relevant operational regulations, or Special Federal Aviation Regulations (“SFARs”), for eVTOL aircraft to be finalized until late 2024. If the publication of the SFARs is further delayed, if the FAA requires further modifications to our existing G-1 certification basis, or if there are other regulatory changes or revisions, this could delay our ability to obtain type certification, and could delay our ability to launch our commercial passenger service.
In addition to certifying our aircraft, we will also need to obtain authorizations and certifications related to the production of our aircraft and the deployment of our aerial ridesharing service. We anticipate being able to meet the requirements of such authorizations and certifications. If we fail to obtain any of the required authorizations or certifications, or do so in a timely manner, or if any of these authorizations or certifications are modified, suspended or revoked after we obtain them, we may be unable to launch our commercial service or do so on the timelines we project, which would have adverse effects on our business, prospects, financial condition and/or results of operations.
U.S.Government Contracts
In December 2020, we became, to our knowledge, the first company to receive airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft from the USAF, and in the first quarter of 2021 we officially began on-base operations under contract pursuant to the USAF’s Agility Prime program. Our multi-year relationship with the DOD and other U.S. government agencies provides us with a compelling opportunity to more thoroughly understand the operational capabilities and maintenance profiles of our aircraft in advance of commercial launch. In addition to the operational learnings and advanced research support, our contracts, which we expanded in July 2022 and again in April 2023, have a total potential value of more than $131 million through 2026. We are actively pursuing additional contracts and relationships that would further secure these on-base operations going forward. Our U.S. government contracting parties may modify, curtail or terminate its contracts with us without prior notice, either at its convenience or for default based on performance, or may decline to accept
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performance or exercise subsequent option years. We may also be unable to secure additional contracts or continue to grow our relationship with the U.S. government and/or DOD.
Vertically-Integrated Business Model
Our business model is to serve as a vertically-integrated eVTOL transportation service provider. Present projections indicate that payback periods on aircraft will result in a viable business model over the long-term as production volumes scale and unit economics improve to support sufficient market adoption. As with any new industry and business model, numerous risks and uncertainties exist. Our projections are dependent on certifying and delivering aircraft on time and at a cost that will allow us to offer our service at prices that a sufficient number of customers will be willing to pay for the time and efficiency savings they receive from utilizing our eVTOL services. Our aircraft include parts and manufacturing processes unique to eVTOL aircraft, in general, and our product design, in particular. We have used our best efforts to estimate costs in our planning projections; however, the variable cost associated with assembling our aircraft at scale remains uncertain at this stage of development. Our vertically-integrated business model also relies, in part, on developing and certifying component parts rather than sourcing already certified parts from third-party suppliers. While we believe this model will ultimately result in a more performant aircraft and better operating economics, the increased time and effort required to develop and certify these components may result in delays compared to alternative approaches.
Our vertically-integrated approach is also dependent on recruiting, developing and retaining the right talent at the right time to support engineering, certification, manufacturing, and go-to-market operations. As we progress through the certification process, we will have an increasing need to accelerate hiring in selected areas. If we are unable to add sufficient headcount it could impact our ability to meet our expected timelines for certification and entry into service.
The success of our business is also dependent, in part, on the utilization rate of our aircraft, which is the amount of time our aircraft spend in the air carrying passengers. We intend to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate, and reductions in utilization will adversely impact our financial performance. High daily aircraft utilization is achieved in part by reducing turnaround times at skyports. Aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations from various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, security requirements, air traffic congestion and unscheduled maintenance events.
Components of Results of Operations
Revenue
Flight services
Flight services revenue primarily includes consideration received for our performance of customer-directed flights and on-base operations for various DOD agencies. We recognize revenue as we fulfill our performance obligations in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive.
Operating expenses
Flight services
Flight services expenses consist primarily of costs related to flight, flight support, and maintenance personnel, expenses associated with support aircraft such as rent and fuel, depreciation of capitalized ground support equipment, and our aircraft electricity cost, as directly attributed to our performance of the flight services. Flight services expenses do not include the costs of manufacturing our aircraft and aircraft parts as such costs are expensed when incurred as Research and Development Expenses (see below).
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, costs of consulting, equipment and materials, depreciation and amortization and allocations of overhead, including rent, information technology costs and utilities. Research and development expenses are partially offset by payments we received in the form of government grants, including those received under the Agility Prime program.
We expect our research and development expenses to increase as we increase staffing to support aircraft engineering and software development, build aircraft, and continue to explore and develop next generation aircraft and technologies.
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, related to executive management, finance, legal, and human resource functions. Other costs include business development, contractor and professional services fees, audit and compliance expenses, insurance costs and general corporate expenses, including allocated depreciation, rent, information technology costs and utilities.
We expect our selling, general and administrative expenses to increase as we hire additional personnel and consultants to support our operations and comply with applicable regulations, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) and other SEC rules and regulations.
Investment in SummerBio, LLC
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our management determined that certain previously developed technology that was accessible to us could be repurposed and applied to providing high-volume, rapid COVID-19 diagnostic testing through its investment in SummerBio, LLC (“SummerBio”), a related party. The Company accounted for its investment in SummerBio under the equity method of accounting with an ownership interest of approximately 44.5% as of December 31, 2022.
In June 2022, SummerBio notified us of its decision to wind down testing operations and close the business, which SummerBio substantially executed by the end of December 2022.
The Company recognized income of nil and $19.5 million (net of impairment loss) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Gain (Loss) from changes in Fair Value of Warrants and Earnout Shares Liabilities
Publicly-traded warrants (“Public Warrants”), private placement warrants issued to Sponsor (“Private Placement Warrants”), warrants issued to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta Warrants”) and shares of common stock owned by Sponsor subject to certain terms on vesting, lock-up and transfer (“Earnout Shares”) are recorded as liabilities and subject to remeasurement to fair value at each balance sheet date. We expect to incur an incremental income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations for the fair value adjustments for these outstanding liabilities at the end of each reporting period.
2022 Acquisitions
On March 9, 2022, we completed the acquisition of an aerospace composite manufacturing company, whereby we acquired all the purchased assets and assumed selected liabilities in exchange for a total consideration consisting of (i) $1.5 million in cash, and (ii) RSUs with the aggregate acquisition date value of $0.1 million. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination as the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constituted a business in accordance with ASC 805 Business Combinations. The purchase consideration of $1.5 million was allocated to the following: $1.1 million in favorable lease assets, $0.4 million of acquired machinery and equipment, $0.1 million of acquired current assets, and $0.1 million of acquired current liabilities.
On May 17, 2022, we completed the acquisition of an aerospace software engineering company that specializes in full-lifecycle software and firmware development and verification to aviation regulatory standards, in exchange for total cash consideration of $7.2 million. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination as the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constituted a business in accordance with ASC 805 Business Combinations. Part of the cash consideration in an amount of $2.2 million was temporarily retained by us to satisfy our post-closing indemnification claims, if any, against the seller. This retained amount of $2.2 million was released and paid to the seller during the three month ended June 30, 2023.
In relation to the acquisition, we issued 790,529 RSUs with an aggregate acquisition date value of approximately $4.5 million. We also paid $0.5 million to the employees of the acquired company, and settled accounts payable to the acquired company of $0.2 million. The RSUs vest contingent upon each employee’s continued employment with the Company or its subsidiaries, and are recognized as stock-based compensation expense over the RSUs’ vesting terms, commencing on the acquisition date.
The purchase consideration of $7.2 million was, preliminary, allocated to $3.3 million of goodwill, primarily resulting from the combined workforce and expected increased regulatory efficiencies, $2.5 million of total intangible assets comprising of $2.4 million of acquired customer relationships intangible asset and $0.1 million of acquired developed technology intangible asset, $1.5 million of acquired current assets, primarily cash and accounts receivable, $0.3 million of acquired
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fixed assets, and $0.4 million of acquired current liabilities. Amounts recognized as of the acquisition date are provisional and subject to change within the measurement period as the Company’s fair value assessments are finalized. In September 2022, the company made certain measurement period adjustments, which included a working capital adjustment with the seller in accordance with the agreement terms, resulting in an increase to the purchase consideration of $0.1 million which was paid during the three months ended December 31, 2022. No other adjustments were made through the end of the measurement period which ended on May 16, 2023.
On November 30, 2022, the Company completed the purchase of certain real property, improvements and other assets (“Property”) from Frederick Electronics Corporation, a Maryland corporation and Plantronics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Sellers”) for a cash purchase price of $25.5 million. The Property consists of approximately 162,000 square feet across five buildings located at 333 Encinal Street, Santa Cruz, California and will be used as the Company’s corporate headquarters. The acquisition was accounted for as an asset acquisition as substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired was represented by a group of similar assets. The purchase consideration was allocated to $6.3 million of land, $17.7 million of buildings and site improvements and $1.5 million of equipment, fixtures and furniture.
Interest and Other Income, Net
Interest income consists primarily of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our provision for income taxes consists of an estimate of federal, state, and foreign income taxes based on enacted federal, state, and foreign tax rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in tax law. Due to the level of historical losses, we maintain a valuation allowance against U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets as it has been concluded it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will not be realized.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2023 to the Year Ended December 31, 2022
The following table summarizes our historical results of operations for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ($) | (%) | ||||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||||
| Flight services | $ | 1,032 | $ | — | 1,032 | 100% | |||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||
| Flight services | 200 | — | 200 | 100% | |||||||||
| Research and development | 367,049 | 296,281 | 70,768 | 24 | % | ||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 105,877 | 95,922 | 9,954 | 10 | % | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 473,126 | 392,203 | 80,923 | 21 | % | ||||||||
| Loss from operations | (472,094) | (392,203) | (79,891) | 20 | % | ||||||||
| Interest and other income, net | 45,561 | 16,787 | 28,774 | 171 | % | ||||||||
| Income from equity method investment | — | 19,463 | (19,463) | (100) | % | ||||||||
| Gain/(loss) from change in fair value of warrants and earnout shares | (86,378) | 98,002 | (184,379) | (188) | % | ||||||||
| Total other income (loss), net | (40,817) | 134,252 | (175,069) | (130) | % | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (512,911) | (257,951) | (254,960) | 99 | % | ||||||||
| Income tax expense | 139 | 92 | 47 | 51 | % | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (513,050) | $ | (258,043) | (255,007) | 99 | % |
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Revenue
Flight Services
Flight services revenue primarily includes consideration for our performance of customer-directed flights and on-base operations for various DOD agencies. We recognize revenue as we fulfill our performance obligations in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive.
Operating expenses
Flight services
Flight services expenses consist primarily of costs related to flight, flight support, and maintenance personnel, expenses associated with support aircraft such as rent and fuel, depreciation of capitalized ground support equipment, and our aircraft electricity cost, as directly attributed to our performance of the flight services. Flight services expenses do not include the costs of manufacturing our aircraft and aircraft parts as such costs are expensed when incurred as Research and Development Expenses.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased by $70.8 million, or 24%, to $367.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 from $296.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to increases in personnel to support aircraft engineering, software development, manufacturing process development, and certification, as well as increased quantity of materials used in prototype development and testing. These costs were partially offset by government research and development grants earned through operations as part of our Department of Defense contracts.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $10.0 million, or 10%, to $105.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 from $95.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to increased headcount to support operations growth, including IT, legal, facilities, HR, and finance, as well as an increase in professional services cost related to legal, accounting and recruiting support.
