Q4 2025 Archer Aviation Inc Earnings Call

March 2, 2026

Speaker #1: Good afternoon. Thank you for attending today's Archer Aviation Company Q4 2025 financial results conference call. My name is Tamiya, and I will be your moderator for today's call.

Operator: Good afternoon. Thank you for attending today's Archer Aviation Company Q4 2025 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Tamia, I will be your moderator for today's call. All lines will be muted during the presentation portion of the call with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. I would now like to pass the conference over to your host, Kate Kiewel, head of investor relations. You may proceed.

Speaker #1: All lines will be muted during the presentation portion of the call, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad.

Speaker #1: I would now like to pass the conference over to your host, Kate Kewell, Head of Investor Relations. You may proceed.

Speaker #2: Welcome to Archer's earnings call. This is Kate Kewell, Archer's Head of Investor Relations. Today, we will be making forward-looking statements that are based on current assumptions; we don't undertake any obligation to update those assumptions as a result of new information or future events.

Kate Kiewel: Welcome to Archer's Earnings Call. This is Kate Kiewel, Archer's Head of Investor Relations. Today, we will be making forward-looking statements that are based on current assumptions. We don't undertake any obligation to update those assumptions as a result of new information or future events. Risks and uncertainties may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. For more information about potential risks and uncertainties, review the risk factors in our SEC filings. Today, we will also be discussing both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of those measures is included in our shareholder letter and earnings release from today. Now, I'll turn it over to Adam. Adam?

Speaker #2: Risks and uncertainties may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. For more information about potential risks and uncertainties, review the risk factors in our SEC filings.

Speaker #2: Today, we will also be discussing both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of those measures is included in our shareholder letter and earnings release from today.

Speaker #2: Now, I'll turn it over to Adam. Adam,

Speaker #3: Thanks, Kate. At Archer, we are building a next-generation aerospace company with civil and defense applications. We have formed an ecosystem with some of the best partners in the world, from Anduril to SpaceX to NVIDIA.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks, Kate. At Archer, we are building a next-generation aerospace company with civil and defense applications. We have formed an ecosystem with some of the best partners in the world, from Anduril to SpaceX to NVIDIA. We have great momentum, and I'm excited to walk you through it today. I published a more detailed shareholder letter that I encourage everyone to read. I'm going to keep my remarks relatively brief and dedicate most of this call to Q&A from analysts and retail investors. Last year, our pilots took Midnight through its CTOL campaign, flights over 50mi, over 30min of flight time at altitudes above 10,000ft and speeds exceeding 150mph. We have now begun Midnight's piloted VTOL flight test campaign.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks, Kate. At Archer, we are building a next-generation aerospace company with civil and defense applications. We have formed an ecosystem with some of the best partners in the world, from Anduril to SpaceX to NVIDIA. We have great momentum, and I'm excited to walk you through it today. I published a more detailed shareholder letter that I encourage everyone to read. I'm going to keep my remarks relatively brief and dedicate most of this call to Q&A from analysts and retail investors. Last year, our pilots took Midnight through its CTOL campaign, flights over 50mi, over 30min of flight time at altitudes above 10,000ft and speeds exceeding 150mph. We have now begun Midnight's piloted VTOL flight test campaign.

Speaker #3: We have great momentum, and I'm excited to walk you through it today. I published a more detailed shareholder letter that I encourage everyone to read.

Speaker #3: I'm going to keep my remarks relatively brief and dedicate most of this call to Q&A from analysts and retail investors. Last year, our pilots took midnight through its SeaTall campaign.

Speaker #3: Flights over 50 miles, over 30 minutes of flight time, at altitudes above 10,000 feet, and speeds exceeding 150 miles per hour. And we have now begun midnight's piloted VTOL flight test campaign.

Speaker #3: We will continue to expand our piloted Midnight fleet and the flight envelope throughout 2026, enabling us to begin TIA activities with the FAA as soon as this year.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): We will continue to expand our piloted Midnight fleet and the flight envelope throughout 2026, enabling us to begin TIA activities with the FAA as soon as this year. As we expand our flight test program, we are simultaneously preparing to be ready for air taxi operations. We are on track to begin deploying Midnight this year, both in American cities as part of the White House's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, or EIPP, and in the UAE as part of our commercial launch program. Before we go into our plans for the UAE this year, I want to acknowledge the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Our team and partners in the region are in our thoughts, and their safety will always be our top priority. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Adam Goldstein: We will continue to expand our piloted Midnight fleet and the flight envelope throughout 2026, enabling us to begin TIA activities with the FAA as soon as this year. As we expand our flight test program, we are simultaneously preparing to be ready for air taxi operations. We are on track to begin deploying Midnight this year, both in American cities as part of the White House's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, or EIPP, and in the UAE as part of our commercial launch program. Before we go into our plans for the UAE this year, I want to acknowledge the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Our team and partners in the region are in our thoughts, and their safety will always be our top priority. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Speaker #3: As we expand our flight test program, we are simultaneously preparing to be ready for air taxi operations. We are on track to begin deploying midnight this year both in American cities as part of the White House's eVTOL integration pilot program, or EIPP, and in the UAE as part of our commercial launch program.

Speaker #3: Before we go into our plans for the UAE this year, I want to acknowledge the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Our team and partners in the region are in our thoughts, and their safety will always be our top priority.

Speaker #3: We will continue to monitor the situation closely. Despite that, current uncertainty, we remain focused on rapidly progressing our commercialization strategy in the UAE. I am pleased to share that Archer is the first eVTOL manufacturer to establish a restricted type certificate program with the GCAA, which sets us up to deliver additional midnight aircraft to the country this year for piloted and passenger-carrying operations, while simultaneously building out our network of certified vertiports across Abu Dhabi.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Despite that current uncertainty, we remain focused on rapidly progressing our commercialization strategy in the UAE. I am pleased to share that Archer is the first eVTOL manufacturer to establish a Restricted Type Certificate program with the GCAA, which sets us up to deliver additional Midnight aircraft to the country this year for piloted and passenger-carrying operations while simultaneously building out our network of certified vertiports across Abu Dhabi. While our team is hard at work commercializing the United States and the UAE, our global backlog continues to grow. Our order book is in the billions, with seven of the world's largest airlines choosing to partner with us. Some new partners include Saudi Arabia's PIF and the Serbian government. The commercial momentum is real, and it is built on a certification strategy that we've been executing against for seven years.

Adam Goldstein: Despite that current uncertainty, we remain focused on rapidly progressing our commercialization strategy in the UAE. I am pleased to share that Archer is the first eVTOL manufacturer to establish a Restricted Type Certificate program with the GCAA, which sets us up to deliver additional Midnight aircraft to the country this year for piloted and passenger-carrying operations while simultaneously building out our network of certified vertiports across Abu Dhabi. While our team is hard at work commercializing the United States and the UAE, our global backlog continues to grow. Our order book is in the billions, with seven of the world's largest airlines choosing to partner with us. Some new partners include Saudi Arabia's PIF and the Serbian government. The commercial momentum is real, and it is built on a certification strategy that we've been executing against for seven years.

Speaker #3: While our team is hard at work commercializing the United States and the UAE, our global backlog continues to grow. Our order book is in the billions, with seven of the world's largest airlines choosing to partner with us.

Speaker #3: Some new partners include Saudi Arabia's PIF and the Serbian government. The commercial momentum is real, and it is built on a certification strategy that we've been executing against for seven years.

Speaker #3: This quarter, the FAA confirmed its final acceptance of 100% of midnight's means of compliance. I believe this makes us the first eVTOL company to achieve this level of progress with the FAA.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): This quarter, the FAA confirmed its final acceptance of 100% of Midnight's Means of Compliance. I believe this makes us the first eVTOL company to achieve this level of progress with the FAA. Completing Midnight's Means of Compliance unlocks the ability to finish the next phase, finalizing its remaining certification plans. We expect those to get there in the coming quarters, clearing the path for TIA work to begin on the program as soon as this year. Our partnership with Anduril is central to our defense strategy. We are designing an autonomous hybrid electric VTOL aircraft built for dual use, a Loyal Wingman for defense and cargo or medevac for commercial customers. We remain optimistic about winning a major defense contract this year. We are always looking for opportunities to apply the proprietary technologies we have developed for our commercial aircraft to other adjacent applications.

