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Joby Air Taxi At Farnborough Airshow
(Richard Baker/Getty Images)
Takin’ off

Air taxi maker Joby Aviation spikes 27% following a $250 million Toyota investment

Max Knoblauch

Electric air taxi company Joby Aviation is getting some wind beneath its carbon fiber propellers following an announcement that it received a $250 million investment from Toyota.

The money is half of a larger sum Toyota said it would pour into Joby last October. Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, also invested about $400 million in Joby in 2020. Joby shares shot up 27% in midday trading.

Companies specializing in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have struck some significant deals lately. In April, Archer Aviation, which was recently selected as the Official Air Taxi Provider of the LA Olympics in 2028, said it’s partnering with United Airlines to create an NYC airport shuttle service.

Joby in March said it would partner with Virgin Atlantic to launch its air taxi service in the UK, adding to its exclusive deal with Delta Air Lines.

While air taxi companies are partnering with airlines for shuttle service, they’ve been partnering with automakers for manufacturing. Like Toyota’s production partnership with Joby, Archer has received multimillion-dollar investments from Jeep maker Stellantis. Meanwhile, Hyundai has its own eVTOL startup called Supernal. Plane manufacturers Boeing and Airbus are similarly developing their own electric air taxis.

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eBay stock slumps on gloomy Q4 outlook despite solid Q3 earnings

Shares of eBay fell as much as 10.5% in premarket trading on Thursday morning after the company gave a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the important holiday shopping season.

The e-commerce giant reported solid numbers for the third quarter on Wednesday, with revenue up 9% as reported to $2.8 billion and gross merchandise volume rising 10% to $20.1 billion, topping the average analyst forecast of $19.4 billion, per Bloomberg.

However, concerns about the future somewhat overshadowed these results.

eBay outlined its profit outlook for the period ending in December to $1.31 to $1.36 a share, with revenue at $2.83 billion to $2.89 billion. According to Bloomberg-compiled data, this broadly matches Wall Street’s estimates for the top line, but misses on the bottom line, with analysts forecasting EPS to come in at $1.39 — suggesting the company expects some further margin pressure.

The company has been facing macroeconomic challenges since the US ended the de minimis tariff exemption in late August, with the online marketplace reliant on shipments. One small silver lining? CFO Peggy Alford highlighted a “less durable trend” on a post-earnings call: that as commodity prices for precious metals boomed, demand for bullion and collectible coins on eBay spiked.

However, concerns about the future somewhat overshadowed these results.

eBay outlined its profit outlook for the period ending in December to $1.31 to $1.36 a share, with revenue at $2.83 billion to $2.89 billion. According to Bloomberg-compiled data, this broadly matches Wall Street’s estimates for the top line, but misses on the bottom line, with analysts forecasting EPS to come in at $1.39 — suggesting the company expects some further margin pressure.

The company has been facing macroeconomic challenges since the US ended the de minimis tariff exemption in late August, with the online marketplace reliant on shipments. One small silver lining? CFO Peggy Alford highlighted a “less durable trend” on a post-earnings call: that as commodity prices for precious metals boomed, demand for bullion and collectible coins on eBay spiked.

A screenshot from Hims & Hers' website. (Sherwood News)

Hims to begin selling GLP-1 microdosing treatments

The company reports earnings results next Monday.

Premium seats help push airlines higher following third-quarter results

Shares of American Airlines are climbing toward the carrier’s best trading day since August 12, when ultra-budget rival Spirit issued its initial warning about its ability to survive. American’s shares are up more than 7% on Friday afternoon.

Investors’ optimism comes a day after American posted a better-than-expected full-year earnings forecast. In a call with investors, American said that it’s ramping up its premium cabin offerings.

“Our ability to grow capacity in premium markets will be further supported as we take delivery of new aircraft and reconfigure our existing fleet. These efforts will allow us to grow our premium seats at nearly two times the rate of main cabin seats,” CEO Robert Isom said. American CFO Devin May said that nose-to-tail retrofits of certain wide-body jets will bump the number of premium seats available on those planes by 25%.

Extra legroom has been a boon for major carriers, particularly this quarter. Delta Air Lines said its premium product revenue grew 9% in Q3, compared to a 4% drop in economy seat revenue. Similarly, United Airlines said its premium revenue grew 6%, outpacing economy. Shares of both airlines were up more than 3% on Friday.

Carriers with less exposure to first- and business-class tickets like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue didn’t see the same amount of momentum on the day.

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