Total Other Income (loss), Net
Total other income (loss), net decreased by $175.1 million, or 130%, to a loss of $40.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 from a gain of $134.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily driven by a $184.4 million loss from changes in fair value of warrants and earnout shares, a $19.5 million decrease in income from equity method investment due to winding down of SummerBio’s business operations, partially offset by $28.8 million increase in interest and other income due to increased interest rates on higher invested funds.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have incurred net losses and negative operating cash flows from operations since inception, and we expect to continue to incur losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future until we successfully commence sustainable commercial operations. To date, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the Merger and issuance of stock and convertible notes. From inception through December 31, 2023, we raised net proceeds of $1,067.9 million from the Merger, $843.3 million from the issuances of redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible notes prior to the Merger, $60.0 million from issuance of shares and warrants to Delta Air Lines, Inc., $180.2 million in net proceeds from our registered direct offering to certain institutional investors and net proceeds of $99.9 million from our issuance of shares to SKT. As of December 31, 2023, we had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $204.8 million and short-term investment in marketable securities of $828.2 million. Restricted cash, totaling $0.8 million, reflects cash temporarily retained for security deposit on leased facilities. We believe that our cash, cash equivalent and short-term investments will satisfy our working capital and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months.
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Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We expect our cash and cash equivalents on hand together with the cash we expect to generate from future operations will provide sufficient funding to support us through the initial launch of our commercial operations in 2025. Until we generate sufficient operating cash flow to fully cover our operating expenses, working capital needs and planned capital expenditures, or if circumstances evolve differently than anticipated, we expect to utilize a combination of equity and debt financing to fund any future remaining capital needs. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, dilution to stockholders may result. Any equity securities issued may also provide for rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of holders of common stock. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities would have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of preferred and common stockholders. The terms of debt securities or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations. The capital markets have in the past, and may in the future, experience periods of upheaval that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing.
Our principal uses of cash in recent periods were to fund our research and development activities, personnel cost and support services. Near-term cash requirements will also include spending on manufacturing facilities, ramping up production and supporting production certification, scaled manufacturing operations for commercialization, infrastructure and skyport development, pilot training facilities, software development and production of aircraft. We do not have material cash requirements related to current contractual obligations. As such, our cash requirements are highly dependent upon management’s decisions about the pace and focus of both our short and long-term spending.
Cash requirements can fluctuate based on business decisions that could accelerate or defer spending, including the timing or pace of investments, infrastructure and production of aircraft. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our revenue growth rate, the timing and the amount of cash received from our customers, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, and the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts. In the future, we may enter into arrangements to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, and technologies, which could require us to seek additional equity or debt financing. If we require additional financing we may not be able to raise such financing on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to continue our research and development and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If adequate funds are not available, we may need to reconsider our investments in production operations, the pace of our production ramp-up, infrastructure investments in skyports, expansion plans or limit our research and development activities, which could have a material adverse impact on our business prospects and results of operations.
Cash Flows
The following tables set forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ($) | (%) | |||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by: | ||||||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | (313,831) | $ | (235,925) | $ | (77,906) | 33 | % | ||||||
| Investing activities | 80,304 | (630,789) | 711,093 | (113) | % | |||||||||
| Financing activities | 288,239 | 60,456 | 227,783 | 377 | % | |||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | 54,712 | $ | (806,258) | $ | 860,970 | (107) | % |
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $313.8 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $513.1 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $93.6 million in stock-based compensation expense, a $86.4 million loss from change in the fair value of warrants and earnout shares, $30.5 million in depreciation and amortization expense and a net decrease in our net working capital of $8.9 million, partially offset by $20.2 million net accretion of our investments in marketable securities.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $235.9 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $258.0 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $69.1 million in stock-based compensation expense, $24.0 million in depreciation and amortization expense and a net decrease in our net working capital of $51.8 million, primarily related to distributions from equity investment in Summerbio, partially offset by a $98.0 million gain from change in the fair value of warrants and
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earnout shares, $19.5 million in income from equity method investment and a $5.2 million net accretion and amortization of our investments in marketable securities.
Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $80.3 million was primarily due to proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $920.9 million, partially offset by purchases of marketable securities of $810.0 million and purchases of property and equipment of $30.6 million
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $630.8 million was primarily due to purchases of marketable securities of $1,359.0 million, purchases of property and equipment of $54.9 million and acquisition of assets of $5.7 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $788.8 million.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $288.2 million was primarily due to net proceeds of $180.2 million from our registered direct offering to certain institutional investors and net proceeds of $99.9 million from our issuance of common shares to SKT, proceeds from the issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan of $6.9 million and $2.1 million, proceeds from exercise of stock options and issuance of common stock warrants, partially offset by repayments for finance lease obligations and tenant improvement loan totaling $0.8 million.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $60.5 million was primarily due to proceeds from the issuance of common stock and warrants of $60.1 million , $1.4 million from exercise of stock options, partially offset by repayments for capital lease obligations and tenant improvement loan totaling $1.0 million.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions for the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosures. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and any such differences may be material.
The significant accounting policies of the Company are described in more detail in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We believe the following accounting policies and estimates to be critical to the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure and record the expense related to stock-based payment awards based on the fair value of those awards as determined on the date of grant. When the observable market price or volatility we use to determine grant date fair value does not reflect certain material non-public information known to the Company but unavailable to marketplace participants at the time the market price is observed, we determine whether an adjustment to the observable market price is required. We recognize stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period of the individual grant, generally equal to the vesting period and use the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation, and account for forfeitures as they occur. Some of our awards contain service-based vesting condition as well as performance-based vesting condition. We consider the probability of achieving each of the performance goals at the end of each reporting period and recognize expense over the requisite period when achievement of the goal is determined to be probable, and adjust the expense if the probability of achieving the goal later changes. The Company estimates the probabilities based on available information about the progress made towards performance goals at each reporting period. Our performance based awards issued under annual Bonus Plan are classified as a liability until such time that the respective milestones have been met, at which point the liability is reclassified to equity. If it is determined that the milestone cannot be met, the liability is reversed.
We selected the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model as the method for determining the estimated fair value for stock options and awards under our ESPP program. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of
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highly subjective and complex assumptions, which determine the fair value of share-based awards, including the option’s expected term, expected volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate and expected dividend yield.
Expected volatility - We estimate the expected volatility of our common stock on the date of grant based on the historical stock price volatility of our own common shares within the same length of period as the expected term. Where, in some cases, our common share trading history is shorter than the expected term, and for periods prior to the Merger since we were not a publicly traded company, we estimated the expected volatility for our stock options and awards under our ESPP program by using an average of historical volatilities of selected industry peers deemed to be comparable to our business corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Risk-free interest rate - The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for zero-coupon U.S. Treasury notes with maturities corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Expected dividend yield - The expected dividend rate is zero as we currently have no history or expectation of declaring dividends on our common stock.
Expected term - The expected term represents the period these stock awards are expected to remain outstanding and is based on historical experience of similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms of the stock-based awards, vesting schedules, and expectations of future employee behavior.
Accounting for Long-Lived Assets
In accounting for long-lived assets, we make estimates about the expected useful lives, projected residual values, and the potential for impairment. In estimating useful lives and residual values of our property and equipment, we have relied upon actual industry experience with the same or similar property and equipment types and our anticipated utilization of the property and equipment. Changing market prices of new and used property and equipment, government regulations, and changes in our maintenance program or operations could result in changes to these estimates.
Our long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment as of the end of each reporting period for events and circumstances that indicate the assets may be impaired. Indicators include operating or cash flow losses, significant decreases in market value, or changes in technology.
If we conclude that events and circumstances indicate the assets may be impaired, to determine if impairment exists for our property and equipment used in operations, we group our property and equipment by type (the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows) and then estimate their future cash flows based on projections of capacity, asset age, maintenance requirements, and other relevant conditions. An impairment occurs when the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the aggregate carrying value of the assets. The impairment loss recognized is the amount by which the assets' carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value. We estimate our property and equipment's fair value using third party valuations which consider the effects of the current market environment, age of the assets, and marketability.
We have not identified any events and circumstances that would indicate that our long-lived assets may be impaired. Accordingly, we have not recorded any impairment charge to our existing property and equipment during the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.
Accounting for Leases
We determine if an arrangement is a lease, or contains a lease, at inception. We analyze our contractual arrangements to evaluate whether they have any embedded leases. The asset component of our operating leases is recorded as right-of-use assets, and the liability component is recorded as current lease liabilities and long-term lease liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. Due to significant volume of contractual arrangements we enter, we may not be able to identify all embedded leases arrangements, resulting in understatement of our right-of-use assets and liabilities.
As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) to calculate present value of future minimum lease payments, which is the estimated rate we would be required to pay for fully collateralized borrowing over the period similar to lease terms. Determining IBR requires us to estimate our credit rating for secured borrowing and to identify appropriate interest rates for comparable companies with similar credit rating. If we are not able to correctly estimate IBR, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect.
Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Determining that options are reasonably certain to be exercised requires us to make certain assumptions about our
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future operations and space and assets requirements. Incorrect assumptions may result in our lease term being incorrect, impacting our right-of-use assets and liabilities.
Assumptions made by us at the commencement date are re-evaluated upon occurrence of certain events, including a lease modification. A lease modification results in a separate contract when the modification grants the lessee an additional right of use not included in the original lease and when lease payments increase commensurate with the standalone price for the additional right of use. When a lease modification results in a separate contract, it is accounted for in the same manner as a new lease. If we are not able to re-evaluate lease changes and modifications appropriately, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001819848-23-000059.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis provides information that our management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have elected to omit discussion on the earliest of the three years covered by the consolidated financial statements presented. Refer to Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations located in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed on March 28, 2022, for reference to discussion of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, the earliest of the three fiscal years presented. This discussion and analysis includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We have spent more than a decade designing and testing a piloted all-electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically, while cruising like a traditional airplane. The aircraft is quiet when taking off, near silent when flying overhead and is designed to transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with a maximum range of 150 miles on a single charge. The low noise enabled by the all-electric powertrain will allow the aircraft to operate around dense, urban areas while blending into the background noise of cities. With more than 1,000 successful test flights already completed, and as the first eVTOL aircraft developer to receive a signed, stage 4 G-1 certification basis, we believe we are well positioned to be the first eVTOL manufacturer to earn airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”).
We do not currently intend to sell these aircraft to third parties or individual consumers. Instead, we plan to manufacture, own and operate our aircraft, building a vertically integrated transportation company that will deliver transportation services to our customers, including the U.S. Air Force through contracted operations, and to individual end-users through a convenient app-based aerial ridesharing platform. Our goal is to begin initial service operations with the Department of Defense in 2024, followed by commercial passenger operations in 2025. We believe this business model will generate the greatest economic returns, while providing us with end-to-end control over the customer experience to optimize for customer safety, comfort and value. There may be circumstances in which it is either required (for example, due to operating restrictions on foreign ownership in other countries) or otherwise desirable to sell aircraft in the future. While we do not expect this would change our core focus on building a vertically integrated transportation company, we may choose to sell aircraft in circumstances where we believe there is a compelling business reason to do so.
Since our inception in 2009, we have been primarily engaged in research and development of eVTOL aircraft. We have incurred net operating losses and negative cash flows from operations in every year since our inception. As of December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $734.7 million. We have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of redeemable convertible preferred stock and the proceeds from the merger described below.
The Merger
We entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) on February 23, 2021, with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company (“RTP”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, on August 10, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), Joby Aero, Inc. (“Legacy Joby”) was merged with and into a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTP (the “Merger”). Legacy Joby survived as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTP, which was renamed Joby Aviation, Inc. (“Joby Aviation”).
The Merger is accounted for as a reverse capitalization in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Under this method of accounting, RTP is treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the financial statements of Joby Aviation represent a continuation of the financial statements of Legacy Joby, with the Merger being treated as the equivalent of Joby Aviation issuing stock for the net assets of RTP, accompanied by a recapitalization. Legacy Joby operations prior to the Merger are presented as those of Joby Aviation. The Merger, which raised $1,067.9 million, has significantly impacted our capital structure and operating results, supporting our product development, manufacturing and commercialization efforts.