Adam Goldstein: This quarter, the FAA confirmed its final acceptance of 100% of Midnight's Means of Compliance. I believe this makes us the first eVTOL company to achieve this level of progress with the FAA. Completing Midnight's Means of Compliance unlocks the ability to finish the next phase, finalizing its remaining certification plans. We expect those to get there in the coming quarters, clearing the path for TIA work to begin on the program as soon as this year. Our partnership with Anduril is central to our defense strategy. We are designing an autonomous hybrid electric VTOL aircraft built for dual use, a Loyal Wingman for defense and cargo or medevac for commercial customers. We remain optimistic about winning a major defense contract this year. We are always looking for opportunities to apply the proprietary technologies we have developed for our commercial aircraft to other adjacent applications.

Speaker #3: Completing midnight's means of compliance unlocks the ability to finish the next phase, finalizing its remaining certification plans. We expect those to get there in the coming quarters clearing the path for TIA work to begin on the program as soon as this year.

Speaker #3: Our partnership with Anduril is central to our defense strategy. We are designing an autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft built for dual use—a loyal wingman for defense, and cargo or medevac for commercial customers.

Speaker #3: We remain optimistic about winning a major defense contract this year. We are always looking for opportunities to apply the proprietary technologies we have developed for our commercial aircraft to other adjacent applications.

Speaker #3: In November, we announced our first third-party powertrain deal with Anduril and EDGE Group to power their Omen autonomous air vehicle. Anduril spent five years searching for a propulsion solution for Omen and I'm proud they chose ours.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): In November, we announced our first third-party powertrain deal with Anduril and EDGE Group to power their Omen autonomous air vehicle. Anduril spent 5 years searching for a propulsion solution for Omen, and I'm proud they chose ours. Beyond commercial aircraft and defense, we see a third opportunity: software. We partnered with Palantir for next-generation air traffic control, movement control, and route planning. We are working with NVIDIA to integrate their NVIDIA IGX Thor platform into Midnight for safety-critical autonomy applications. We are working with SpaceX's Starlink to bring high-speed, low-latency connectivity to our aircraft. We plan to unveil our first software product in this category later this year. Executing across all of these fronts requires exceptional leadership. I want to highlight Benjamin Lyon, who has integrated fully into his role at Archer as President of Aircraft OEM.

Adam Goldstein: In November, we announced our first third-party powertrain deal with Anduril and EDGE Group to power their Omen autonomous air vehicle. Anduril spent 5 years searching for a propulsion solution for Omen, and I'm proud they chose ours. Beyond commercial aircraft and defense, we see a third opportunity: software. We partnered with Palantir for next-generation air traffic control, movement control, and route planning. We are working with NVIDIA to integrate their NVIDIA IGX Thor platform into Midnight for safety-critical autonomy applications. We are working with SpaceX's Starlink to bring high-speed, low-latency connectivity to our aircraft. We plan to unveil our first software product in this category later this year. Executing across all of these fronts requires exceptional leadership. I want to highlight Benjamin Lyon, who has integrated fully into his role at Archer as President of Aircraft OEM.

Speaker #3: Beyond commercial aircraft and defense, we see a third opportunity: software. We partnered with Palantir for next-generation air traffic control movement control and route planning.

Speaker #3: We are working with NVIDIA to integrate their IGX Thor platform into midnight for safety-critical autonomy applications, and we are working with SpaceX's Starlink to bring high-speed, low-latency connectivity to our aircraft.

Speaker #3: We plan to unveil our first software product in this category later this year. Executing across all of these fronts requires exceptional leadership. I want to highlight Benjamin Lyon, who has integrated fully into his role at Archer as president of aircraft OEM.

Speaker #3: Benjamin is a longtime pilot who spent decades at Apple shaping some of the most complex hardware programs they ever built, then served as CTO at Aptiv, one of the world's leading industrial technology companies.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Benjamin is a longtime pilot who spent decades at Apple shaping some of the most complex hardware programs they ever built, then served as CTO at Aptiv, one of the world's leading industrial technology companies. He is exactly the kind of operator you want driving a program towards commercialization, and his impact on our engineering, manufacturing, and certification velocity is tangible. Tom Muniz continues to support the Midnight program but has now taken a leadership role in developing our hybrid aircraft. Together, Benjamin and Tom represent exactly the caliber of leadership that the opportunity requires. We ended Q4 with approximately $2 billion in liquidity. While this is a strong position, I try to be ruthless about cutting anything that does not earn its place. My job is to drive execution, fly aircraft, deploy them in cities, complete certification, scale manufacturing, and deliver to the customers who are waiting.

Adam Goldstein: Benjamin is a longtime pilot who spent decades at Apple shaping some of the most complex hardware programs they ever built, then served as CTO at Aptiv, one of the world's leading industrial technology companies. He is exactly the kind of operator you want driving a program towards commercialization, and his impact on our engineering, manufacturing, and certification velocity is tangible. Tom Muniz continues to support the Midnight program but has now taken a leadership role in developing our hybrid aircraft. Together, Benjamin and Tom represent exactly the caliber of leadership that the opportunity requires. We ended Q4 with approximately $2 billion in liquidity. While this is a strong position, I try to be ruthless about cutting anything that does not earn its place. My job is to drive execution, fly aircraft, deploy them in cities, complete certification, scale manufacturing, and deliver to the customers who are waiting.

Speaker #3: He is exactly the kind of operator you want driving a program towards commercialization, and his impact on our engineering, manufacturing, and certification velocity is tangible.

Speaker #3: Tom Muniz continues to support the Midnight program but has now taken a leadership role in developing our hybrid aircraft. Together, Benjamin and Tom represent exactly the caliber of leadership the opportunity requires.

Speaker #3: We ended Q4 with approximately $2 billion in liquidity. While this is a strong position, I try to be ruthless about cutting anything that does not earn its place.

Speaker #3: My job is to drive execution. Fly aircraft, deploy them in cities, complete certification, scale manufacturing, and deliver to the customers who are waiting. Thank you to our team, our partners, the government agencies, and our shareholders that all play a part in our success.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thank you to our team, our partners, the government agencies, and our shareholders that all play a part in our success. Deep tech is extremely challenging, and you give us the ability to pursue it. I do not take your support for granted, and we will work every day to continue to earn it. With that, I'll hand it over to Priya.

Adam Goldstein: Thank you to our team, our partners, the government agencies, and our shareholders that all play a part in our success. Deep tech is extremely challenging, and you give us the ability to pursue it. I do not take your support for granted, and we will work every day to continue to earn it. With that, I'll hand it over to Priya.

Speaker #3: Deep tech is extremely challenging, and you give us the ability to pursue it. I do not take your support for granted, and we will work every day to continue to earn it.

Speaker #3: With that, I'll hand it over to Priya.

Speaker #1: Thanks, Adam. On today's call, I'm not going to walk through all the detailed financial results, as those are set out in our earnings release.

Priya: Thanks, Adam. On today's call, I'm not going to walk through all the detailed financial results as those are set out in our earnings release. Instead, I'll briefly discuss the key highlights, our liquidity position, capital allocation priorities, and overall financial discipline. First, with respect to liquidity, as Adam highlighted, we closed the quarter with a very strong balance sheet and total liquidity of approximately $2 billion, which is the highest watermark in Archer's history. Our financial strength allows us to think and act beyond a single program. With respect to our priorities for deploying capital, it is very straightforward. In the near term, commercializing Midnight remains our number one priority. This includes progressing certification activities, scaling manufacturing, and advancing market launch efforts.

Priya Gupta: Thanks, Adam. On today's call, I'm not going to walk through all the detailed financial results as those are set out in our earnings release. Instead, I'll briefly discuss the key highlights, our liquidity position, capital allocation priorities, and overall financial discipline. First, with respect to liquidity, as Adam highlighted, we closed the quarter with a very strong balance sheet and total liquidity of approximately $2 billion, which is the highest watermark in Archer's history. Our financial strength allows us to think and act beyond a single program. With respect to our priorities for deploying capital, it is very straightforward. In the near term, commercializing Midnight remains our number one priority. This includes progressing certification activities, scaling manufacturing, and advancing market launch efforts.

Speaker #1: Instead, I'll briefly discuss the key highlights. Our liquidity position, capital allocation priorities, and overall financial discipline. First, with respect to liquidity, as Adam highlighted, we closed the quarter with a very strong balance sheet and total liquidity of approximately $2 billion.

Speaker #1: Which is the highest watermark in Archer's history. Our financial strength allows us to think and act beyond a single program. With respect to our priorities for deploying capital, it is very straightforward.

