Joby stock slides after $500M share sale, as some investors question timing 

Joby Aviation’s stock price fell sharply in its first week of trading since the company offered $500 million in new shares, its biggest fundraising effort since going public in 2021. The sale, announced on October 7, 2025, and priced the following day, is intended to help fund Joby’s push to certify and build its all-electric air taxi.

The Santa Cruz, California company announced on October 7 that it would sell $500 million in new stock, with the option to issue another $75 million if demand was strong. The shares were sold directly by Joby to raise fresh capital, not by existing investors, and it is a secondary offering rather than an initial public offering.

The new shares were priced at $16.85 each, about 11 percent below the previous day’s closing price. The lower price helped attract buyers but quickly weighed on the stock. Joby shares fell more than 11 percent in the days after the sale, giving back much of the gains from a recent price rally. Morgan Stanley acted as sole bookrunner for the offering, according to a Reuters report. In a statement, Joby said proceeds from the sale would be used to fund its aircraft certification program, expand manufacturing capacity, and prepare for the launch of commercial passenger operations. The company said the funds will also help cover day-to-day expenses as it ramps up manufacturing and prepares to launch its all-electric air taxi service.

Joby went public in August 2021 through a merger with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special-purpose acquisition company co-founded by LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman and Zynga’s Mark Pincus. That transaction valued Joby at around $6.6 billion and listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol JOBY. The 2025 sale marks the company’s first major capital raise since that debut. 

While Joby remains one of the most prominent players in the emerging urban air mobility sector, investors have grown cautious as development costs mount and regulatory approval remains pending. Analysts say the discounted offering highlights both the company’s need for additional funding and the market’s limited appetite for speculative, pre-revenue aviation ventures. 

Before the new share sale, Joby’s stock had surged more than 130% in 2025 amid optimism surrounding progress toward FAA certification and early production milestones. But the sudden capital raise appears to have caught many investors off guard. The dilution from millions of new shares, coupled with the discounted price, contributed to the sharp price pullback. 

Joby emphasized that the funding is intended to accelerate its path to market readiness. The company has begun producing aircraft at its Marina, California facility and recently received FAA approval for key test programs. It is targeting the start of limited commercial air taxi operations in the United States in 2026, subject to regulatory clearance. 

Toyota Motor Corporation remains Joby’s largest outside shareholder, holding roughly 15 percent of outstanding shares, alongside institutional investors including Baillie Gifford and Capricorn Investment Group. Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt also retains a significant personal stake. 

Despite the selloff, Joby executives say the offering strengthens the company’s balance sheet at a critical stage in development. “This capital raise supports our mission to bring quiet, sustainable air taxis to market,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. The post Joby stock slides after $500M share sale, as some investors question timing  appeared first on AeroTime.

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