As a result of becoming a reporting company with the SEC and NYSE-listed company, we have hired and will continue to hire additional personnel and implement procedures and processes to address public company regulatory requirements and customary practices. We expect to incur additional annual expenses as a public company for, among other things, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, director fees, and additional internal and external accounting, legal and administrative resources.
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All shares and per share amounts of Legacy Joby for all presented periods have been retrospectively adjusted using the exchange ratio that was established in accordance with the Merger Agreement (the “Exchange Ratio”).
Key Factors Affecting Operating Results
See the section entitled “Risk Factors” for a further discussion of these considerations.
Development of the Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) market
Our revenue will be directly tied to the continued development of short distance aerial transportation. While we believe the market for UAM will be large, it remains undeveloped and there is no guarantee of future demand. We are targeting initial service with the Department of Defense beginning in 2024, followed by commercial passenger operations in 2025, and our business will require significant investment leading up to launching these services, including, but not limited to, final engineering designs, prototyping and testing, manufacturing, software development, certification, pilot training, infrastructure and commercialization.
We believe one of the primary drivers for adoption of our aerial ridesharing service is the value proposition and time savings offered by aerial mobility relative to traditional ground-based transportation. Additional factors impacting the pace of adoption of our aerial ridesharing service may include but are not limited to: perceptions about eVTOL quality, safety, performance and cost; perceptions about the limited range over which eVTOL may be flown on a single battery charge; volatility in the cost of oil and gasoline; availability of competing forms of transportation, such as ground, air taxi or ride-hailing services; the development of adequate infrastructure; consumers’ perception about the safety, convenience and cost of transportation using eVTOL relative to ground-based alternatives; and increases in fuel efficiency, autonomy, or electrification of cars. In addition, macroeconomic factors could impact demand for UAM services, particularly if end-user pricing is at a premium to ground-based transportation alternatives or more permanent work-from-home behaviors persist following the COVID pandemic. We anticipate initial operations with our U.S. government customers to be followed by operations in selected high-density metropolitan areas where traffic congestion is particularly acute and operating conditions are suitable for early eVTOL operations. If the market for UAM does not develop as expected, this would impact our ability to generate revenue or grow our business.
Competition
We believe that the primary sources of competition for our service are ground-based mobility solutions, other eVTOL developers/operators and local/regional incumbent aircraft charter services. While we expect to be first to market with an eVTOL facilitated aerial ridesharing service, we expect this industry to be dynamic and increasingly competitive; and our competitors could get to market before us, either generally or in specific markets. Even if we are first to market, we may not receive any competitive advantage or may be overtaken by other competitors. If new or existing aerospace companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we intend to operate or obtain large-scale capital investment, we may face increased competition. Additionally, our competitors may benefit from our efforts in developing consumer and community acceptance for eVTOL aircraft and aerial ridesharing, making it easier for them to obtain the permits and authorizations required to operate an aerial ridesharing service in the markets in which we intend to launch or in other markets. If we do not capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate, it may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects. For a more comprehensive discussion, please see the section entitled “Risk Factors.”
Government Certification
We agreed to a signed, stage 4 “G-1” certification basis for our aircraft with the FAA in 2020. This agreement lays out the specific requirements that need to be met by our aircraft for it to be certified for commercial operations. Reaching this milestone marks a key step on the way towards certifying any new aircraft in the U.S. Our aircraft was originally intended to be certified in line with the FAA’s existing Part 23 requirements for Normal Category Airplanes, with special conditions introduced to address requirements specific to our unique aircraft. In May 2022, the FAA indicated that they were revisiting the decision to certify all eVTOLs under Part 23 and would, instead, require certification under the “powered lift” classification. Based on the FAA’s revised certification requirements, we re-signed an updated stage 4 "G-1" certification basis in July 2022, and it was published in the federal register in November 2022.
In 2022, we received our Part 135 operating certificate, which is required for us to operate an on-demand air service. While that currently allows us to operate the service with conventional aircraft, the FAA will need to publish operational regulations related to eVTOLs before we add our aircraft to our Part 135 operating certificate. The FAA recently indicated that they do not expect the relevant operational regulations, or Special Federal Aviation Regulations (“SFARs”), for eVTOL aircraft to be finalized until late 2024. If the publication of the SFARs is further delayed, if the FAA requires
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further modifications to our existing G-1 certification basis, or if there are other regulatory changes or revisions, this could delay our ability to obtain type certification, and could delay our ability to launch our commercial passenger service.
In addition to certifying our aircraft, we will also need to obtain authorizations and certifications related to the production of our aircraft and the deployment of our aerial ridesharing service. While we anticipate being able to meet the requirements of such authorizations and certifications, we may be unable to obtain such authorizations and certifications, or to do so on the timeline we project. If we fail to obtain any of the required authorizations or certifications, or do so in a timely manner, or if any of these authorizations or certifications are modified, suspended or revoked after we obtain them, we may be unable to launch our commercial service or do so on the timelines we project, which would have adverse effects on our business, prospects, financial condition and/or results of operations.
Agility Prime
In December 2020, we became, to the best of our knowledge, the first company to receive airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, and in the first quarter of 2021, we officially began on-base operations under contract pursuant to the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program. Our multi-year relationship with the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies provides us with a compelling opportunity to more thoroughly understand the operational capabilities and maintenance profiles of our aircraft in advance of commercial launch. In addition to the operational learnings and advanced research support, our contracts, which we expanded in July 2022, have a potential value of more than $75 million through 2025. We are actively pursuing additional contracts and relationships that would further secure these on-base operations going forward. Our U.S. government contracting party may modify, curtail or terminate its contracts with us without prior notice, either at its convenience or for default based on performance, or may decline to accept performance or exercise subsequent option years. We may also be unable to secure additional contracts or continue to grow our relationship with the U.S. government and/or Department of Defense.
Impact of COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19, including changes in consumer and business behavior, pandemic fears and market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, has created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. The spread of COVID-19, as well as the emergence of variants, has also created disruptions in the manufacturing, delivery and overall supply chain for manufacturers and suppliers, and has led to a decrease in the need for transportation services around the world.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have modified our business practices and implemented additional safety protocols for our on-site employees and contractors, which we periodically update in an effort to respond to the latest public health guidance and to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 or other seasonal illnesses. Although many governmental and other restrictions have been relaxed or eliminated, the emergence of additional variants may cause us to take further actions, or modify our current COVID-19 related business practices, as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, suppliers, vendors and business partners. While the ultimate duration and extent of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be accurately predicted, it has already had an adverse effect on the global economy, and the ultimate societal and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ultimate impact on our business, remains unknown.
Fully-Integrated Business Model
Our business model is to serve as a fully-integrated eVTOL transportation service provider. Present projections indicate that payback periods on aircraft will result in a viable business model over the long-term as production volumes scale and unit economics improve to support sufficient market adoption. As with any new industry and business model, numerous risks and uncertainties exist. Our projections are dependent on certifying and delivering aircraft on time and at a cost that will allow us to offer our service at prices that a sufficient number of customers will be willing to pay for the time and efficiency savings they receive from utilizing our eVTOL services. Our aircraft include parts and manufacturing processes unique to eVTOL aircraft, in general, and our product design, in particular. We have used our best efforts to estimate costs in our planning projections; however, the variable cost associated with assembling our aircraft at scale remains uncertain at this stage of development. Our fully-integrated business model also relies, in part, on developing and certifying component parts rather than sourcing already certified parts from third-party suppliers. While we believe this model will ultimately result in a more performant aircraft and better operating economics, the increased time and effort required to develop and certify these components may result in delays compared to alternative approaches. Our fully-integrated approach is also dependent on recruiting, developing and retaining the right talent at the right time to support engineering, certification, manufacturing, and go-to-market operations. As we progress with software development and verification we will have an
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increasing need to accelerate hiring. While we have taken steps to bring onboard additional resources in these areas, including the acquisition of Avionyx in May 2022, hiring in these areas has progressed slower than initially expected. If we are unable to add sufficient headcount it could impact our ability to meet our expected timelines for certification and entry into service.
The success of our business also is dependent, in part, on the utilization rate of our aircraft, which is the amount of time our aircraft spend in the air carrying passengers. We intend to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate, and reductions in utilization will adversely impact our financial performance. High daily aircraft utilization is achieved in part by reducing turnaround times at skyports. Aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations from various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, security requirements, air traffic congestion and unscheduled maintenance events. Our aircraft may not be able to fly in poor weather conditions, including snowstorms, thunderstorms, high winds, lightning, hail, known icing conditions and/or fog. Our inability to operate in these conditions will reduce our aircraft utilization and cause delays and disruptions in our services.
Components of Results of Operations
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, costs of consulting, equipment and materials, depreciation and amortization and allocations of overhead, including rent, information technology costs and utilities. Research and development expenses are partially offset by payments we received in the form of government grants, including those received under the Agility Prime program.
We expect our research and development expenses to increase as we increase staffing to support aircraft engineering and software development, build aircraft prototypes, and continue to explore and develop next generation aircraft and technologies.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, related to executive management, finance, legal, and human resource functions. Other costs include business development, contractor and professional services fees, audit and compliance expenses, insurance costs and general corporate expenses, including allocated depreciation, rent, information technology costs and utilities.
We expect our selling, general and administrative expenses to increase as we hire additional personnel and consultants to support our commercialization efforts and comply with the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) and other SEC rules and regulations.
Investment in SummerBio, LLC
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our management determined that certain previously developed technology that was accessible to us could be repurposed and applied to providing high-volume, rapid COVID-19 diagnostic testing through its investment in SummerBio,LLC (“SummerBio”), a related party. The company accounts for its investment in SummerBio under the equity method of accounting with an ownership interest of approximately 44.5% and 43.4% as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.
In June 2022, SummerBio notified us of its decision to wind down testing operations and close the business, which SummerBio substantially executed by the end of December 2022. As a result, we recorded an impairment loss on our investment of $6.4 million which is included within the income from equity method investment line on the consolidated statement of operations.
The Company recognized income of $19.5 million (net of impairment loss) and $29.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Gain from changes in fair value of Warrants and Earnout Shares Liabilities
Publicly-traded warrants (“Public Warrants”), private placement warrants issued to Sponsor (“Private Warrants”), warrants issued to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta Warrants”) and Earnout Shares are recorded as liabilities and subject to remeasurement to fair value at each balance sheet date. We expect to incur an incremental income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations for the fair value adjustments for these outstanding liabilities at the end of each reporting period.
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2021 Acquisitions
On January 11, 2021, we entered into certain agreements with Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”), under which we acquired Uber Elevate, Inc. (“Uber Elevate”), a portion of Uber’s business dedicated to development of aerial ridesharing. In connection with the acquisition, the Company issued Uber a Convertible Promissory Note (“Uber CPN”) and entered into a collaboration agreement (the “Uber Agreement”).
The purchase price allocation for Uber Elevate is as follows (in thousands):
| Automation platform software technology | $ | 7,200 |
|---|---|---|
| Multimodal software technology | 4,900 | |
| Simulation software technology | 4,600 | |
| Total acquired finite-lived intangible assets | 16,700 | |
| Goodwill | 10,757 | |
| Property and equipment | 630 | |
| Deferred tax asset | 6,129 | |
| Total purchase consideration | $ | 34,216 |
On April 6, 2021, we completed the acquisition of an entity engaged in the development of transportation technology with application in the aviation sector, whereby we acquired all the outstanding shares of the entity in exchange for a purchase consideration of $5.0 million in cash. The acquisition was accounted for as an asset acquisition because substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired was represented by a group of similar assets. The purchase consideration was allocated to $5.0 million of the acquired in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) assets, $0.1 million of the acquired current liabilities and $0.1 million of acquired current assets.