Speaker #1: In the near term, commercializing Midnight remains our number one priority. This includes progressing certification activities, scaling manufacturing, and advancing market launch efforts. Beyond the Midnight platform, as we position Archer as a category leader, our next investment priority is in adjacent opportunities such as the hybrid aircraft program and our software platform.

Priya: Beyond the Midnight platform, as we position Archer as a category leader, our next investment priority is in adjacent opportunities such as the hybrid aircraft program and our software platform. These efforts meaningfully expand our long-term optionality and total addressable market. Our focused capital allocation carries through to day-to-day execution, with Q4 spending tightly aligned to the guidance we outlined in the last earnings call. We are moving steadily towards industrialization and market entry. That naturally requires increased but disciplined spend. For Q1, we estimate our adjusted EBITDA loss to be in the range of $160 to $180 million. This step-up in investment is deliberate and is a direct reflection of the meaningful progress we are planning for the year. We will continue to provide transparency on spend trajectory and liquidity as we continue to execute against our key priorities.

Priya Gupta: Beyond the Midnight platform, as we position Archer as a category leader, our next investment priority is in adjacent opportunities such as the hybrid aircraft program and our software platform. These efforts meaningfully expand our long-term optionality and total addressable market. Our focused capital allocation carries through to day-to-day execution, with Q4 spending tightly aligned to the guidance we outlined in the last earnings call. We are moving steadily towards industrialization and market entry. That naturally requires increased but disciplined spend. For Q1, we estimate our adjusted EBITDA loss to be in the range of $160 to $180 million. This step-up in investment is deliberate and is a direct reflection of the meaningful progress we are planning for the year. We will continue to provide transparency on spend trajectory and liquidity as we continue to execute against our key priorities.

Speaker #1: These efforts meaningfully expand our long-term optionality and total addressable market. Our focused capital allocation carries through to day-to-day execution, with Q4 spending tightly aligned to the guidance we outlined in the last earnings call.

Speaker #1: We are moving steadily towards industrialization and market entry. That naturally requires increased but disciplined spend. For Q1, we estimate our adjusted EBITDA loss to be in the range of $160 to $180 million.

Speaker #1: This step up in investment is deliberate and is a direct reflection of the meaningful progress we are planning for the year. We will continue to provide transparency on spend trajectory and liquidity as we continue to execute against our key priorities.

Speaker #1: And with that, I will turn it back over to Adam.

Priya: With that, I will turn it back over to Adam.

Priya Gupta: With that, I will turn it back over to Adam.

Speaker #2: Thanks, Priya. I want to first start by addressing some of the retail questions in the first question is, how's the pathway for Archer to be the main air taxi service for the summer 2020 Olympics?

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks, Priya. I want to first start by addressing some of the retail questions. The first question is: How is the pathway for Archer to be the main air taxi service for the Summer 2028 Olympics? Well, the Summer 2028 Olympics is the most important commercialization milestone for Archer because it represents an unskippable date for us, and it's driving the regulators, and it's really driving us towards making decisions and hopefully making progress. It's not just certification that has to be ready for the launch. It really is all about the infrastructure, the supply chain, the technical progress, all just converging at the same time. Just last quarter, you saw us invest in the Hawthorne Airport, and our team is on the ground every day there working through initial flight operations, pilot training.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks, Priya. I want to first start by addressing some of the retail questions. The first question is: How is the pathway for Archer to be the main air taxi service for the Summer 2028 Olympics? Well, the Summer 2028 Olympics is the most important commercialization milestone for Archer because it represents an unskippable date for us, and it's driving the regulators, and it's really driving us towards making decisions and hopefully making progress. It's not just certification that has to be ready for the launch. It really is all about the infrastructure, the supply chain, the technical progress, all just converging at the same time. Just last quarter, you saw us invest in the Hawthorne Airport, and our team is on the ground every day there working through initial flight operations, pilot training.

Speaker #2: Well, the Summer 2020 Olympics is the most important commercialization milestone for Archer because it represents an unslippable date for us in its driving the regulators, and it's really driving us towards making decisions and ultimately making progress.

Speaker #2: But it's not just certification that has to be ready for the launch. It really is all about the infrastructure, the supply chain, the technical progress, all just converging at the same time and just last quarter you saw us invest in the Hawthorne Airport and our team is on the ground every day there working through initial flight operations, pilot training, and so this is a very important event for the administration and so we are coordinating at the highest levels to make sure that this goes off smoothly.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): This is a very important event for the administration, and so we are coordinating at the highest levels to make sure that this goes off smoothly. With that, I'll turn it back to the operator to open up for questions.

Adam Goldstein: This is a very important event for the administration, and so we are coordinating at the highest levels to make sure that this goes off smoothly. With that, I'll turn it back to the operator to open up for questions.

Speaker #2: And with that, I'll turn it back to the operator to open up for questions.

Speaker #1: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad.

Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. If for any reason at all you would like to remove that question, please press star followed by two. Again, to ask a question, please press star one. The first question comes from Edison Yu with Deutsche Bank. You may proceed.

Speaker #1: If for any reason at all you would like to remove that question, please press star followed by two. Again, to ask a question, please press star one.

Speaker #1: The first question comes from Edison Yu with Deutsche Bank. You may proceed.

Speaker #3: Hi. Thank you for taking our questions. I want to start off on EIPP. Can you give us a sense of what the next milestones are and the sequencing of events that need to happen before you start to fly the aircraft?

Edison Yu: Hi. Thank you for taking our questions. Wanted to start off on EIPP. Can you give us a sense of what the next milestones are and the sequencing of events that need to happen before you start to define the aircraft?

Speaker #2: Sure. Thanks, Edison. So just to take a quick step back, on the EIP program, we view this really as a big moment for the industry.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Sure. Thanks, Edison. Just to take a quick step back, on the EIPP program, we view this really as a big moment for the industry. I like to call it our Waymo moment. If you think about, like, the first time you saw a Waymo, it felt like science fiction to you. Now the goal is to have, you know, half a million people, you know, in cities, in the biggest cities in the country, start to see these aircraft as part of your everyday commute, just like they started to see Waymos every day. That's what I think the EIPP has the power to do for air taxis. Seeing new aircraft flying over major cities will be exciting at first, but we do need to get people comfortable with them and ultimately accept them as an everyday outcome.

Adam Goldstein: Sure. Thanks, Edison. Just to take a quick step back, on the EIPP program, we view this really as a big moment for the industry. I like to call it our Waymo moment. If you think about, like, the first time you saw a Waymo, it felt like science fiction to you. Now the goal is to have, you know, half a million people, you know, in cities, in the biggest cities in the country, start to see these aircraft as part of your everyday commute, just like they started to see Waymos every day. That's what I think the EIPP has the power to do for air taxis. Seeing new aircraft flying over major cities will be exciting at first, but we do need to get people comfortable with them and ultimately accept them as an everyday outcome.

Speaker #2: I like to call it our Waymo moment. If you think about the first time you saw a Waymo, it felt like science fiction to you. But now the goal is to have half a million people in cities, in the biggest cities in the country, start to see these aircraft as part of your everyday commute, just like they started to see Waymos every day.

Speaker #2: And that's what I think the EIPP has the power to do for air taxis. So seeing new aircraft flying over major cities will be exciting at first, but we do need to get people comfortable with them and ultimately accept them as an everyday outcome.

Speaker #2: And that is how we're going to drive consumer acceptance across the industry and, in turn, regulatory approval. And so all that is on track, and Archer is on track to participate in that event.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): That is how we're going to drive consumer acceptance across the industry and in turn, regulatory approval. All that is on track, and Archer is on track to, you know, to participate in that event. For the EIPP, we've had a lot of inbound interest from the municipalities, and then ultimately, we've submitted the applications, and there's roughly, you know, a dozen or so municipalities that we partner with, including Southern California, Texas, and Florida. Now we are looking forward to the DOT announcing the finalists later this month. Once the finalists are announced, we'll begin working directly with the selected localities to establish the initial operational plans. We'll focus on public flights as soon as the second half of the year. It's really back to the DOT's hands at this point.

Adam Goldstein: That is how we're going to drive consumer acceptance across the industry and in turn, regulatory approval. All that is on track, and Archer is on track to, you know, to participate in that event. For the EIPP, we've had a lot of inbound interest from the municipalities, and then ultimately, we've submitted the applications, and there's roughly, you know, a dozen or so municipalities that we partner with, including Southern California, Texas, and Florida. Now we are looking forward to the DOT announcing the finalists later this month. Once the finalists are announced, we'll begin working directly with the selected localities to establish the initial operational plans. We'll focus on public flights as soon as the second half of the year. It's really back to the DOT's hands at this point.

