Joby Aviation shares have fallen sharply from their recent peak, declining to about $7.58 per share after trading near $20 last year. The steep slide has renewed investor attention on reverse stock splits—a corporate action typically used to prevent shares from dropping to exchange minimums—but current conditions suggest Joby is unlikely to pursue one in the near term.
Key takeaways
- Price move: Joby shares are down roughly 62% from recent highs, to around $7.58 per share.
- Catalyst: The decline reflects continued pressure on the company’s stock and investor confidence in the eVTOL sector.
- Reverse split factor: Reverse stock splits are often associated with struggling companies trying to meet listing rules.
- Implication: Because Joby’s share price remains well above the typical NYSE $1 minimum, a reverse split appears unlikely for now.
Why reverse stock splits get attention
Forward stock splits increase the number of shares while reducing the price per share proportionately. By contrast, reverse stock splits do the opposite: a company consolidates shares so that fewer shares trade at a higher price level.
For investors, the key difference is how reverse splits are perceived. Data cited by a 2019 study by Gary Smith, an economics professor at Pomona College, found stock splits tend to have positive effects on shareholder returns, with the study arguing the more compelling rationale is that splits can signal board confidence in a company’s outlook. Reverse splits generally carry the opposite connotation.
Reverse splits are frequently used when a company’s share price is at risk of falling below listing thresholds. For example, companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange are required to keep shares above $1 per share. In practice, a reverse split can raise the quoted price above that minimum without improving underlying fundamentals.
What Joby’s price level implies
Joby trades on the NYSE, and its current price of about $7.58 per share is not close to the $1-per-share minimum that often drives reverse-split decisions. The company’s shares have traded significantly lower in the past without resorting to a reverse split—reportedly as low as $3.18 in late 2022 and about $4.54 in mid-2024.
That historical trading range matters because it suggests the company has previously operated with less pricing support while still remaining above the exchange’s typical minimum threshold. With the current price still multiple dollars above $1, the immediate need for a consolidation is less apparent.
Management messaging vs. market optics
Beyond listing mechanics, reverse splits can conflict with management’s efforts to communicate progress. According to Joby’s most recent earnings materials referenced in the report, the company’s leadership has emphasized “meaningful progress on certification, partnerships, infrastructure, and commercial readiness,” including comments attributed to Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt.
The market often reads a reverse split as a sign that a company is dealing with financial or operational strain, even when the company frames the action as a technical step. In that context, the report argues a reverse split would undercut management’s attempt to project confidence that major milestones are close.
Market reaction and what investors may watch next
Joby’s continued drawdown—despite not currently facing a clear exchange-level trigger—underscores how investors in early-stage aerospace and next-generation aviation are weighing execution risk, regulatory progress, and the timeline toward commercial operations. A reverse split remains possible in any prolonged period of share-price weakness, but the available facts suggest it is not an imminent requirement.
Investors looking ahead may focus on updates tied to certification and commercialization milestones, given management’s emphasis on those areas. The next catalysts to watch are typically the company’s upcoming earnings releases and any major announcements related to regulatory progress, partnership commitments, infrastructure buildout, and aircraft readiness—events that can shift sentiment in a sector where expectations often move faster than fundamentals.