In relation to the acquisition, we issued 2,677,200 restricted shares of Legacy Joby Series C Preferred Stock with the aggregate acquisition date value of $23.9 million. The Series C Preferred Stock was converted into an equivalent number of shares of Legacy Joby common stock on a one-to-one basis immediately prior to the closing of the Merger, and then into the restricted shares of the Company’s common stock at the time of the Merger. The restricted shares vest contingent upon each employee’s continued employment with the Company or its subsidiaries, and are recognized as stock-based compensation expense over the restricted shares vesting terms.
On December 21, 2021, we completed the acquisition of an entity engaged in the development of radar systems technology with application in the aviation and other sectors, whereby we acquired all the outstanding shares of the entity in exchange for a total consideration consisting of (i) $2.8 million in cash, and (ii) 340,000 restricted stock units representing the right to receive an equivalent number of shares of the Company’s common stock upon vesting ("RSUs") with the aggregate acquisition date value of $2.4 million. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination as the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constituted a business in accordance with ASC 805 Business Combinations. The purchase consideration of $2.8 million was allocated to $1.7 million of the acquired intangible assets, primarily developed technology, $1.2 million of the acquired current assets, primarily cash and account receivables, and 0.1 million of the acquired current liabilities.
2022 Acquisitions
On March 9, 2022, we completed the acquisition of an aerospace composite manufacturing company, whereby we acquired all the purchased assets and assumed selected liabilities in exchange for a total consideration consisting of (i) $1.5 million in cash, and (ii) RSUs with the aggregate acquisition date value of $0.1 million. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination as the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constituted a business in accordance with ASC 805 Business Combinations. The purchase consideration of $1.5 million was allocated to the following: a $1.1 million in favorable lease assets, $0.4 million of acquired machinery and equipment, $0.1 million of acquired current assets, and $0.1 million of acquired current liabilities.
On May 17, 2022, we completed the acquisition of an aerospace software engineering company that specializes in full-lifecycle software and firmware development and verification to aviation regulatory standards, in exchange for total cash consideration of $7.2 million. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination as the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constituted a business in accordance with ASC 805 Business Combinations. Part of the cash consideration in an amount of $2.2 million was temporarily retained by us to satisfy our post-closing indemnification claims, if any, against the seller. This retained amount is payable to the seller, net of indemnification claims, at the one-year anniversary of the acquisition. As of December 31, 2022, this retained amount of $2.2 million is presented as restricted cash on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet, with a related corresponding amount in accrued and other liabilities, reflecting obligations to the seller.
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In relation to the acquisition, we issued 790,529 RSUs with an aggregate acquisition date value of approximately $4.5 million. We also paid $0.5 million to the employees of the acquired company, and settled accounts payable to the acquired company of $0.2 million. The RSUs vest contingent upon each employee’s continued employment with the Company or its subsidiaries, and are recognized as stock-based compensation expense over the RSUs’ vesting terms, commencing on the acquisition date.
The purchase consideration of $7.2 million was, preliminary, allocated to $3.3 million of goodwill, primarily resulting from the combined workforce and expected increased regulatory efficiencies, $2.5 million of total intangible assets comprising of $2.4 million of acquired customer relationships intangible asset and $0.1 million of acquired developed technology intangible asset, $1.5 million of acquired current assets, primarily cash and accounts receivable, $0.3 million of acquired fixed assets, and $0.4 million of acquired current liabilities. Amounts recognized as of the acquisition date are provisional and subject to change within the measurement period as the Company’s fair value assessments are finalized. In September 2022, the company made certain measurement period adjustments, which included a working capital adjustment with the seller in accordance with the agreement terms, resulting in an increase to the purchase consideration of $0.1 million which was paid during the three months ended December 31, 2022.
On November 30, 2022, the Company completed the purchase of certain real property, improvements and other assets (“Property”) from Frederick Electronics Corporation, a Maryland corporation and Plantronics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Sellers”) for a cash purchase price of $25.5 million. The Property consists of approximately 162,000 square feet across five buildings located at 333 Encinal Street, Santa Cruz, California and will be used as the Company’s corporate headquarters. The acquisition was accounted for as an asset acquisition as substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired was represented by a group of similar assets. The purchase consideration was allocated to $6.3 million of land, $17.7 million of buildings and site improvements and $1.5 million of equipment, fixtures and furniture.
Interest and Other Income, Net
Interest income consists primarily of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists primarily of the interest on our convertible notes, equipment finance leases and tenant improvement loans. Interest on convertible notes relates to Legacy Joby Series C redeemable convertible preferred notes issued to Uber in January 2021. Upon closing of the Merger, the unpaid principal amount of $75.0 million plus accrued and unpaid interest in the amount of $2.2 million was converted into 7,716,780 shares of common stock of Joby Aviation.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our provision for income taxes consists of an estimate of federal, state, and foreign income taxes based on enacted federal, state, and foreign tax rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in tax law. Due to the level of historical losses, we maintain a valuation allowance against U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets as it has been concluded it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will not be realized.
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Results of Operations
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2022 to the Year Ended December 31, 2021
The following table summarizes our historical results of operations for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ($) | (%) | ||||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 296,281 | $ | 197,568 | 98,713 | 50 | % | ||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 95,922 | 61,521 | 34,401 | 56 | % | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 392,203 | 259,089 | 133,114 | 51 | % | ||||||||
| Loss from operations | (392,203) | (259,089) | (133,114) | 51 | % | ||||||||
| Interest and other income, net | 16,905 | 1,148 | 15,757 | n.m. | |||||||||
| Interest expense | (118) | (2,426) | 2,308 | (95) | % | ||||||||
| Income from equity method investment | 19,463 | 29,405 | (9,942) | (34) | % | ||||||||
| Transaction expenses related to merger | — | (9,087) | 9,087 | (100) | % | ||||||||
| Gain from change in fair value of warrants and earnout shares | 98,002 | 49,853 | 48,149 | 97 | % | ||||||||
| Convertible notes extinguishment loss | — | (665) | 665 | (100) | % | ||||||||
| Total other income, net | 134,252 | 68,228 | 66,024 | 97 | % | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (257,951) | (190,861) | (67,090) | 35 | % | ||||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 92 | (10,537) | 10,629 | (101) | % | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (258,043) | $ | (180,324) | (77,719) | 43 | % |
*n.m. marks changes that are not meaningful.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased by $98.7 million, or 50%, to $296.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 from $197.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to increases in personnel to support aircraft engineering, software development, manufacturing process development, and certification, as well as increased quantity of materials used in prototype development and testing. These costs were partially offset by government research and development grants earned through operations as part of our Department of Defense contracts.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $34.4 million, or 56%, to $95.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 from $61.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to increased headcount to support operations growth, including IT, legal, facilities, HR, and finance, as well as an increase in insurance cost and professional services cost related to legal, accounting and recruiting support.
Total Other Income, Net
Total other income, net increased by $66.0 million, or 97%, to $134.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 from $68.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily driven by a $48.1 million increase in gain from changes in fair value of warrants and earnout shares, a $15.8 million increase in interest and other income due to increased interest rates on higher invested funds and nonrecurring transaction expenses of $9.1 million related to the Merger incurred during the year ended December 31, 2021, partially offset by a $9.9 million decrease in income from equity method investment due to winding down of SummerBio’s business operations.
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Income Tax Expense (Benefit)
Income tax benefit of $10.5 million, recorded during the year ended December 31, 2021, is primarily due to the release of deferred tax asset valuation allowance, as the deferred tax liability related to the Uber contractual agreement asset provided the Company with a source of future taxable income
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have incurred net losses and negative operating cash flows from operations since inception, and we expect to continue to incur losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future until we successfully commence sustainable commercial operations. To date, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the Merger and issuance of redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible notes. From inception through December 31, 2022, we raised net proceeds of $1,067.9 million from the Merger, $843.3 million from the issuances of Legacy Joby’s redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible notes and $60.0 million from issuance of shares and warrants to Delta Air Lines, Inc. As of December 31, 2022, we had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $150.1 million and short-term investment in marketable securities of $910.7 million. Restricted cash, totaling $4.0 million, reflects cash temporarily retained by us to satisfy our post-closing indemnification claims, if any, against the seller, in connection with the acquisition of aerospace software engineering company in May 2022, security deposit on leased facilities and a letter of credit for a new vendor. We believe that our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will satisfy our working capital and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We expect our cash and cash equivalents on hand together with the cash we expect to generate from future operations will provide sufficient funding to support us through our initial service operations in 2024. Until we generate sufficient operating cash flow to fully cover our operating expenses, working capital needs and planned capital expenditures, or if circumstances evolve differently than anticipated, we expect to utilize a combination of equity and debt financing to fund any future remaining capital needs. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, dilution to stockholders may result. Any equity securities issued may also provide for rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of holders of common stock. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities would have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of preferred and common stockholders. The terms of debt securities or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations. The capital markets have in the past, and may in the future, experience periods of upheaval that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing.
Our principal uses of cash in recent periods were to fund our research and development activities, personnel cost and support services. Near-term cash requirements will also include spending on manufacturing facilities, ramping up production and supporting production certification, scaled manufacturing operations for commercialization, infrastructure and skyport development, pilot training facilities, software development and production of aircraft. We do not have material cash requirements related to current contractual obligations. As such, our cash requirements are highly dependent upon management’s decisions about the pace and focus of both our short and long-term spending.
Cash requirements can fluctuate based on business decisions that could accelerate or defer spending, including the timing or pace of investments, infrastructure and production of aircraft. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our revenue growth rate, the timing and the amount of cash received from our customers, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, and the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts. In the future, we may enter into arrangements to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, and technologies, which could require us to seek additional equity or debt financing. If we require additional financing we may not be able to raise such financing on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to continue our research and development and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If adequate funds are not available, we may need to reconsider our investments in production operations, the pace of our production ramp-up, infrastructure investments in skyports, expansion plans or limit our research and development activities, which could have a material adverse impact on our business prospects and results of operations.
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Cash Flows
The following tables set forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0 | 2021 | ($) | (%) | ||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by: | ||||||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | (235,925) | $ | (195,749) | $ | (40,176) | 21 | % | ||||||
| Investing activities | (630,789) | (18,736) | (612,053) | n.m. | ||||||||||
| Financing activities | 60,456 | 1,092,780 | (1,032,324) | (94) | % | |||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | (806,258) | $ | 878,295 | $ | (1,684,553) | (192) | % |
*n.m. marks changes that are not meaningful
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $235.9 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $258.0 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $69.1 million in stock-based compensation expense, $24.0 million in depreciation and amortization expense and a net decrease in our net working capital of $51.8 million, primarily related to distributions from equity investment in Summerbio, partially offset by a $98.0 million gain from change in the fair value of warrants and earnout shares, $19.5 million in income from equity method investment and a $5.2 million net accretion and amortization of our investments in marketable securities.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $195.7 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $180.3 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $26.9 million in stock-based compensation expense, $15.9 million in depreciation and amortization expense, $9.1 million for allocated merger transaction costs, a $5.0 million write-off of acquired in-process research and development assets, $5.0 million in other noncash compensation expense, $4.3 million net accretion and amortization of our investments in marketable securities, $2.9 million in non-cash interest expense and amortization of debt costs and a net decrease in our net working capital of $5.1 million, reflecting primarily increased prepaid expenses for D&O insurance, partially offset by a $49.9 million gain from change in the fair value of warrants and earnout shares, $29.4 million in income from equity method investment and a $10.5 million income tax benefit.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $630.8 million was primarily due to purchases of marketable securities of $1,359.0 million, purchases of property and equipment of $54.9 million and acquisition of assets of $5.7 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $788.8 million.