Speaker #2: For the EIPP, we've had a lot of inbound interest from the municipalities, and then ultimately we've submitted the applications, and there's roughly a dozen or so municipalities that we've partnered with, including in Southern California, Texas, and Florida.

Speaker #2: And now we are looking forward to the DOT announcing the finalist later this month. And then once the finalists are announced, we'll begin working directly with the selected localities to establish the initial operational plans and then we'll focus on public flights as soon as the second half of the year.

Speaker #2: So, it's really back to the DOT's hands at this point. We're waiting for them on next steps.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): We're waiting for them on next steps.

Adam Goldstein: We're waiting for them on next steps.

Speaker #3: Understood. And then in terms of the piloted vertical full transition, I think in the letter you had mentioned kind of the next few months are the test campaign will rip.

Edison Yu: Understood. Then in terms of the piloted vertical for transition, I think in the letter you had mentioned kind of the next few months are the test campaign will ramp. I guess what is the broader plan for the number of aircraft, for the levels of flying that you would do for the rest of the year?

Speaker #3: I guess what is the, I guess, broader plan for the number of aircraft for the levels of flying that you'll do for the rest of the year?

Speaker #2: Yeah. Hey, Edison, this is Tom. We'll just maybe take a step back. As you mentioned earlier, we're now in the piloted VTOL and transition part of our flight test.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Yeah. Hey, Edison, this is Tom. Well, just maybe to take a step back, you know, as you mentioned earlier, we're now in the piloted VTOL and transition part of our flight test, and that's all kind of in support of and on track for the EIPP work that Adam mentioned earlier on the call. Just to kind of remind everybody, this comes on the back of all the VTOL flying we've done on Midnight without a pilot on board over the last several years, and the extensive CTOL campaign that we did last year. We believe we're in a strong position with the testing that we've done.

Tom Muniz: Yeah. Hey, Edison, this is Tom. Well, just maybe to take a step back, you know, as you mentioned earlier, we're now in the piloted VTOL and transition part of our flight test, and that's all kind of in support of and on track for the EIPP work that Adam mentioned earlier on the call. Just to kind of remind everybody, this comes on the back of all the VTOL flying we've done on Midnight without a pilot on board over the last several years, and the extensive CTOL campaign that we did last year. We believe we're in a strong position with the testing that we've done.

Speaker #2: And that's all kind of in support of and on track for the EIPP work that Adam mentioned earlier on the call. And just to kind of remind everybody, this comes on the back of all the VTOL flying we've done on Midnight without a pilot on board over the last several years.

Speaker #2: And the extensive CTOL campaign that we did last year. So we believe we're in a strong position with the testing that we've done. We also are really glad we invested time in that detailed CTOL campaign, as having the ability to do both those conventional takeoffs and landings and vertical takeoffs and landings, we think, is a huge advantage for the product and a big differentiator.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): We also are really glad we invested time in that detailed CTOL campaign as having the ability to do both those conventional takeoffs and landings and vertical takeoffs and landings, we think is a huge advantage for the product and a big differentiator, obviously for the business case, safety case, things we've talked about. Our goal is with this aircraft and the others that are coming online to efficiently get through the transition testing in support of the EIPP. We'll get right into TIA activity, all of this with the goal of being certified for the Olympics.

Tom Muniz: We also are really glad we invested time in that detailed CTOL campaign as having the ability to do both those conventional takeoffs and landings and vertical takeoffs and landings, we think is a huge advantage for the product and a big differentiator, obviously for the business case, safety case, things we've talked about. Our goal is with this aircraft and the others that are coming online to efficiently get through the transition testing in support of the EIPP. We'll get right into TIA activity, all of this with the goal of being certified for the Olympics.

Speaker #2: Obviously for the business case, safety case, things we've talked about. So our goal is with this aircraft and the others that are coming online to efficiently get through the transition testing in support of the IPP but then we'll get right into TIA activity all of this with the goal of being certified for the Olympics.

Speaker #3: Understood. And if I just sneak one in on the I think you mentioned the first one to get the 100% on the MOC. Can you just maybe walk us through maybe the last couple of kind of percentage points?

Edison Yu: Understood. If I just sneak one in, I think you mentioned you're the first one to get the 100% on the MOC. Can you just maybe walk us through the maybe the last couple kind of percentage points? It seems like the industry in general has struggled a little bit to get to those last pieces. What do you think held that up, and why were you able to get through that?

Speaker #3: It seems like the industry in general has struggled a little bit to get through those last pieces. What do you think held that up, and why were you able to get through that?

Speaker #2: Yeah. So that's a good question. So I would say it's definitely fair to say the last few percent were the hardest to close. But I think the fact that we from the very beginning taken really best practice approaches or conventional approaches to topics like lightning strike, gusts loads, occupant production, those sort of things that are all enabled by us having a larger heavier aircraft meant we were able to get through those topics with the FAA and we did that instead of by sort of pushing back.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Yeah. It's a good question. I would say it's definitely fair to say the last few % were the hardest to close. I think the fact that we've from the very beginning, taken really best practice approaches or conventional approaches to topics like lightning strike, gust loads, occupant protection, those sort of things, that are all enabled by us having a larger, heavier aircraft, meant we were able to get through those topics with the FAA. You know, we did that instead of by sort of pushing back, we were able to just accept sort of the, again, the best practice approach. I think that's what enabled us to get through it.

Tom Muniz: Yeah. It's a good question. I would say it's definitely fair to say the last few % were the hardest to close. I think the fact that we've from the very beginning, taken really best practice approaches or conventional approaches to topics like lightning strike, gust loads, occupant protection, those sort of things, that are all enabled by us having a larger, heavier aircraft, meant we were able to get through those topics with the FAA. You know, we did that instead of by sort of pushing back, we were able to just accept sort of the, again, the best practice approach. I think that's what enabled us to get through it.

Speaker #2: We were able to just accept sort of the, again, the best practice approach. So I think that's what enabled us to get through it.

Speaker #3: Great. Thank you.

Edison Yu: Great. Thank you.

Speaker #1: Thank you. The next question comes from SavvySuite with Raymond James. You may proceed.

Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Savanthi Syth with Raymond James. You may proceed.

Speaker #4: Hey, good afternoon. Can I ask? I'm sure it really depends on all the activity that you plan on doing this year. But just curious at a high level maybe where that EBITDA can step up as you go through the year and maybe any kind of commentary on CapEx expectations for 2026.

Savanthi Syth: Hey, good afternoon. Can I ask, I'm sure it really depends on, you know, all the activity that you plan on doing this year, but just curious at a high level, maybe, you know, where that EBITDA can step up as you go through the year and maybe any kind of commentary on CapEx expectations for 2026?

Speaker #5: Hey, Savvy. Thanks for the question. It's Priya. So, you know that we don't give annual or multi-year guidance. But I'll walk you through the flavors of where spending is going towards.

Priya: Yes, Savi, thanks for the question. It's Priya. You know, you know that we don't give annual or multi-year guidance, but I'll walk you through the flavors of where our spending is going towards. At the core of which, you know, we're investing in three focused areas. The first is you can expect the supply chain readiness and manufacturing capacity, and that's to ensure that we can aggressively ramp up Midnight production and deploy it. Second, as we've talked about, in development of our dual use hybrid aircraft, as we believe the opportunity is now to win contracts from the US and its allies as they pursue this new vertical lift form factor. Third, of course, is our development of AI autonomy software platform.

Priya Gupta: Yes, Savi, thanks for the question. It's Priya. You know, you know that we don't give annual or multi-year guidance, but I'll walk you through the flavors of where our spending is going towards. At the core of which, you know, we're investing in three focused areas. The first is you can expect the supply chain readiness and manufacturing capacity, and that's to ensure that we can aggressively ramp up Midnight production and deploy it. Second, as we've talked about, in development of our dual use hybrid aircraft, as we believe the opportunity is now to win contracts from the US and its allies as they pursue this new vertical lift form factor. Third, of course, is our development of AI autonomy software platform.

Speaker #5: So at the core of which, we're investing in three focused areas. The first is, you can expect the supply chain readiness and manufacturing capacity.

Speaker #5: And that's to ensure that we can aggressively ramp up midnight production and deploy it. Second, as we've talked about, in development of our dual-use hybrid aircraft.

Speaker #5: As we believe the opportunity is now to win contracts from the US and its allies as they pursue this new vertical lift form factor.

