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Archer Aviation posts Q2 loss, but builds up its cash pile

Air taxi and military aircraft builder Archer Aviation reported a worse-than-expected loss in the second quarter, though its cash pile climbed.

Archer posted a loss of $0.36 per share, worse than the $0.25 loss expected by analysts polled by FactSet. The company reported adjusted operating expenses totaling $123.5 million versus estimates of $113.8 million.

The stock was down 1.4% after-hours.

For the third quarter, Archer said it expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to be a loss in the range of $110 million to $130 million, compared with analysts’ forecast for a loss of $110 million.

Archer, which is the official air taxi partner of the 2028 LA Olympics, has been heavily focused on the defense sector as of late, with CEO Adam Goldstein telling Sherwood News last month that he expects its military aircraft business to be larger than commercial air taxi operations for at least the next 10 years. The company signed an AI deal with Palantir in March.

Cash is vital for Archer, which is still largely without revenue as it seeks FAA certification. The company ended its second quarter with $1.72 billion in cash (and equivalents), nearly 5x its total from the same period last year ($360.4 million) and up 67% from its first-quarter figure. Its air-taxi-meets-defense-contractor rival Joby Aviation ended the quarter with a cash pile of $991 million.

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Retail traders are “skipping the dip” this time

Here’s one noteworthy feature of the recent market downturn that has the S&P 500 poised for its worst week since reciprocal tariffs were announced in early April: retail traders seemingly aren’t eager to buy the weakness in single stocks the way they used to be.

JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain has flagged that retail traders instead appear to be “skipping the dip.”

“In contrast to the behavior observed during the post-Liberation Day selloff, retail investors did not seize the opportunity to buy-the-dip on Tuesday, with a few exceptions such as META,” he wrote of the day where the benchmark US stock index fell 1.2%. “In fact, they scaled back their ETF purchases and turned net sellers in single stocks.”

Then on Thursday, when the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, Jain projected that retail traders sold $261 million in single stocks. Through noon ET on Friday, his daily outflow estimate stands at $851 million.

With that intel, it’s little wonder why the carnage this week has been particularly intense in more speculative single stocks that had been favored by the retail community, including IREN, IonQ, Rigetti, Cipher Mining, Bloom Energy, and Oklo.

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Archer Aviation plunges on $650 million share sale following its third-quarter results

Air taxi maker Archer Aviation is deep in the red on Friday morning after reporting its third-quarter results after the bell Thursday. The stock is down more than 12%.

Investors don’t appear to be thrilled about the company’s $650 million direct stock offering, announced alongside its results.

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

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