Joby Aviation’s first production-model aircraft has been performing short circuits for months somewhere outside Marina, California, on a dry strip of runway that was once part of an old army base. Engineers enter and exit the hangar with laptops, coffee, or occasionally both. The aircraft itself appears to be almost too quiet to be real; instead of making the thumping sound you associate with a helicopter, it makes a soft whoosh. That particular detail is more important than it seems. The idea that people will genuinely allow these things to fly over their neighborhoods is the foundation of this industry’s entire pitch.
For anyone looking to purchase eVTOL stocks in 2026, Joby is the obvious place to start. FAA test pilots are anticipated to fly the aircraft this year, and it is the only company to complete Stage 4 of the FAA’s five-stage certification process. Toyota has invested about $894 million in the business, which is a vote of confidence that is difficult to retract. Observing the Dubai launch with four vertiports and Uber-app reservations gives the impression that Joby is no longer acting. It’s working. The question that no one wants to publicly address is whether the share count, which has now surpassed 900 million from 604 million at the IPO, will eventually catch up with believers.
A different strategy is used by Archer Aviation. Archer wants to build the planes and let someone else handle the rest, while Joby wants to run the service. The backlog is close to $6 billion because of United Airlines, Abu Dhabi Aviation, and other companies, and its Georgia facility can produce up to 650 aircraft annually. Archer achieved a technical milestone in March 2026 when it became the first eVTOL manufacturer to receive 100% FAA acceptance for its Means of Compliance. This essentially means that the government has finally agreed on what “safe” means. The problem is that some analysts still don’t anticipate receiving full type certification until 2028. For a business that is losing money, that is a long runway.
Then there’s BETA Technologies, the company that, in my opinion, has done the most intriguing work on the weight issue that has derailed previous electric flight projects. This company’s name quietly keeps coming up in discussions among aerospace engineers. Batteries weigh a lot. Heavy objects are hated by aircraft. Before pursuing the VTOL variant, BETA certified a traditional fixed-wing electric aircraft (the CX300), which allowed it to improve energy density without also challenging hover physics.
During an Air Force deployment, the aircraft achieved 98% dispatch reliability, carried passengers into JFK, and completed the first coast-to-coast all-electric flight. In November 2025, BETA went public for $34, raised more than $1 billion, and now has more than 50 charging stations across the country. Revenue reached $35.6 million, a 136% annual increase. modest figures. However, the trajectory seems to be different.
The wild card is EHang. The Guangzhou-based company has been quietly selling tickets while Western companies quarrel over pilots and regulators. Its EH216-S, which has two passengers, no pilot, and is completely autonomous, already has Chinese type, production, and airworthiness certificates. In fiscal 2025, EHang delivered 221 units, reported revenue of about $73 million, and had its first GAAP-profitable quarter in Q4. The bear case is simple: U.S. regulators are far from approving pilotless passenger flight, and almost all of the revenue comes from China. However, the Chinese government has invested billions in what it refers to as the “low-altitude economy.” The fact that EHang is already where the others are attempting to go is difficult to ignore.
Boeing is the unorthodox choice for a more stable name. Boeing is the only Western company creating a fully autonomous commercial eVTOL through Wisk Aero, which it fully owns. In December 2025, Wisk’s Generation 6 aircraft successfully completed its first flight. Of course, Boeing is a $187 billion aerospace behemoth with its own issues, but it provides eVTOL exposure within a diverse company that won’t disappear if FAA deadlines are missed once more. And they most likely will. Usually, they do.
Investors appear to think the industry has moved past the PowerPoint era. Perhaps. The planes are real. The certifications are evolving. Years ago, Tesla encountered similar skepticism, and you can see how that worked out. However, many businesses appeared equally certain in 2021. As you watch this develop, you get the impression that two or three of the names on this list will ultimately define urban aviation, with the remaining names serving as footnotes. As always, the challenge is to determine which is which before the market does.