Speaker #5: And third, of course, is our development of AI autonomy software platform. So, while all these three result in spending being elevated in 2025, we think there are a lot of near-term opportunities to win awards on the defense side that could offset some of the spending or generate early revenues on the software side and the air taxi side as part of our launch edition program.

Priya: While all these three result in spending being elevated in 2025, we think there are a lot of near-term opportunities to win awards on the defense side that could offset some of the spending or early revenues on the software side and the air taxi side as part of our launch addition program. You know, the goal really long term here is to have a diversified set of opportunities that can allow us to get to meaningful, long-term sustainable revenue. As in how we progress through the quarters, we'll keep providing our quarterly guidance, but hopefully, that gives you, again, a framework to think about where are we deploying capital.

Priya Gupta: While all these three result in spending being elevated in 2025, we think there are a lot of near-term opportunities to win awards on the defense side that could offset some of the spending or early revenues on the software side and the air taxi side as part of our launch addition program. You know, the goal really long term here is to have a diversified set of opportunities that can allow us to get to meaningful, long-term sustainable revenue. As in how we progress through the quarters, we'll keep providing our quarterly guidance, but hopefully, that gives you, again, a framework to think about where are we deploying capital.

Speaker #5: So the goal really long-term here is to have a diversified set of opportunities that can allow us to get to meaningful long-term sustainable revenue.

Speaker #5: And as in how we progress through the quarters, we'll keep providing our quarterly guidance. But hopefully that gives you, again, a framework to think about where we are deploying capital.

Savanthi Syth: That's helpful, Priya. Thank you. Just on the GCAA side, you know, could you explain a little bit more about what the key features are of a restricted flight approach? Like what is and isn't included in that versus kind of a full certification?

Speaker #4: That's helpful, Priya. Thank you. And then, just on the GCA side, could you explain a little bit more about what the key features are of a restricted flight approach?

Speaker #4: What is and isn't included in that versus kind of a full certification?

Speaker #2: Sure. Hey, Savvy, this is Adam. So, our progress in the UAE is obviously continuing, and given the kind of current geopolitical situation, we're just mindful of it and how fast to push and how to support our partners best over there.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Sure. Hey, Savi, this is Adam. Our progress in the UAE is obviously continuing, and given the kind of current geopolitical situation, we're just mindful of it and you know, how fast to push and how to support our partners best over there. Obviously, you know, safety for our people is gonna be important, and safety for our partners over there is gonna be really important. With that as a backdrop, you know, we aligned with the GCAA on a pathway for commercialization. We chose the Restricted Type Certificate really because it was more of a recognized alternative than some of the other choices, such as like a type qualification.

Adam Goldstein: Sure. Hey, Savi, this is Adam. Our progress in the UAE is obviously continuing, and given the kind of current geopolitical situation, we're just mindful of it and you know, how fast to push and how to support our partners best over there. Obviously, you know, safety for our people is gonna be important, and safety for our partners over there is gonna be really important. With that as a backdrop, you know, we aligned with the GCAA on a pathway for commercialization. We chose the Restricted Type Certificate really because it was more of a recognized alternative than some of the other choices, such as like a type qualification.

Speaker #2: And obviously, safety for our people is going to be important and safety for our partners over there is going to be really important. But with that as a backdrop, we aligned with the GCA on a pathway for commercialization.

Speaker #2: And we chose the restricted type certificate really because it was more of a recognized alternative than some of the other choices, such as a type qualification.

Speaker #2: And it just really gives you broader operational flexibility and a scalable foundation to bring midnight to market in the Middle East. But we really have to kind of wait and see how all that plays out here.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): It just really gives you broader operational flexibility and a scalable foundation to bring, you know, Midnight to market in the Middle East. We really have to kind of wait and see how all that plays out here, and I think there's more details to come on that.

Adam Goldstein: It just really gives you broader operational flexibility and a scalable foundation to bring, you know, Midnight to market in the Middle East. We really have to kind of wait and see how all that plays out here, and I think there's more details to come on that.

Speaker #2: And I think there's more details to come on that.

Speaker #4: Appreciate that. I'll turn it back.

Savanthi Syth: Appreciate that. I'll turn it back.

Speaker #1: Thank you. The next question comes from Andre Shepherd with Cantor Fitzgerald. You may proceed.

Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Andres Sheppard with Cantor Fitzgerald. You may proceed.

Speaker #6: Hey, everyone. Congratulations on the quarter and all the great progress. Adam, I wanted to maybe circle back to EIPP for a minute. Obviously, with the projects now in the application stage, I'm just curious—how are you thinking about those projects?

Andres Sheppard: Hey, everyone. Congratulations on the quarter and all the great progress. Adam, I wanted to maybe circle back to EIPP for a minute. You know, obviously with the projects now in the application stage, I'm just curious, like, how are you thinking about those projects? Like what would you call a success? Particularly the California project, is that maybe where most of the attention is focused on? Just kinda how are you thinking about winning those projects and what would you characterize as a successful EIPP entry? Thank you.

Speaker #6: What would you call a success, and particularly the California project? Is that maybe where most of the attention is focused, or just kind of how are you thinking about winning those projects? And what would you characterize as a successful EIPP entry?

Speaker #6: Thank you.

Speaker #2: Thanks, Andres. I think the EIPP kind of win will largely be an industry win, where we have lots of aircraft flying around in multiple cities and getting the general public comfortable with what we're doing.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks, Andres. I think the EIPP, kind of win will largely be an industry win, where we have lots of aircraft flying around in multiple cities and getting the general public comfortable with what we're doing. I think that's really the, you know, the number one takeaway that can come from this. There are, you know, a lot of very interesting cities, and states that have applied. I'm hopeful, you know, California, Texas, and Florida, you know, ultimately get picked, but of course, we have to wait and see what happens. Any one city or location is not gonna necessarily determine a success or failure, you know, of this. We have lots of options here that can get picked.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks, Andres. I think the EIPP, kind of win will largely be an industry win, where we have lots of aircraft flying around in multiple cities and getting the general public comfortable with what we're doing. I think that's really the, you know, the number one takeaway that can come from this. There are, you know, a lot of very interesting cities, and states that have applied. I'm hopeful, you know, California, Texas, and Florida, you know, ultimately get picked, but of course, we have to wait and see what happens. Any one city or location is not gonna necessarily determine a success or failure, you know, of this. We have lots of options here that can get picked.

Speaker #2: So I think that's really the number one takeaway that can come from this. There are a lot of very interesting cities and states that have applied.

Speaker #2: And so I'm hopeful California and Texas and Florida ultimately get picked. But of course, we have to wait and see what happens. Any one city or location is not going to necessarily determine a success or a failure of this.

Speaker #2: So we have lots of options here that can get picked. Of course, we are hopeful that the Huntington Beach location does get picked given our plan to ramp operations.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Of course, we are hopeful that the Huntington Beach location does get picked, given, you know, our plan to ramp operations, you know, ahead of the Olympics. There are lots of great opportunities across many other cities that we think will also be, you know, great opportunities as well. I would say showcasing the aircraft, showing what they can do, having multiple operators doing this, getting the general public comfortable with this, and ultimately getting everybody comfortable with this industry just as they have gotten comfortable with Waymos in their cities.

Adam Goldstein: Of course, we are hopeful that the Huntington Beach location does get picked, given, you know, our plan to ramp operations, you know, ahead of the Olympics. There are lots of great opportunities across many other cities that we think will also be, you know, great opportunities as well. I would say showcasing the aircraft, showing what they can do, having multiple operators doing this, getting the general public comfortable with this, and ultimately getting everybody comfortable with this industry just as they have gotten comfortable with Waymos in their cities.

Speaker #2: Ahead of the Olympics. But there are lots of great opportunities across many other cities that we think will also be great opportunities as well.

Speaker #2: So I would say showcasing the aircraft, showing what they can do, having multiple operators doing this, getting the general public comfortable with this, and ultimately getting everybody comfortable with this industry just as they have gotten comfortable with Waymos in their cities.

Speaker #6: Got it. Thanks, Adam. That's super helpful. I appreciate all that detail. And maybe just as a quick follow-up, I wanted to touch on—so I see that you recently conducted a piloted VTOL flight on the new aircraft.

Andres Sheppard: Got it. Thanks, Adam. That's super helpful. I appreciate all that detail. Maybe just as a quick follow-up, I wanted to touch on, you know, So I see that you recently conducted a piloted VTOL flight on the new aircraft. Apologies if I missed this earlier, but can you maybe just walk us through your flight plans for this year and kind of how you expect to ramp up those flight hours throughout this year and, again, ahead of EIPP and UAE? Thank you.

