It’s earnings season, and hundreds of companies are slated to report results over the next few weeks. One such company investors are increasingly paying close attention to is electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) firm Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY). Shares of JOBY stock are trading flat today ahead of its upcoming first-quarter earnings report, but that’s potentially due to a number of key factors that the market is pricing in.
Joby is set to report its Q1 results on May 7, which should give investors a glimpse into the company’s growth plans. Notably, Joby has worked to accelerate its commercialization timeline, with reiterated deadlines on when it expects air taxi services to be offered in key markets like Dubai (set for 2025). The hope is to get regulators in the U.S. and other key jurisdictions on board. But assuming everything goes according to plan, there could be a lot of potential growth on the horizon.
With respect to this upcoming report, let’s dive into where the analysts are pegging their estimates — and where JOBY stock could be headed on a beat or a miss.
JOBY Stock Holds Steady Ahead of Upcoming Earnings Report
We’re still a couple weeks away from this upcoming earnings report, but there are plenty of key catalysts the market may be pricing into JOBY stock.
With roughly a year to commercialization in Dubai, investors may be looking for signs that now is a good time to put their speculative capital to work in this name. The company has noted that Dubai is likely to be the company’s first operational market, noting that this jurisdiction is “a bit more advanced in the approach that they’re taking.” The goal is to reach commercial services as soon as late 2025, if initial operations and test flights go as well as Joby expects.
That sort of accelerated timeline is what investors want to see, in terms of earnings forecasts being pulled forward. Currently, there are four analysts covering this stock, with Joby expected to post a 17 cent per share loss during Q1, in line with last quarter and down materially from previous quarters. Thus, this is a company that’s efficiently moving toward commercialization — and could get a boost from the market if additional news about its Dubai rollout is released.
Personally, I think JOBY stock looks like an interesting speculative bet in this current backdrop. The stock is well off its recent peak and could have plenty of room to run if it gains a first-mover advantage in key markets. We’ll have to see how viable these flying cars/air taxis actually turn out to be. But that’s the kind of uncertainty that creates big opportunities for early investors, and why I think this stock could be volatile in the coming months.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
