NEW YORK, June 1, 2026, 14:04 (EDT)
Archer Aviation shares were up in Monday afternoon trading as the electric air-taxi company stayed on traders’ radar. Investors are weighing the company’s 2026 commercial launch targets against its ongoing high cash burn.
Shares last changed hands at $6.87, rising 0.8%. The stock swung from $6.52 to $6.90. About 46.2 million shares traded. Market cap was close to $5.26 billion.
Archer is telling investors it sees first U.S. operations happening this year as part of the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The company’s eVTOLs—electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—run on batteries and are built to take off like helicopters but fly short distances like small planes.
NYSE made the move during normal New York trading hours. Its core session is 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern. June 1 wasn’t one of the exchange’s 2026 holidays, according to the .
The Federal Aviation Administration said in March it picked eight eVTOL pilot projects in 26 states, planning for operations to start by summer 2026. Archer was listed as a partner for projects tied to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Texas, and Florida. Joby Aviation and BETA Technologies were also named as rivals in these projects.
Archer said last month it finished Phase 3 of the FAA’s four-step Type Certification process for its Midnight aircraft. Investors see this as a key point for Archer moving test flights toward revenue. Type certification means the FAA has cleared the aircraft design for safety requirements.
Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said after first-quarter results that the company is “far more than an air taxi company,” and highlighted defense and AI software as areas where Archer is putting money and focus. “We are investing and building accordingly,” Goldstein said. Archer Aviation
Archer’s numbers don’t look clean. For the first quarter, the company posted $1.6 million in revenue and a net loss at $217.7 million. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $1.78 billion. Archer put out a forecast for second-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss between $170 million and $200 million, using the non-GAAP figure to show burn rate.
Archer has “two aircraft that are flying today,” Goldstein said on the earnings call. He said the company is moving forward with a first batch of eight to 10 aircraft, with some assigned to flight testing, some set aside for the eIPP launch edition and the rest for ramping up production.
Peers were mostly higher. Joby Aviation added 1.4%, and Vertical Aerospace was up 1.5%. BETA Technologies eased 0.7%.
But there’s an obvious risk. Archer said in its annual report that no FAA-certified eVTOLs are in commercial use in the U.S. and certification hold-ups, infrastructure sign-offs, pilot rules and public buy-in could stall growth. It also told investors it hasn’t made much money from its core business yet and sees more losses and higher costs ahead.
Monday’s action in the stock was more than a question of a few cents up or down. Investors are watching if Archer can turn regulatory milestones, flight tests, and its strong cash pile into real aircraft running—before mounting losses shift the focus back to funding worries.
Traders are watching what happens with the FAA certification steps, transition flight tests with pilots, and any news on U.S. pilot ops. Archer says it wants to finish the piloted transition phase and begin eIPP flights before year-end.