Speaker #6: And apologies if I missed this earlier, but can you maybe just walk us through your flight plans for this year and kind of how you expect to ramp up those flight hours throughout this year, and again ahead of EIPP and UAE?

Speaker #6: Thank you.

Speaker #2: Yeah. Hey, Andreas. It's Tom. So yeah, we're super excited that we're now in that piloted VTOL phase. So what you expect to see over the coming weeks and months is just additional flying and working out towards full piloted transition.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Hey, Andres. It's Tom. We're super excited that we're now in that piloted VTOL phase. What you expect to see over the coming weeks and months is just additional flying and working out towards full piloted transition. Obviously after that, we get into TIA and onward certification, but also in support of the Olympics. Maybe this is a good chance for Benjamin to comment here. There were a lot of lessons that we've learned in flight tests, and I think it'd be good for Benjamin to comment on some of those.

Tom Muniz: Hey, Andres. It's Tom. We're super excited that we're now in that piloted VTOL phase. What you expect to see over the coming weeks and months is just additional flying and working out towards full piloted transition. Obviously after that, we get into TIA and onward certification, but also in support of the Olympics. Maybe this is a good chance for Benjamin to comment here. There were a lot of lessons that we've learned in flight tests, and I think it'd be good for Benjamin to comment on some of those.

Speaker #2: Obviously, after that, then we get into TIA and onward certification, but also in support of the Olympics. And maybe this is a good chance for Benjamin to comment here.

Speaker #2: There were a lot of lessons that we've learned in flight tests, and I think it'd be good for Benjamin to comment on some of those.

Speaker #2: Thanks, Adam. One of the learnings we got from the CTOL campaign was that it was actually the software update cycle that paced our progress.

Benjamin Lyon: Thanks, Adam. You know, one of the learnings we got from the CTOL campaign was that it was actually the software update cycle that paced our progress. That's because for our first piloted campaign, we wanted to stick with a well understood path, so we used traditional aerospace methods. We learned along the way that about half the time taken was due to manual steps that could actually be easily automated using best software practices from Silicon Valley. As part of preparing for the VTOL campaign, we actually made updates to our software infrastructure. Like one such example is we now automatically deploy software updates to the Midnight aircraft. As you can imagine, the team is very proud at having reduced multi-month long cycles into often just a few days while maintaining the highest standards of safety.

Speaker #2: And that's because, for our first piloted campaign, we wanted to stick with a well-understood path. So we used traditional aerospace methods. And we learned along the way that about half the time taken was due to manual steps that could actually be easily automated using best software practices from Silicon Valley.

Speaker #2: So, it's hard preparing for the VTOL campaign. We actually made updates to our software infrastructure. One such example is we now automatically deploy software updates to the Midnight aircraft.

Speaker #2: And as you can imagine, the team is very proud of having reduced multi-month-long cycles into often just a few days while maintaining the highest standards of safety.

Speaker #2: Thanks, Benjamin.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks, Benjamin.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks, Benjamin.

Speaker #6: Thanks, guys. Super helpful. I appreciate all that. And congrats again on the recent success. I'll pass it on.

Andres Sheppard: Thanks, guys. Super helpful. I appreciate all that. Congrats again on the recent success. I'll pass it on.

Speaker #1: Thank you. The next question comes from Amit Dayal with HC Right. You may proceed.

Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Amit Dayal with H.C. Wainwright. You may proceed.

Speaker #7: Thank you, Graham, and everyone. So, Adam, just can you provide any color on how many aircraft you will have available for the certification and testing?

Amit Dayal: Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Adam, just can you provide any color on how many aircraft will you have available for the certification and testing, and then for the EIPP program?

Speaker #7: And then for the EIPP program?

Speaker #2: I'm sure I'll give you a flavor of that in a moment. Thanks for the question. So we're in the late stages of building that initial fleet of Midnight aircraft that we've talked about.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Sure. I'll give you a flavor of that, Amit. Thanks for the question. We're in the late stages of building that initial fleet of Midnight aircraft that we've talked about, and we're gonna deploy those in 2026 and 2027 for our flight testing, our TIA activities, and then also as part of our EIPP and the international launch program. The focus of those aircraft is really to get us through the piloted VTOL transition testing and then ultimately to demonstrate air taxi ops under the EIPP and launch programs. Of course, we need to, you know, use that to get into TIA and then ultimately type certification.

Adam Goldstein: Sure. I'll give you a flavor of that, Amit. Thanks for the question. We're in the late stages of building that initial fleet of Midnight aircraft that we've talked about, and we're gonna deploy those in 2026 and 2027 for our flight testing, our TIA activities, and then also as part of our EIPP and the international launch program. The focus of those aircraft is really to get us through the piloted VTOL transition testing and then ultimately to demonstrate air taxi ops under the EIPP and launch programs. Of course, we need to, you know, use that to get into TIA and then ultimately type certification.

Speaker #2: And we're going to deploy those in 26 and 27 for our flight testing, our TIA activities, and then also as part of our EIPP and the international launch program.

Speaker #2: And so the focus of those aircraft is really to get us through the piloted VTOL transition testing and then ultimately to demonstrate air taxi ops under the EIPP and launch programs.

Speaker #2: And then, of course, we need to use that to get into TIA, and then ultimately type certification. But in parallel, we're also really stepping up our manufacturing and supply chain capacity.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): In parallel, we're also really stepping up our manufacturing and supply chain capacity, to put it in a position to allow us to aggressively ramp the aircraft builds as we get into 2027 and 2028, as we ready for the commercial ops, in LA for the Olympics and beyond.

Adam Goldstein: In parallel, we're also really stepping up our manufacturing and supply chain capacity, to put it in a position to allow us to aggressively ramp the aircraft builds as we get into 2027 and 2028, as we ready for the commercial ops, in LA for the Olympics and beyond.

Speaker #2: To put it in a position to allow us to aggressively ramp the aircraft builds as we get into 27 and 28 as we ready for the commercial ops in Los Angeles for the Olympics and beyond.

Speaker #7: Understood. That's what I was going next, Adam. So from a manufacturing perspective, what else needs to be sort of put in place for you guys to be ready to sort of meet the timelines you just talked about?

Amit Dayal: Understood. That's where I was going next, Adam. From a manufacturing perspective, what else needs to be sort of, put in place for you guys to be, you know, ready to sort of meet the timelines you just, talked about? Any color on how much CapEx is going towards that effort?

Speaker #7: And any color on how much CAPEX is going towards that effort?

Speaker #2: Yeah. It's a good question. And so as we go through the certification process, we are really focused on making sure we have the right aircraft that's designed for a great consumer experience, very, very safe, and that can carry the appropriate amount of payload but can also be a mass manufactured.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): It's a good question. You know, as we go through the certification process, we are, you know, really focused on making sure we have, you know, the right aircraft that's designed for a great consumer experience, very, very safe, and that can carry, you know, the appropriate amount of payload, but can also be mass manufactured. I talked a little bit about that in the shareholder letter. It's very challenging balancing, you know, the certification side of it, as well as manufacturing ramp. The good news is, you know, we've already stood up Georgia, you know, the Covington plants. We've invested pretty heavily in CapEx, pretty heavily in a lot of the, you know, NRC and tooling.

Adam Goldstein: It's a good question. You know, as we go through the certification process, we are, you know, really focused on making sure we have, you know, the right aircraft that's designed for a great consumer experience, very, very safe, and that can carry, you know, the appropriate amount of payload, but can also be mass manufactured. I talked a little bit about that in the shareholder letter. It's very challenging balancing, you know, the certification side of it, as well as manufacturing ramp. The good news is, you know, we've already stood up Georgia, you know, the Covington plants. We've invested pretty heavily in CapEx, pretty heavily in a lot of the, you know, NRC and tooling.

Speaker #2: And I talked a little bit about that in the shareholder letter. It's very challenging balancing the performance, the certification side of it, as well as manufacturing ramp.

Speaker #2: So, the good news is we've already stood up Georgia, the Covington plant. We've invested pretty heavily in CAPEX, pretty heavily in a lot of the NRC and tooling.

Speaker #2: And so, while our spend has been elevated here, I think we are in pretty good position here to actually ramp once we get through the certification program.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): You know, while our spend has been elevated here, I think we are in pretty good position here to actually ramp once we get through the certification program.

Adam Goldstein: You know, while our spend has been elevated here, I think we are in pretty good position here to actually ramp once we get through the certification program.

Speaker #7: Okay. Understood. That's all I have for now. Thank you.