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $18.7 million was primarily due to purchases of marketable securities of $401.6 million, purchases of property and equipment of $32.3 million and acquisition of assets of $6.9 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales and maturities of marketable securities of $422.1 million.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $60.5 million was primarily due to proceeds from the issuance of common stock and warrants of $60.1 million and $1.4 million from exercise of stock options, partially offset by repayments for capital lease obligations and tenant improvement loan of $1.0 million.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $1,092.8 million was primarily due to proceeds from the Merger of $1,067.9 million and issuance of a convertible note to Uber for a net amount of $75.0 million, $1.5 million from exercise of stock options and stock purchase rights and issuance common stock warrants, partially offset by payments for deferred offering costs of $50.4 million and repayments of tenant improvement loan and capital lease obligation of $1.2 million.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions for the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosures. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and any such differences may be material.
While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe the following accounting policies and estimates to be critical to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure and record the expense related to stock-based payment awards based on the fair value of those awards as determined on the date of grant. When the observable market price or volatility we use to determine grant date fair value does not reflect certain material non-public information known to the Company but unavailable to marketplace participants at the time the market price is observed, we determine whether an adjustment to the observable market price is required. We recognize stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period of the individual grant, generally equal to the vesting period and use the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation, and account for forfeitures as they occur. Some of our awards contains service-based vesting condition as well as performance-based vesting condition. We consider the probability of achieving of each of the performance goals at the end of each reporting period and recognize expense over the requisite period when achievement of the goal is determined to be probable, and adjust the expense if the probability of achieving the goal later changes. Our performance based awards issued under annual Bonus Plan are classified as a liability until such time that the respective milestones have been met, at which point the liability is reclassified to equity. If it is determined that the milestone cannot be met, the liability is reversed.
We selected the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model as the method for determining the estimated fair value for stock options and awards under our ESPP program. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions, which determine the fair value of share-based awards, including the option’s expected term, expected volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate and expected dividend yield.
Expected volatility - We estimate the expected volatility of our common stock on the date of grant based on the historical stock price volatility of our own common shares within the same length of period as the expected term. Where, in some cases, our common share trading history is shorter than the expected term and prior to the Merger, since we were not a publicly traded company, we estimated the expected volatility for our stock options by using an average of historical volatilities of selected industry peers deemed to be comparable to our business corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Risk-free interest rate - The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for zero-coupon U.S. Treasury notes with maturities corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Expected dividend yield - The expected dividend rate is zero as we currently have no history or expectation of declaring dividends on our common stock.
Expected term - The expected term represents the period these stock awards are expected to remain outstanding and is based on historical experience of similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms of the stock-based awards, vesting schedules, and expectations of future employee behavior.
Accounting for Long-Lived Assets
In accounting for long-lived assets, we make estimates about the expected useful lives, projected residual values, and the potential for impairment. In estimating useful lives and residual values of our property and equipment, we have relied upon actual industry experience with the same or similar property and equipment types and our anticipated utilization of the property and equipment. Changing market prices of new and used property and equipment, government regulations, and changes in our maintenance program or operations could result in changes to these estimates.
Our long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment when events and circumstances indicate the assets may be impaired. Indicators include operating or cash flow losses, significant decreases in market value, or changes in technology.
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To determine if impairment exists for our property and equipment used in operations, we group our property and equipment by type (the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows) and then estimate their future cash flows based on projections of capacity, asset age, maintenance requirements, and other relevant conditions. An impairment occurs when the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the aggregate carrying value of the assets. The impairment loss recognized is the amount by which the assets' carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value. We estimate our property and equipment's fair value using third party valuations which consider the effects of the current market environment, age of the assets, and marketability.
We have not identified any events and circumstances that would indicate that our long-lived assets may be impaired. Accordingly, we have not recorded any impairment charge our existing property and equipment during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022.
Accounting for Leases
We determine if an arrangement is a lease, or contains a lease, at inception. We analyze our contractual arrangements to evaluate whether they have any embedded leases. The asset component of our operating leases is recorded as right-of-use assets, and the liability component is recorded as current lease liabilities and long-term lease liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. Due to significant volume of contractual arrangements we enter, we may not be able to identify all embedded leases arrangements, understating our right-of-use assets and liabilities.
As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) to calculate present value of future minimum lease payments, which is the estimated rate we would be required to pay for fully collateralized borrowing over the period similar to lease terms. Determining IBR requires us to estimate our credit rating for secured borrowing and to identify appropriate interest rates for comparable companies with similar credit rating. If we are not able to correctly estimate IBR, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect.
Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Determining that options are reasonably certain to be exercised requires us to make certain assumptions about our future operations and space and assets requirements. Incorrect assumptions may result in our least term being incorrect, impacting our right-of-use assets and liabilities.
Assumptions made by us at the commencement date are re-evaluated upon occurrence of certain events, including a lease modification. A lease modification results in a separate contract when the modification grants the lessee an additional right of use not included in the original lease and when lease payments increase commensurate with the standalone price for the additional right of use. When a lease modification results in a separate contract, it is accounted for in the same manner as a new lease. If we are not able to re-evaluate lease changes and modifications appropriately, our right-of-use assets and liabilities may be incorrect.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on From 10-K for more information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0000950170-22-004706.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis provides information that our management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We have spent more than a decade designing and testing a piloted all-electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically, while cruising like a traditional airplane. The aircraft is quiet when taking off, near silent when flying overhead and is designed to transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with a maximum range of 150 miles on a single charge. The low noise enabled by the all-electric powertrain will allow the aircraft to operate around dense, urban areas while blending into the background noise of cities. With more than 1,000 successful test flights already completed, and as the first eVTOL aircraft developer to receive a signed, stage 4 G-1 certification basis to date, we believe our aircraft will be the first of its kind to earn airworthiness certification from the FAA.
We do not intend to sell these aircraft to third parties or individual consumers. Instead, we plan to manufacture, own and operate our aircraft, building a vertically integrated transportation company that will deliver a convenient app-based aerial ridesharing service directly to end-users, with a goal to begin commercial passenger service in 2024. We believe this business model will generate the greatest economic returns, while providing us with end-to-end control over the customer experience to optimize for customer safety, comfort and value.
Since our inception in 2009, we have been primarily engaged in research and development of eVTOL aircraft. We have incurred net operating losses and negative cash flows from operations in every year since our inception. As of December 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $476.6 million. We have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of redeemable convertible preferred stock and the proceeds from the merger described below.
The Merger
We entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") on February 23, 2021, with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company ("RTP"). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, on August 10, 2021 (the "Closing Date"), Joby Aero, Inc. ("Legacy Joby") was merged with and into a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTP (the "Merger"). Legacy Joby survived as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTP, which was renamed Joby Aviation, Inc. ("Joby Aviation"). The number of Legacy Joby common shares and redeemable convertible preferred shares for all periods prior to the Closing Date have been retrospectively adjusted using the exchange ratio that was established in accordance with the Merger Agreement.
The Merger is accounted for as a reverse capitalization in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Under this method of accounting, RTP is treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the financial statements of Joby Aviation represent a continuation of the financial statements of Legacy Joby, with the Merger being treated as the equivalent of Joby Aviation issuing stock for the net assets of RTP, accompanied by a recapitalization. Legacy Joby operations prior to the Merger are presented as those of Joby Aviation. The Merger, which raised $1,067.9 million, has significantly impacted our capital structure and operating results, supporting our product development, manufacturing and commercialization.
As a result of becoming an SEC-registered and NYSE-listed company, we have and will continue to hire additional personnel and implement procedures and processes to address public company regulatory requirements and customary practices. We expect to incur additional annual expenses as a public company for, among other things, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, director fees, and additional internal and external accounting, legal and administrative resources.
All shares and per share amounts of Legacy Joby for all presented periods have been retrospectively adjusted using the exchange ratio that was established in accordance with the Merger Agreement (the “Exchange Ratio”).
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Key Factors Affecting Operating Results
See the section entitled “Risk Factors” for a further discussion of these considerations.
Development of the UAM market
Our revenue will be directly tied to the continued development of short distance aerial transportation. While we believe the market for UAM will be large, it remains undeveloped and there is no guarantee of future demand. We anticipate commercialization of our service beginning in 2024, and our business will require significant investment leading up to launching passenger services, including, but not limited to, final engineering designs, prototyping and testing, manufacturing, software development, certification, pilot training, infrastructure and commercialization.
We believe one of the primary drivers for adoption of our aerial ridesharing service is the value proposition and time savings offered by aerial mobility relative to traditional ground-based transportation. Additional factors impacting the pace of adoption of our aerial ridesharing service include but are not limited to: perceptions about eVTOL quality, safety, performance and cost; perceptions about the limited range over which eVTOL may be flown on a single battery charge; volatility in the cost of oil and gasoline; availability of competing forms of transportation, such as ground or air taxi or ride-hailing services; the development of adequate infrastructure; consumers’ perception about the safety, convenience and cost of transportation using eVTOL relative to ground-based alternatives; and increases in fuel efficiency, autonomy, or electrification of cars. In addition, macroeconomic factors could impact demand for UAM services, particularly if end-user pricing is at a premium to ground-based transportation alternatives or more permanent work-from-home behaviors persist following the COVID pandemic. We anticipate initial operations in selected high-density metropolitan areas where traffic congestion is particularly acute and operating conditions are suitable for early eVTOL operations. If the market for UAM does not develop as expected, this would impact our ability to generate revenue or grow our business.
Competition
We believe that the primary sources of competition for our service are ground-based mobility solutions, other eVTOL developers/operators and local/regional incumbent aircraft charter services. While we expect to be first to market with an eVTOL facilitated aerial ridesharing service, we expect this industry to be dynamic and increasingly competitive; it is possible that our competitors could get to market before us, either generally or in specific markets. Even if we are first to market, we may not fully realize the benefits we anticipate, and we may not receive any competitive advantage or may be overtaken by other competitors. If new or existing aerospace companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we intend to operate and obtain large-scale capital investment, we may face increased competition. Additionally, our competitors may benefit from our efforts in developing consumer and community acceptance for eVTOL aircraft and aerial ridesharing, making it easier for them to obtain the permits and authorizations required to operate an aerial ridesharing service in the markets in which we intend to launch or in other markets. In the event we do not capture the first mover advantage that we anticipate, it may harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects. For a more comprehensive discussion, please see the section entitled “Risk Factors.”
Government Certification
We agreed to a signed, stage 4 “G-1” certification basis for our aircraft with the FAA in 2020. This agreement lays out the specific requirements that need to be met by our aircraft for it to be certified for commercial operations. Reaching this milestone marks a key step on the way towards certifying any new aircraft in the U.S. Our aircraft will be certified in line with the FAA’s existing Part 23 requirements for Normal Category Airplanes, with special conditions introduced to address requirements specific to our unique aircraft. These special conditions, defined in the signed, stage 4 “G-1” document, are expected to be published in the U.S. Federal Register. We will also need to obtain authorizations and certifications related to the production of our aircraft and the deployment of our aerial ridesharing service. While we anticipate being able to meet the requirements of such authorizations and certifications, we may be unable to obtain such authorizations and certifications, or to do so on the timeline we project. Should we fail to obtain any of the required authorizations or certifications, or do so in a timely manner, or any of these authorizations or certifications are modified, suspended or revoked after we obtain them, we may be unable to launch our commercial service or do so on the timelines we project, which would have adverse effects on our business, prospects, financial condition and/or results of operations.
