New York, July 1, 2026, 19:02 (EDT)
- Joby Aviation NYSE:JOBY ended 0.9% lower at $8.84. Volume came in around 144% of its 65-day average.
- Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) holds 51% of the new manufacturing venture, with Joby at 49%. The initial paid-in equity is just $2.0 million.
- Toyota said in a filing that just forming the joint venture isn’t enough to meet the closing requirements for its second round of investment in Joby.
- Joby short interest stood at 100.74 million shares, making up 16.0% of its float before Wednesday’s big move.
Joby Aviation, Inc. NYSE:JOBY dropped in Wednesday’s session after Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) expanded its manufacturing partnership with the company. Joby ended the day off 0.9% at $8.84. Shares moved between $9.31 and $8.73, with volume hitting about 45.9 million, higher than the 65-day average of 32.1 million.
Toyota was in the headline. The filing focused on timing.
Toyota will buy 1,020,000 shares for $1.02 million, while Joby puts in $980,000 for 980,000 shares in the new Joby Toyota Aero Manufacturing Preparation Company. Toyota ends up with 51%, Joby holds 49%. Toyota also gets to appoint three out of five directors.
| JV item | Filed term |
|---|---|
| Toyota starts with 51% | 51% |
| Joby starts with 49% | 49% |
| Toyota puts in $1.02 million | $1.02 million |
| Joby adds $980,000 | $980,000 |
| Board split: Toyota 3 seats, Joby 2 | Toyota 3, Joby 2 |
The bulk is conditional. The deal links future required capital to certain certification and design points. The initial funding piece locks on more agreements and the critical design review. After that, FAA Type Inspection Authorization is the next trigger. The final one is type certification. Toyota and Joby still have to finalize the total amount.
This matters for investors because the deal doesn’t bring a big new cash injection for Joby right now. According to Toyota’s amended Schedule 13D, setting up the stockholders agreement and the JV on their own do “not alone” meet the requirements for Toyota’s second tranche investment under the previous stock purchase agreement. Toyota also disclosed it owns 128.5 million Joby common shares, or 13.1% of shares outstanding. Joby Aero, Inc.
Joby and Toyota said Tuesday they plan to build Joby’s S4 air taxi together. Shares of Joby jumped 7% before the bell after the deal was announced, Reuters reported, but the stock gave up those gains by the close.
Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt said Toyota has backed Joby for almost ten years. Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s chairman, called air mobility a “natural extension” of the company’s take on mobility. Joby Aero, Inc.
The sector was mixed. Shares of Archer Aviation Inc NYSE:ACHR, the main eVTOL rival to Joby, traded higher. Joby fell. Broad growth plays lagged.
| Security | Latest price | Day move | Intraday range | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joby Aviation NYSE:JOBY | $8.84 | -0.9% | $8.74-$9.30 | 46.1 mln |
| Archer Aviation NYSE:ACHR | $4.92 | up 4.3% | $4.69-$5.08 | 41.8 mln |
| Rivian Automotive NASDAQ:RIVN | $17.18 | -1.1% | $17.08-$17.80 | 27.0 mln |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) | $745.76 | off 0.1% | $742.43-$749.39 | 47.0 mln |
| iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM) | $299.32 | down 0.4% | $298.70-$302.70 | 20.6 mln |
| Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ | $725.17 | fell 1.5% | $723.55-$733.94 | 40.7 mln |
Latest tape data came in around 6:47 p.m. EDT.
Joby’s high short interest means certification dates hit harder. As of June 15, shorts held 100.74 million shares. On Wednesday, trading volume was about 46% of that, or more than twice Wednesday’s volume would be needed to cover all outstanding shorts.
Joby has cash to work with, but that only goes so far. The company finished Q1 holding $2.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. With a market cap near $8.77 billion on Wednesday, that’s about 29% of its total value in cash.
Joby said in May its first FAA-conforming aircraft flew in the first quarter and that it finished the SR3 audit, which is the third of four big FAA certification checks. Composites output was over 2.5 times higher than last year, and Ohio capacity rose to almost 1.5 million square feet.
The NYSE will close for Independence Day on Friday, July 3, 2026, according to the official calendar. Wednesday trading ran as usual, so only Thursday remains open before the holiday.