Edison Yu: Okay, understood. That's all I have for now. Thank you.

Amit Dayal: Okay, understood. That's all I have for now. Thank you.

Speaker #2: Thanks.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks.

Speaker #1: Thank you. Next question comes from Austin Mahler with Canaccord. You may proceed.

Operator: Thank you. Next question comes from Austin Moeller with Canaccord. You may proceed.

Speaker #8: Hi. Good afternoon, Adam and Priya. So just my first question here, is the 100% means of compliance completion on the FAA side, does that mean that you're essentially close to or through critical design review and we shouldn't expect any more aircraft changes?

Austin Moeller: Hi, good afternoon, Adam and Priya. Just my first question here, does the 100% Means of Compliance completion on the FAA side, does that mean that you're essentially close to or through critical design review and we shouldn't expect any more aircraft changes? I know the you had changed the landing gear last year.

Speaker #8: I know that you had changed the landing gear last year.

Speaker #2: Yeah. Hey, Austin. This is Tom. I mean, the reality is, I can't say we won't make any further design changes until we get through all the cert testing.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Yeah. Hey, Austin, this is Tom. I mean, the reality is, I can't say we won't make any further design changes until we get through all the cert testing. You know, the reality is there's pros and cons there. It's actually an opportunity for us to make improvements, you know, where we have time and bandwidth in the program. Like, that being said, we're really comfortable with the architecture of the aircraft, and we don't see any technology issues today. One thing I can also say is, the approach to design for certification from the very beginning, like I mentioned, you know, has meant we have a larger and heavier aircraft than some of our competitors. It's really positioned us well. You know, Adam kind of touched on this earlier.

Tom Muniz: Yeah. Hey, Austin, this is Tom. I mean, the reality is, I can't say we won't make any further design changes until we get through all the cert testing. You know, the reality is there's pros and cons there. It's actually an opportunity for us to make improvements, you know, where we have time and bandwidth in the program. Like, that being said, we're really comfortable with the architecture of the aircraft, and we don't see any technology issues today. One thing I can also say is, the approach to design for certification from the very beginning, like I mentioned, you know, has meant we have a larger and heavier aircraft than some of our competitors. It's really positioned us well. You know, Adam kind of touched on this earlier.

Speaker #2: And the reality is, there are pros and cons there. It's actually an opportunity for us to make improvements where we have time and bandwidth in the program.

Speaker #2: But that being said, we're really comfortable with the architecture of the aircraft, and we don't see any technology issues today. One thing I can also say is the approach to design for certification from the very beginning that, like I mentioned, has meant we have a larger and heavier aircraft than some of our competitors.

Speaker #2: It's really positioned us well. And so, Adam kind of touched on this earlier. The challenge here is making sure that the design has the right performance, the right cert path, and the manufacturing path to actually launch the product.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): The challenge here is making sure that the design has the right performance, the right cert path, and the manufacturing path to actually launch the product, and we're really comfortable with where those are coming together.

Tom Muniz: The challenge here is making sure that the design has the right performance, the right cert path, and the manufacturing path to actually launch the product, and we're really comfortable with where those are coming together.

Speaker #2: And we're really comfortable with where those are coming together.

Speaker #8: Okay. And if we just think about the Iran operation in the first use by the Pentagon of one-way attack drones, should we think about a Midnight rotorcraft drone as potentially competing on future phases of the drone dominance program?

Austin Moeller: Okay. If we just think about the Iran operation and the first use by the Pentagon of one-way attack drones, should we think about a Midnight rotorcraft drone as potentially competing on future phases of, like, the Drone Dominance program? Or do you think it would be more in line with, like, a Collaborative Combat Aircraft type program specifically set aside for rotorcraft, where they're looking for something attritable?

Speaker #8: Or do you think it would be more in line with a collaborative combat aircraft-type program, specifically set aside for rotorcraft, where they're looking for something attritable?

Speaker #2: Yeah, I think the conflicts have really reinforced what's always been true, Austin, which is that air dominance is just the decisive factor, and it's key to military superiority.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Yeah. I think the conflicts, you know, have really reinforced what's always been true, Austin, which is that air dominance is just the decisive factor, and it's key to military superiority. You know, what we're seeing now, and what you're asking about is really the beginning of a generational shift in how nations are thinking about aerial warfare. That shift, we think, will play out over a multi-decade period of time. I think one thing is clear is that simply hybridizing an air taxi to get some additional range or payload, it may get you some short-term win, but it's divergent from what the administration really and what America's allies want and what they're demanding. That's why we partnered with Anduril to build an autonomous hybrid VTOL aircraft with dual use capabilities, both civil and defense applications.

Adam Goldstein: Yeah. I think the conflicts, you know, have really reinforced what's always been true, Austin, which is that air dominance is just the decisive factor, and it's key to military superiority. You know, what we're seeing now, and what you're asking about is really the beginning of a generational shift in how nations are thinking about aerial warfare. That shift, we think, will play out over a multi-decade period of time. I think one thing is clear is that simply hybridizing an air taxi to get some additional range or payload, it may get you some short-term win, but it's divergent from what the administration really and what America's allies want and what they're demanding. That's why we partnered with Anduril to build an autonomous hybrid VTOL aircraft with dual use capabilities, both civil and defense applications.

Speaker #2: And so what we're seeing now, and what you're asking about, is really the beginning of a generational shift in how nations are thinking about aerial warfare.

Speaker #2: And that shift, we think, will play out over a multi-decade period of time. But I think one thing is clear: simply hybridizing an air taxi to get some additional range or payload may get you some short-term win, but it's divergent from what the administration really—and what America's allies—want and what they're demanding.

Speaker #2: And so that's why we partnered with Anduril to build an autonomous hybrid VTOL aircraft with dual-use capabilities for both civil and defense applications. But on the military side, we think the demand is going to be for a loyal wingman.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): On the military side, we think the demand is going to be for a Loyal Wingman, and that's for armed reconnaissance attack helicopters. Due to the sensitive nature of it, though, I can't share much more details at this point, but our hope is that we can show the aircraft this year, which will translate into some really key wins. You know, to really help accelerate our progress there, we opened up a new hub in Bristol, UK, where we've already hired 20-plus seasoned engineers.

Adam Goldstein: On the military side, we think the demand is going to be for a Loyal Wingman, and that's for armed reconnaissance attack helicopters. Due to the sensitive nature of it, though, I can't share much more details at this point, but our hope is that we can show the aircraft this year, which will translate into some really key wins. You know, to really help accelerate our progress there, we opened up a new hub in Bristol, UK, where we've already hired 20-plus seasoned engineers.

Speaker #2: And that's for armed reconnaissance attack helicopters. And so, due to the sensitive nature of it, though, I can't share much more details at this point.

Speaker #2: But our hope is that we can show the aircraft this year, which will translate into some really key wins and really help accelerate our progress there.

Speaker #2: We opened up a new hub in Bristol, UK, where we've already hired 20-plus seasoned engineers.

Speaker #8: That's very helpful color things, Adam.

Austin Moeller: That's very helpful color. Thanks, Adam.

Speaker #2: Thanks.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks.

Speaker #1: Thank you. As a quick reminder, if you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from David Zazula with Barclays.

Operator: Thank you. As a quick reminder, if you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from David Zazula with Barclays. You may proceed.

Speaker #1: You may proceed.

Speaker #8: Hey, good afternoon, and thanks for taking my question. Does Adam—and your first question response—you said that the 2028 Olympics date was driving the regulators?

David Zazula: Hey, good afternoon, and thanks for taking my question. Just Adam, in your first question response, you said that the Olympic 2028 date was driving the regulators. I wonder if you could unpack that statement a little bit. You know, what do you mean? Do you mean resource allocation? You know, what was kind of behind that statement?

Speaker #8: I don't know if you can unpack that statement a little bit. What do you mean? Do you mean resource allocation? What was kind of behind that statement?

Speaker #2: Sure. Back in 2022, the FAA was the one that put out the goal of being able to fly eVTOL aircraft in mass in one city at the LA 28 Olympic Games.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Sure. Back in 2022, the FAA was the one that put out the goal of being able to fly eVTOL aircraft en masse, in one city, at the LA 2028 Olympic Games. They called it Innovate 2028. It really was an FAA program, kind of concept to begin with. Since then, you've seen this administration be heavily leaned into the Olympics, wanting to show all the, you know, great things America has done, the, you know, reindustrialization of America's leadership in aviation. It's become, you know, a big, I think, selling point for the Olympics in general.