Agility Prime
In December 2020, we became, to the best of our knowledge, the first company to receive airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, and in the first quarter of 2021, we officially began on-base operations under
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contract pursuant to the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program. Our multi-year relationship with the U.S. Air Force and other U.S. Government agencies provides us with a compelling opportunity to more thoroughly understand the operational capabilities and maintenance profiles of our aircraft in advance of commercial launch. In addition to the operational learnings, our existing contracts also provide for more than $40 million of payments through 2024 based upon full performance, and we are actively pursuing additional contracts and relationships that would further secure these on-base operations going forward. Our U.S. government contracting party may modify, curtail or terminate its contracts with us without prior notice and either at its convenience or for default based on performance, or may decline to accept performance or exercise subsequent option years. We may also be unable to secure additional contracts or continue to grow our relationship with the U.S. government and/or Department of Defense.
Impact of COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19, including changes in consumer and business behavior, pandemic fears and market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, has created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. The spread of COVID-19, as well as the emergence of variants, has also created disruptions in the manufacturing, delivery and overall supply chain for manufacturers and suppliers, and has led to a decrease in the need of transportation services around the world.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have modified our business practices (including employee travel, recommending that all non-essential personnel work from home and cancellation or reduction of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences) and implemented additional safety protocols for essential workers. We may take further actions, or modify our COVID-19 related business practices, as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, suppliers, vendors and business partners. While the ultimate duration and extent of the COVID-19 pandemic depends on future developments that cannot be accurately predicted, such as the extent and effectiveness of containment actions, the emergence of variants, and vaccine efficacy and uptake, it has already had an adverse effect on the global economy and the ultimate societal and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ultimate impact on our business, remains unknown.
Fully-Integrated Business Model
Our business model is to serve as a fully-integrated eVTOL transportation service provider. Present projections indicate that payback periods on aircraft will result in a viable business model over the long-term as production volumes scale and unit economics improve to support sufficient market adoption. As with any new industry and business model, numerous risks and uncertainties exist. Our projections are dependent on certifying and delivering aircraft on time and at a cost that will allow us to offer our service at prices that a sufficient numbers of customers will be willing to pay for the time and efficiency savings they receive from utilizing our eVTOL services. Our aircraft include numerous parts and manufacturing processes unique to eVTOL aircraft, in general, and our product design, in particular. We have used our best efforts to estimate costs in our planning projections; however, the variable cost associated with assembling our aircraft at scale remains uncertain at this stage of development. The success of our business also is dependent, in part, on the utilization rate of our aircraft and reductions in utilization will adversely impact our financial performance. Our aircraft may not be able to fly safely in poor weather conditions, including snowstorms, thunderstorms, high winds, lightning, hail, known icing conditions and/or fog. Our inability to operate safely in these conditions will reduce our aircraft utilization and cause delays and disruptions in our services. We intend to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate which is the amount of time our aircraft spend in the air carrying passengers. High daily aircraft utilization is achieved in part by reducing turnaround times at skyports. Aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations from various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, security requirements, air traffic congestion and unscheduled maintenance events.
Components of Results of Operations
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, costs of consulting, equipment and materials, depreciation and amortization and allocations of overhead, including rent, information technology costs and utilities. Research and development expenses are partially offset by payments we received in the form of government grants, including those received under the Agility Prime program.
We expect our research and development expenses to increase as we increase staffing to support aircraft engineering and software development, build aircraft prototypes, and continue to explore and develop next generation aircraft and technologies.
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation, related to executive management, finance, legal, and human resource functions. Other costs include business development, contractor and professional services fees, audit and compliance expenses, insurance costs and general corporate expenses, including allocated depreciation, rent, information technology costs and utilities.
We expect our selling, general and administrative expenses to increase as we hire additional personnel and consultants to support our commercialization efforts and comply with the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and regulations.
Investment in SummerBio, LLC
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our management determined that certain previously developed technology that was accessible to us could be repurposed and applied to providing high-volume, rapid COVID-19 diagnostic testing. To enable the development and deployment of this technology, in May 2020, SummerBio, LLC (“SummerBio”) was established. SummerBio was 100% beneficially owned by us, and a fully consolidated subsidiary until August 24, 2020.
On August 24, 2020 SummerBio raised additional financing through issuing equity instruments to other investors and changed the structure of its board of directors, as a result of which we concluded that on August 24, 2020 we no longer had a controlling interest in SummerBio. We concluded that our retained interest in SummerBio should be accounted for under the equity method. Accordingly, we deconsolidated SummerBio, recognized our remaining investment in SummerBio as an equity investment at a fair value of $5.2 million, derecognized net liabilities of SummerBio of $1.7 million and recognized a gain on deconsolidation of $6.9 million, which is included in other income on the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020. In December 2021, we recorded a $1.0 million reduction to our investment in SummerBio due to increase in SummerBio employees' stock based awards, which diluted Company's equity interest in SummerBio. We recognized our share of earnings of SummerBio, net of dilution reduction, as income from equity method investment on the consolidated statement of operations for the total amount of $29.4 million and $5.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Transaction Expenses Related to Merger
Transaction costs consist of legal, accounting, banking fees and other costs that were directly related to the consummation of the Merger. Transaction costs related to the issuance of common shares were recognized in stockholders’ equity. Transaction costs allocated to the 17,130,000 common shares issued to Reinvent Sponsor, LLC ("Sponsor") subject to certain vesting, lock-up and transfer restrictions ("Earnout Shares") were expensed in the consolidated statements of operations upon the completion of the Merger on August 10, 2021.
Gain From Changes in Fair Value of Warrants and Earnout Shares Liabilities
Publicly-traded warrants (“Public Warrants”), and private placement warrants issued to RTP (“Private Placement Warrants”) and Earnout Shares are recorded as liabilities and subject to remeasurement to fair value at each balance sheet date. We expect to incur an incremental income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations for the fair value adjustments for these outstanding liabilities at the end of each reporting period.
Acquisition of Uber Elevate
On January 11, 2021, we completed the acquisition of a portion of Uber Technologies, Inc.’s (“Uber”) business that was dedicated to development of aerial ridesharing (“Uber Elevate”) in exchange for consideration in the form of 8,924,009 shares of Legacy Joby’s Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock. Concurrently with the acquisition of Uber Elevate, we issued to Uber a convertible note for the total principal amount of $75.0 million. We determined that the convertible note included a premium of approximately $0.5 million, which was attributable to the consideration transferred in this acquisition. Upon closing of the Merger, the unpaid principal amount of $75.0 million plus accrued and unpaid interest in the amount of $2.2 million was converted into 7,716,780 shares of common stock of Joby Aviation. Following the acquisition date, the results of operations of Uber Elevate are fully consolidated in our consolidated statement of operations.
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Other Acquisitions
On April 6, 2021, we completed the acquisition of an entity engaged in the development of transportation technology with application in the aviation sector, whereby we acquired all the outstanding shares of the entity in exchange for a total consideration consisting of (i) $5.0 million in cash, and (ii) 2,677,200 restricted shares of Legacy Joby Series C Preferred Stock with an aggregate acquisition date fair value of $23.9 million (the "first acquisition"). The Legacy Joby Series C Preferred Stock was converted into an equivalent number of shares of Legacy Joby common stock on a one-to-one basis immediately prior to the closing of the Merger.
On December 21, 2021, we completed the acquisition of an entity engaged in the development of radar systems technology with application in the aviation and other sectors, whereby we acquired all the outstanding shares of the entity in exchange for a total consideration consisting of (i) $2.8 million in cash, and (ii) 340,000 restricted stock units with the aggregate acquisition date fair value of $2.4 million (the "second acquisition").
Upon closing of the acquisitions described above, the former shareholders of the acquired entities became employees and/or consultants of various subsidiaries of Joby Aviation. The shares issued upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock and the restricted stock units issued are subject to vesting over a six-year period and are contingent on such holders continuing their employment or consulting relationship. If the former shareholder’s employment or consulting relationship is terminated, all of then unvested shares that were issued as part of the total consideration in connection with the acquisitions described above will be forfeited by such holder (except in certain circumstances, where an employee or consultant is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason, in which case the vesting may be accelerated). Because the vesting is contingent upon the former shareholders’ continued employment or consulting relationship, such shares are considered to be post-combination compensation expense rather than part of the purchase consideration. Therefore, the fair value of the Series C Preferred Stock and restricted stock units of $23.9 million and $2.4 million, respectively, is recognized as a stock-based compensation expense over the six-year vesting term, commencing on the respective acquisition dates.
The first acquisition was accounted for as an asset acquisition because substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired was represented by a group of similar assets. The purchase consideration of $5.0 million was allocated to $5.0 million of the acquired in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) assets, $0.1 million of the acquired current liabilities and $0.1 million of acquired current assets. The Company concluded that acquired IPR&D assets are to be used only in specific programs and have no alternative future use if such programs fail to result in a commercialized product. Therefore, the acquired IPR&D assets were written off immediately after the acquisition date and reflected as part of research and development expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.
The second acquisition was accounted for as a business combination because the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constituted a business. The purchase consideration of $2.8 million was allocated to $1.7 million of the acquired intangible assets, primarily developed technology, $1.2 million of the acquired current assets, primarily cash and account receivables, and $0.1 million of the acquired current liabilities.
In-Q-Tel Stock Warrant
On March 19, 2021 we entered into a government grant contract with In-Q-Tel, an independent nonprofit corporation that partners with U.S. intelligence and national security community. Under this agreement, we receive payments from In-Q-Tel for reports on our aircraft's development progress and future services offering. Upon submission of certain specified deliverables, we will receive a total of $1.0 million from In-Q-Tel.
In connection with entering into the government grant contract with In-Q-Tel, Legacy Joby issued the In-Q-Tel Warrant for 68,649 shares of our Legacy Joby Series C redeemable convertible preferred shares with an issuance date fair value of $0.6 million and recognized a respective deferred cost. The deferred cost will be amortized to research and development expenses as we earn the $1.0 million in government grants from In-Q-Tel. In connection with the Merger, the In-Q-Tel Warrant was automatically exercised, on a cashless basis, for Legacy Joby’s Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock, and the Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock was converted into shares of common stock.
Interest and Other Income
Interest income consists primarily of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
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Interest Expense
Interest expense consists primarily of the interest on our convertible notes, equipment finance leases and tenant improvement loans. Interest on convertible notes relates to Legacy Joby Series C redeemable convertible preferred notes issued to Uber in January 2021. Upon closing of the Merger, the unpaid principal amount of $75.0 million plus accrued and unpaid interest in the amount of $2.2 million was converted into 7,716,780 shares of common stock of Joby Aviation.
Loss on extinguishment of convertible notes
Upon closing of the Merger, the Legacy Joby Series C redeemable convertible preferred notes issued to Uber converted into 7,716,780 shares of common stock of Joby Aviation and we recognized a loss on extinguishment of convertible notes at the date of the conversion.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our provision for income taxes consists of an estimate of federal, state, and foreign income taxes based on enacted federal, state, and foreign tax rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in tax law. Due to the level of historical losses, we maintain a valuation allowance against U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets as it has been concluded it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will not be realized.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2021 to the Year Ended December 31, 2020
The following table summarizes our historical results of operations for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ($) | (%) | |||||||||||||
| Operating expenses | ||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 197,568 | $ | 108,741 | 88,827 | 82 | % | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 61,521 | 23,495 | 38,026 | 162 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 259,089 | 132,236 | 126,853 | 96 | % | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (259,089 | ) | (132,236 | ) | (126,853 | ) | 96 | % | ||||||||
| Interest and other income, net | 1,148 | 5,649 | (4,501 | ) | (80 | )% | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | (2,426 | ) | (249 | ) | (2,177 | ) | 874 | % | ||||||||
| Income from equity method investment | 29,405 | 5,799 | 23,606 | 407 | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiary | — | 6,904 | (6,904 | ) | (100 | )% | ||||||||||
| Transaction expenses related to merger | (9,087 | ) | — | (9,087 | ) | (100 | )% | |||||||||
| Gain from change in fair value of warrants and earnout shares | 49,853 | — | 49,853 | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Convertible notes extinguishment loss | (665 | ) | — | (665 | ) | (100 | )% | |||||||||
| Total other income, net | 68,228 | 18,103 | 50,125 | 277 | % | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (190,861 | ) | (114,133 | ) | (76,728 | ) | 67 | % | ||||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | (10,537 | ) | 31 | n.m. | n.m. | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (180,324 | ) | $ | (114,164 | ) | (66,160 | ) | 58 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| * | n.m. marks changes that are not meaningful. |
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased by $88.8 million, or 82%, to 197.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 from $108.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily attributable to increases in personnel to support aircraft engineering, software development, manufacturing process development, and certification, as well as increased materials used in prototype development and testing. These increases were partially offset by government research and development grants earned through increased operations as part of our Department of Defense contracts.
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Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $38.0 million, or 162%, to $61.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 from $23.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily attributable to increased headcount to support operations growth, including IT, legal, facilities, HR, and finance, as well as an increase in insurance cost and professional services cost related to legal, accounting and recruiting support.
Total Other Income, Net
Total other income, net increased by $50.1 million, or 277%, to $68.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 from $18.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by a $49.9 million gain from changes in fair value of the Earnout Shares, Public Warrants, and Private Placement Warrants and a $23.6 million increase in equity method investment income from SummerBio, partially offset by $9.1 million of transaction expenses related to the Merger incurred in the year ended December 31, 2021, a $4.5 million decrease related to lower interest rates in the year ended December 31, 2021, a $2.2 million increase in interest expense and a $0.7 million extinguishment loss related to Uber convertible note issued in January 2021 and converted in August 2021.
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)
Income tax benefit of $10.5 million, recorded during the year ended December 31, 2021, is primarily due to the release of deferred tax asset valuation allowance, as the deferred tax liability related to the Uber contractual agreement asset provided the Company with a source of future taxable income.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have incurred net losses and negative operating cash flows from operations since inception, and we expect to continue to incur losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future until we successfully commence sustainable commercial operations. To date, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the Merger and issuance of redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible notes. From inception through December 31, 2021, we raised net proceeds of $1,067.9 million from the Merger and $843.3 million from the issuances of Legacy Joby's redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible notes. As of December 31, 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $956.3 million and short-term investment in marketable securities of $343.2 million. Restricted cash, totaling $0.8 million, reflects a security deposit on leased facilities. We believe that our cash on hand will satisfy our working capital and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We expect our cash and cash equivalents on hand together with the cash we anticipate to generate from future operations will provide sufficient funding to support us through to initial commercialization. Until we generate sufficient operating cash flow to fully cover our operating expenses, working capital needs and planned capital expenditures, or if circumstances evolve differently than anticipated, we expect to utilize a combination of equity and debt financing to fund any future remaining capital needs. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, dilution to stockholders may result. Any equity securities issued may also provide for rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of holders of common stock. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities would have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of preferred and common stockholders. The terms of debt securities or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations. The capital markets have in the past, and may in the future, experience periods of upheaval that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing.
Our principal uses of cash in recent periods were to fund our research and development activities, personnel cost and support services. Near-term cash requirements will also include spending on manufacturing facilities, ramping up production and supporting production certification, scaled manufacturing operations for commercialization, infrastructure and skyport development, pilot training facilities, software development and production of aircraft. We do not have material cash requirements related to current contractual obligations. As such, our cash requirements are highly dependent upon management’s decisions about the pace and focus of both our short and long-term spending.
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Cash requirements can fluctuate based on business decisions that could accelerate or defer spending, including the timing or pace of investments, infrastructure and production of aircraft. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our revenue growth rate, the timing and the amount of cash received from our customers, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, and the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts. In the future, we may enter into arrangements to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, and technologies, which could require us to seek additional equity or debt financing. In the event that we require additional financing we may not be able to raise such financing on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to continue our research and development and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If adequate funds are not available, we may need to reconsider our investments in production operations, the pace of our production ramp-up, infrastructure investments in skyports, expansion plans or limit our research and development activities, which could have a material adverse impact on our business prospects and results of operations.
Cash Flows
The following tables set forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ($) | (%) | |||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by: | ||||||||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | (195,749 | ) | $ | (105,900 | ) | (89,849 | ) | 85 | % | ||||||
| Investing activities | (18,736 | ) | (393,159 | ) | 374,423 | (95 | )% | |||||||||
| Financing activities | 1,092,780 | 69,220 | 1,023,560 | 1479 | % | |||||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | 878,295 | $ | (429,839 | ) | $ | 1,308,134 | (304 | )% |
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $195.7 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $180.3 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes $26.9 million in stock-based compensation expense, $15.9 million in depreciation and amortization expense, $9.1 million for allocated merger transaction costs, a $5.0 million write-off of acquired in-process research and development assets, $5.0 million in other noncash compensation expense, $4.3 million net accretion and amortization of our investments in marketable securities, $2.2 million in non-cash interest expense and a net decrease in our net working capital of $5.1 million, reflecting primarily increased prepaid expenses for D&O insurance, partially offset by a $49.9 million gain from change in the fair value of warrants and earnout shares, $29.4 million in income from equity method investment and a $10.5 million income tax benefit.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $105.9 million, consisting primarily of a net loss of $114.2 million, adjusted for non-cash items and statement of operations impact from investing and financing activities which includes a $7.4 million depreciation and amortization expense, $7.2 million in stock-based compensation expense, $1.2 million net accretion and amortization of our investments in marketable securities and a decrease in our net working capital of $5.2 million, primarily related to deconsolidation of SummerBio, and partially offset by $5.8 million in income from equity method investment and a $6.9 million gain on deconsolidation of SummerBio.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to purchases of marketable securities of $401.6 million, purchases of property and equipment of $32.3 million and acquisition of assets of $6.9 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales of marketable securities of $52.4 million and proceeds from maturities of marketable securities of $369.6 million.
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020, was primarily due to $23.3 million purchases of property and equipment to support research and development activities and $620.8 million purchases of marketable securities, partially offset by proceeds from maturities of marketable securities of $251.3 million.
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Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to proceeds from the Merger of $1,067.9 million and issuance of a convertible note to Uber for a net amount of $75.0 million, $1.5 million from exercise of stock options and stock purchase rights and issuance common stock warrants, partially offset by payments for deferred offering costs of $50.4 million, $0.9 million of repayments for capital lease obligations and repayment of tenant improvement loan of $0.2 million.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to proceeds from the issuance of Series C redeemable convertible preferred shares for a net amount of $69.9 million, partially offset by repayment of a capital lease obligation of $0.6 million.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions for the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosures. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and any such differences may be material.
While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe the following accounting policies and estimates to be critical to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure and record the expense related to stock-based payment awards based on the fair value of those awards as determined on the date of grant. When the observable market price or volatility we use to determine grant date fair value does not reflect certain material non-public information known to the Company but unavailable to marketplace participants at the time the market price is observed, we determine whether an adjustment to the observable market price is required. We recognize stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period of the individual grant, generally equal to the vesting period and use the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation, and account for forfeitures as they occur. We selected the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model as the method for determining the estimated fair value for stock options. The Black-Scholes model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions, which determine the fair value of share-based awards, including the option’s expected term, expected volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate and expected dividend yield.
Expected volatility - Prior to the Merger, since we were not a publicly traded company, the expected volatility for our stock options was determined by using an average of historical volatilities of selected industry peers deemed to be comparable to our business corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Risk-free interest rate - The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for zero-coupon U.S. Treasury notes with maturities corresponding to the expected term of the awards.
Expected dividend yield - The expected dividend rate is zero as we currently have no history or expectation of declaring dividends on our common stock.
Expected term - The expected term represents the period these stock awards are expected to remain outstanding and is based on historical experience of similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms of the stock-based awards, vesting schedules, and expectations of future employee behavior.
Fair Value of Common Stock
Prior to the Merger on August 10, 2021, the fair value of our common stock was determined by the board of directors with assistance from management and, in part, on input from an independent third-party valuation firm. We believe that our board of directors has the relevant experience and expertise to determine the fair value of our common stock prior to the Merger.
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Given the absence of a public trading market of our common stock, prior to the Merger, and in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation (“Practice Aid”), our board of directors exercised reasonable judgment and considered numerous objective and subjective factors to determine the best estimate of the fair value of our common stock at each grant date. These factors include:
•
contemporaneous valuations of our common stock performed by independent third-party specialists;
•
the prices, rights, preferences, and privileges of our convertible preferred stock relative to those of our common stock;
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the prices paid for common or convertible preferred stock sold to third-party investors by us and prices paid in secondary transactions for shares repurchased by us in arm’s-length transactions, including any tender offers, if any;
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the lack of marketability inherent in our common stock;
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our actual operating and financial performance;
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our current business conditions and projections;
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the hiring of key personnel and the experience of our management;
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the history of the Company and the introduction of new products;
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our stage of development;
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the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering (IPO), a merger, or acquisition of our company given prevailing market conditions;
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the operational and financial performance of comparable publicly traded companies; and
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the U.S. and global capital market conditions and overall economic conditions.
In valuing Legacy Joby common stock, the fair value of our business was determined using various valuation methods, including combinations of income, market and cost approaches with input from management. The income approach estimates value based on the expectation of future cash flows that a company will generate. These future cash flows are discounted to their present values using a discount rate that is derived from an analysis of the cost of capital of comparable publicly traded companies in our industry or similar business operations as of each valuation date and is adjusted to reflect the risks inherent in our cash flows. The market approach estimates value based on a comparison of the subject company to comparable public companies in a similar line of business. From the comparable companies, a representative market value multiple is determined and then applied to the subject company’s financial forecasts to estimate the value of the subject company.
The Practice Aid identifies various available methods for allocating enterprise value across classes and series of capital stock to determine the estimated fair value of common stock at each valuation date. Based on our early stage of development and other relevant factors, we determined that the Option Pricing Method (“OPM”) was the most appropriate method for allocating our enterprise value to determine the estimated fair value of Legacy Joby common stock. OPM uses option theory to value the various classes of a company’s securities in light of their respective claims to the enterprise value. Total stockholders’ equity value is allocated to the various share classes based upon their respective claims on a series of call options with strike prices at various value levels depending upon the rights and preferences of each class. A Black-Scholes closed form option pricing model is typically employed in this analysis, with an option term assumption that is consistent with Management’s expected time to a liquidity event and a volatility assumption based on the estimated stock price volatility of a peer group of comparable public companies over a similar term.
In determining the estimated fair value of Legacy Joby common stock, our board of directors also considered the fact that our stockholders could not freely trade Legacy Joby common stock in the public markets. Accordingly, we applied discounts to reflect the lack of marketability of Legacy Joby common stock based on the weighted-average expected time to liquidity. The estimated fair value of Legacy Joby common stock at each grant date reflected a non-marketability discount partially based on the anticipated likelihood and timing of a future liquidity event.
Application of these approaches and methodologies involves the use of estimates, judgments and assumptions that are highly complex and subjective, such as those regarding our expected future revenue, expenses and future cash flows, discount rates, market multiples, the selection of comparable public companies and the probability of and timing associated with possible future events. Changes in any or all of these estimates and assumptions or the relationships between those assumptions
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impact our valuations as of each valuation date and may have a material impact on the valuation of Legacy Joby common stock. Following the Merger, it is not necessary to determine the fair value of Joby Aviation common stock as the shares are traded in a public market.
Changes in the Estimated Fair Value of Legacy Joby Common Stock During the Periods Presented
Below we present a discussion regarding material differences between the valuations used to determine the pre-Merger fair value of our common stock relative to the fair value implied by the Merger.
Valuation History - In April 2020 and September 2020, Legacy Joby common stock value was determined to be $2.92 per share and $4.86 per share, respectively.
In 2020, the Legacy Joby common stock price increased mainly due to gradual improvements we made in research and development. In 2020, we entered into a strategic partnership with Toyota, whose partnership brings scaled manufacturing experience and quality to our operations. Further in 2020, to our knowledge, we became the first company to agree to a G-1 certification basis for aircraft with the FAA. In addition, we received the U.S. Air Force’s first military airworthiness approval for an eVTOL passenger aircraft.
In December 2020, we started to investigate entering into a transaction with a SPAC. From December 2020 through January 2021, there were initial SPAC meetings, and a non-binding LOI was executed on January 22, 2021. The LOI set forth the basic terms of a potential transaction between Legacy Joby and RTP, contemplating a pre-money equity value of $5,000.0 million for Legacy Joby as well as a PIPE Investment of between $310 million and $510 million in the aggregate, subject to finalization of due diligence, negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, and obtaining sufficient commitments from PIPE Investors.
On January 11 2021, in connection with the acquisition of Uber Elevate, we performed a 409A valuation of Legacy Joby common stock, which was determined to be $8.23 per share.
On February 23, 2021, we performed a 409A valuation of Legacy Joby common stock, which was determined to be $8.60 per share. Subsequently, on June 14, 2021 we performed a 409A valuation of Legacy Joby common stock, which was determined to be $8.97 per share.
Below is the summary of 409A valuation reports received during 2020 and 2021.
| 409A Valuation Date | Common Stock Fair Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/23/2019 (1) | $ | 2.28 | |
| 4/20/2020 (2) | $ | 2.92 | |
| 9/30/2020 (2) | $ | 4.86 | |
| 1/11/2021 (3) | $ | 8.23 | |
| 2/23/2021 (4) | $ | 8.60 | |
| 6/14/2021 (5) | $ | 8.97 |
(1) For the December 2019 409A valuation, we applied a market-based valuation approach to determine the common stock fair value. To arrive at the fair value of common stock, Legacy Joby assigned 100% weighting to OPM.
(2) For the April 2020 and September 2020 409A valuations, we applied valuation methods that relied on a continuing operations scenario approach, whereby during the periods discussed above, the time to liquidity was approximately two to two and a half years, as adjusted as appropriate depending on the valuation date.
(3) With the signing of the LOI with RTP on January 22, 2021, we adjusted our valuation assumptions in the January 11, 2021 409A valuation report. Specifically, beginning with the January 11, 2021 409A valuation, we utilized a combination approach relying on (1) a continued operations scenario and (2) a transaction scenario, which we described as the hybrid method (the “Hybrid Method”). The Hybrid Method is appropriate for a company expecting a near term liquidity event, but where, due to market or other factors, the likelihood of completing the liquidity event is uncertain. The Hybrid Method is also appropriate when various possible future outcomes are assumed by management. The Hybrid Method considers a company’s going concern nature, stage of development and the Company’s ability to forecast near and long-term future liquidity
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scenarios. The Hybrid Method was deemed the most appropriate due to the execution of the LOI. The outcomes of each scenario are assigned a probability, and a future equity value under each outcome is then estimated.
A discussion of the two scenarios used in the Hybrid Method as of January 11, 2021 is as follows:
Continuing Operations Scenario:
Under the continuing operations scenario (the “Continuing Operations Scenario”), we utilized an income approach to estimate the enterprise value of Legacy Joby and the option pricing model to allocate the resulting enterprise value to the various classes of securities of Legacy Joby, resulting in a per share value of $7.83 per common share, prior to a discount for the lack of marketability (“DLOM”) being applied. The OPM assumptions included a time to liquidity event of two years and a volatility of 71.2%. The term considers the need for additional capital in this scenario. A DLOM of 22.5% was applied based on various put option models assuming a term of two years and a common stock volatility of 78.7% resulting in a per common share value of $6.07 at January 11, 2021 under the Continuing Operations Scenario.
Transaction Scenario:
Under the transaction scenario (the “Transaction Scenario”), we assumed a pre-money equity value of $5,000.0 million, which resulted in a per share value of $9.79 per common share, prior to a discount for the lack of marketability being applied. A DLOM of 8.5% was applied based on various put option models assuming a term of four months and overall company volatility of 66.1% as well as a present value factor of 10.5% based on the same term, resulting in a per common share value of $8.96 at January 2021 under the Transaction Scenario.
The application of the Hybrid Method resulted in a per common share value of $8.23 at January 11, 2021. Such value was derived based on a weighted average value assigned to the Continuing Operations Scenario at $6.07 (25%) and Transaction Scenario at $8.96 (75%). The weightings reflected the uncertainty regarding the potential transaction between us and RTP, taking into account the non-binding nature of the LOI and the preliminary stage of the due diligence and PIPE Investment processes. We entered into the Merger Agreement with RTP on February 23, 2021, at which point we believed the likelihood of the consummation of the Merger increased significantly.
(4) In performing the February 23, 2021 409A valuation, we utilized the same methodology and approach as for the January 11, 2021 409A valuation, with the exception of the following updates to the assumptions and inputs:
Continuing Operations Scenario:
We utilized an income approach to estimate the enterprise value of Legacy Joby and the option pricing model to allocate the resulting enterprise value to the various classes of securities of Legacy Joby, resulting in a per share value of $7.99 per common share, prior to a discount for the lack of marketability (“DLOM”) being applied. The OPM assumptions included a time to liquidity event of 1.85 years and a volatility of 72.6%. The term considers the need for additional capital in this scenario. A DLOM of 22.5% was applied based on various put option models assuming a term of two years and a common stock volatility of 80.1% resulting in a per common share value of $6.17 at February 23, 2021 under the Continuing Operations Scenario.
Transaction Scenario:
We assumed a pre-money equity value of $5,000.0 million, which resulted in a per share value of $9.63 per common share, prior to a discount for the lack of marketability being applied. A DLOM of 8.0% was applied based on various put option models assuming a term of four months and overall company volatility of 58.8% as well as a present value factor of 10.5% based on the same term, resulting in a per common share value of $8.86 at February 23, 2021.
The application of the Hybrid Method resulted in a per common share value of $8.60 at February 23, 2021. Such value was derived based on a weighted average value assigned to the Continuing Operations Scenario at $6.17 (10%) and Transaction Scenario at $8.86 (90%). The weightings reflected the decreased uncertainty regarding the potential transaction between us and RTP as compared to the January 11, 2021 valuation, taking into account the signing of the Merger Agreement with RTP on February 23, 2021, at which point we believed the likelihood of the consummation of the Merger increased significantly.
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(5) In performing the June 14, 2021 409A valuation, we utilized the same methodology and approach as for the February 23, 2021 409A valuations, with the exception of the following updates to the assumptions and inputs:
Continuing Operations Scenario:
We utilized an income approach to estimate the enterprise value of Legacy Joby and the option pricing model to allocate the resulting enterprise value to the various classes of securities of Legacy Joby, resulting in a per share value of $8.40 per common share, prior to a discount for the lack of marketability (“DLOM”) being applied. The OPM assumptions included a time to liquidity event of 1.55 years and a volatility of 76.2%. The term considers the need for additional capital in this scenario. A DLOM of 21.5% was applied based on various put option models assuming a term of 1.55 years and a common stock volatility of 83.5% resulting in a per common share value of $6.60 at June 14, 2021 under the Continuing Operations Scenario.
Transaction Scenario:
We assumed a pre-money equity value of $4,860.0 million, which resulted in a per share value of $9.72 per common share, prior to a discount for the lack of marketability being applied. A DLOM of 5.0% was applied based on various put option models assuming a term of 49 days and overall company volatility of 60.2% as well as a present value factor of 10.5% based on the same term, resulting in a per common share value of $9.24 at June 14, 2021.
The application of the Hybrid Method resulted in a per common share value of $8.97 at June 14, 2021. Such value was derived based on a weighted average value assigned to the Continuing Operations Scenario at $6.60 (10%) and Transaction Scenario at $9.24 (90%). The weightings reflected the decreased uncertainty regarding the potential transaction between us and RTP as compared to the January 11, 2021 valuation, taking into account the signing of the Merger Agreement with RTP on February 23, 2021, at which point we believed the likelihood of the consummation of the Merger increased significantly.
Impact on Measurement of Share-based Payment Awards — We granted approximately 14.3 million options during the year ended December 31, 2020. During the year ended on December 31, 2021, we granted approximately 10.6 million restricted stock units. The following chart reflects the date of the option grant, the number of awards granted, and the fair value of the underlying common stock used to value such awards for accounting purposes. Such options were measured at fair value on the date of grant.
| Date of Option Grant | Number of Options Granted | Number of RSUs granted | Fair Value of common stock | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/10/2020 | 129,644 | — | $ | 2.54 | |||||||
| 4/20/2020 | 6,004,285 | — | $ | 2.92 | |||||||
| 6/23/2020 | 1,035,430 | — | $ | 3.68 | |||||||
| 9/3/2020 | 1,159,716 | — | $ | 4.54 | |||||||
| 11/10/2020 | 3,419,772 | — | $ | 6.20 | |||||||
| 12/18/2020 | 2,542,263 | — | $ | 7.45 | |||||||
| 12/26/2020 | 13,047 | — | $ | 7.71 | |||||||
| 1/19/2021 | — | 3,885,684 | $ | 8.30 | |||||||
| 2/23/2021 | — | 3,330,293 | $ | 8.60 | |||||||
| 4/5/2021 | — | 1,219,553 | $ | 8.73 | |||||||
| 6/14/2021 | — | 2,167,700 | $ | 8.97 |
To evaluate the fair value of the underlying shares for grants taking place on dates between the dates of any two independent valuations, a linear interpolation framework was used to evaluate the fair value of the underlying shares granted between such two valuation dates. We determined that a linear interpolation was appropriate as there were no material changes in our business, research and development activities, cost structure or financial condition in the intervening period. Other than the non-binding LOI, which was not signed between us and RTP until January 22, 2021, there were no material transactions during the intervening period that would impact our valuation.
Accounting for Long-Lived Assets
In accounting for long-lived assets, we make estimates about the expected useful lives, projected residual values, and the potential for impairment. In estimating useful lives and residual values of our property and equipment, we have relied upon actual industry experience with the same or similar property and equipment types and our anticipated utilization of the
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property and equipment. Changing market prices of new and used property and equipment, government regulations, and changes in our maintenance program or operations could result in changes to these estimates.
Our long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment when events and circumstances indicate the assets may be impaired. Indicators include operating or cash flow losses, significant decreases in market value, or changes in technology.
To determine if impairment exists for our property and equipment used in operations, we group our property and equipment by type (the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows) and then estimate their future cash flows based on projections of capacity, asset age, maintenance requirements, and other relevant conditions. An impairment occurs when the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are less than the aggregate carrying value of the assets. The impairment loss recognized is the amount by which the assets' carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value. We estimate our property and equipment's fair value using third party valuations which consider the effects of the current market environment, age of the assets, and marketability.
We have not identified any events and circumstances that would indicate that our long-lived assets may be impaired. Accordingly, we have not recorded any impairment charge our existing property and equipment during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on From 10-K for more information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that either have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future effect on the Company's financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors, as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
Emerging Growth Company Accounting Election
Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a registration statement declared effective under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or do not have a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the "Exchange Act")) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. RTP was an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act and had elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We plan to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public business entities and non-public business entities until the earlier of the date we (a) are no longer an emerging growth company and (b) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. This may make it difficult or impossible to compare our financial results with the financial results of another public company that is either not an emerging growth company or is an emerging growth company that has chosen not to take advantage of the extended transition period exemptions because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
In addition, we intend to rely on the other exemptions and reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an emerging growth company, we intend to rely on such exemptions, we are not required to, among other things: (a) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (b) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (c) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the consolidated financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (d) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation to median employee compensation.
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We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common equity that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the prior fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.