Adam Goldstein: Sure. Back in 2022, the FAA was the one that put out the goal of being able to fly eVTOL aircraft en masse, in one city, at the LA 2028 Olympic Games. They called it Innovate 2028. It really was an FAA program, kind of concept to begin with. Since then, you've seen this administration be heavily leaned into the Olympics, wanting to show all the, you know, great things America has done, the, you know, reindustrialization of America's leadership in aviation. It's become, you know, a big, I think, selling point for the Olympics in general.

Speaker #2: They called it Innovate 2028. So it really wasn't an FAA program kind of concept to begin with. Since then, you've seen this administration be heavily leaned into the Olympics wanting to show all the great things America has done, the reindustrialization of America, America's leadership in aviation.

Speaker #2: And so it's become a big, I think, selling point for the Olympics in general. And so it really has been one, I think, an exciting thing for everybody to rally behind and for people to be proud in America that we're leading in aviation.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): It really has been, one, I think, an exciting thing for everybody to rally behind and people to be proud in America that we're leading in aviation, and also an important point for the administration to make sure that we get this done. What it did was create an unslippable date, and it's a date that everybody knows things have to be done by. You know, in this industry, it's tricky, right? You know, we've had, you know, some companies that have been around for a long time, and they keep putting out dates, and us too. The challenge is how do you get anybody to sort of stick to these dates? The way to do that is to align everybody to some unslippable date.

Adam Goldstein: It really has been, one, I think, an exciting thing for everybody to rally behind and people to be proud in America that we're leading in aviation, and also an important point for the administration to make sure that we get this done. What it did was create an unslippable date, and it's a date that everybody knows things have to be done by. You know, in this industry, it's tricky, right? You know, we've had, you know, some companies that have been around for a long time, and they keep putting out dates, and us too. The challenge is how do you get anybody to sort of stick to these dates? The way to do that is to align everybody to some unslippable date.

Speaker #2: And also, an important point for the administration to make sure that we get this done. But what it did was create an unslippable date, and so it's a date that everybody knows things have to be done by.

Speaker #2: And so in this industry, it's tricky, right? We've had some companies that have been around for a long time and they keep putting out dates and us too and the challenge is how do you get anybody to sort of stick to these dates in a way to do that is to align everybody to some unslippable date.

Speaker #2: And I think the Olympics has done that and it's really just forced everybody to get moving to make sure that all these challenging things that we have to get done are getting done.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): I think the Olympics has done that, and it's really just forced everybody to get moving to make sure that all these, you know, challenging things that we have to get done, are getting done. Hopefully that gives you a perspective, but I think a lot of it has to do with the culture and really the excitement that is around the games.

Adam Goldstein: I think the Olympics has done that, and it's really just forced everybody to get moving to make sure that all these, you know, challenging things that we have to get done, are getting done. Hopefully that gives you a perspective, but I think a lot of it has to do with the culture and really the excitement that is around the games.

Speaker #2: So, hopefully, that gives you a perspective. But I think a lot of it has to do with the culture and really the excitement that is around the games.

David Zazula: Helpful. Then you got us a little bit about deployment earlier. Maybe specifically for what you have in production right now. Can you just give us the breakdown of what you expect to be, kind of UAE based versus what US-based on the testing plan for this year?

Speaker #8: Helpful. And then you got us a little bit about deployment earlier. Maybe specifically for what you have in production right now, could you just give us the breakdown of what you expect to be kind of UAE-based versus what UAS-based on the testing plan for this year?

Speaker #2: Sure. I think it's a little bit difficult for us to predict too much stuff in the UAE right now, just sort of given the ongoing conflict.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Sure. I think it's a little bit difficult for us to predict too much stuff in the UAE right now, just sort of given the, you know, the ongoing conflict. You know, our goal is to keep getting through, you know, some of the testing and the, you know, the certification progress over there, as well as, you know, the certification process testing and EIPP over in the US. I think we'll have to wait and see kind of how that plays out to determine, you know, the volumes that we're gonna, you know, put it in each of the different locations. I would say, you know, let's wait and see how that turns out.

Adam Goldstein: Sure. I think it's a little bit difficult for us to predict too much stuff in the UAE right now, just sort of given the, you know, the ongoing conflict. You know, our goal is to keep getting through, you know, some of the testing and the, you know, the certification progress over there, as well as, you know, the certification process testing and EIPP over in the US. I think we'll have to wait and see kind of how that plays out to determine, you know, the volumes that we're gonna, you know, put it in each of the different locations. I would say, you know, let's wait and see how that turns out.

Speaker #2: Our goal is to keep getting through some of the testing and the certification progress over there, as well as the certification process, testing, and EIPP over in the US.

Speaker #2: So I think we'll have to wait and see, kind of, how that plays out to determine the volumes that we're going to put in each of the different locations.

Speaker #2: So I would say, let's wait and see how that turns out.

Speaker #8: Thanks, Adam.

David Zazula: Okay.

Speaker #2: Thanks.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks.

Speaker #1: Thank you. The next question comes from Chris Pierce with NEDA. You may proceed.

Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Chris Pierce with Needham. You may proceed.

Speaker #8: Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Just one quick one on EIPP and then one on design. I guess if we think about the applications that you put out there, is CTOL involved, or should we only expect to see VTOL flights from you guys?

Chris Pierce: Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Just one quick one on EIPP and then one on design. I guess, you know, if we think about the application that you put out there, is CTOL involved or should we only expect you guys to see VTOL flights? Is there a possibility we could see VTOL flights, you know, up, down, even though we don't have full transition at that time, and that's enough to help sort of move the industry forward? I just kinda wanna make sure to be on the right page of what we might be looking for later in this year.

Speaker #8: And is there a possibility we could see VTOL flights up and down, even though we don't have full transition at that time? And that's enough to help sort of move the industry forward.

Speaker #8: I just kind of want to make sure to be on the right page of what we might be looking for later in this year.

Speaker #2: Hey, Chris. We do expect to be through the full flight envelope at that point, and so I would expect us to certainly see VTOL full transition flights.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Hey, Chris. We do expect to be through the full flight envelope at that point. I would expect us to certainly see VTOL full transition flights. Because the aircraft was designed to do both VTOL and CTOL, we have the capability to do both. I think that's what's unique about the aircraft, and so there's an opportunity to do both.

Adam Goldstein: Hey, Chris. We do expect to be through the full flight envelope at that point. I would expect us to certainly see VTOL full transition flights. Because the aircraft was designed to do both VTOL and CTOL, we have the capability to do both. I think that's what's unique about the aircraft, and so there's an opportunity to do both.

Speaker #2: But because the aircraft was designed to do both VTOL and CTOL, we have the capability to do both. I think that's what's unique about the aircraft.

Speaker #2: And so both.

Speaker #8: Okay. And then the letter talks about the benefits of the four-bladed design. And I know you had a two-bladed design prior. Is it just that you didn't know what you didn't know?

Chris Pierce: Okay. Then the letter talks about the benefits of four-bladed design. I know you had a two-bladed design prior. Is it just that you didn't know what you didn't know? I guess you talked about software before. Like, is there some sort of four-bladed design gives you increased confidence in transition flight, or is that the wrong way to think about it and those aren't that correlated?

Speaker #8: And I guess you talked about software before. Is there some sort of four-bladed design that gives you increased confidence in transition flight? Or is that the wrong way to think about it and those aren't that correlated?

Speaker #2: I think it goes back to just the broader philosophy of trying to balance performance, certification, and manufacturability. And so that is—oh, that's where all the work of the industry is going into right now.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): I think it goes back to the, just the broader philosophy of trying to balance performance, certification, and manufacturability. That's where all the work of the industry is going into right now. I think it's very doable to build an aircraft that can fly really far or fly really high or fly really fast. Once you try to certify that, a lot of the case falls apart because the FAA is extremely rigorous in terms of the standards that they make you have. What we do is we look at different trades, all three are possible and can be done. You can use a two-bladed propeller, a three-bladed propeller, or a four-bladed propeller.

Adam Goldstein: I think it goes back to the, just the broader philosophy of trying to balance performance, certification, and manufacturability. That's where all the work of the industry is going into right now. I think it's very doable to build an aircraft that can fly really far or fly really high or fly really fast. Once you try to certify that, a lot of the case falls apart because the FAA is extremely rigorous in terms of the standards that they make you have. What we do is we look at different trades, all three are possible and can be done. You can use a two-bladed propeller, a three-bladed propeller, or a four-bladed propeller.

Speaker #2: And I think it's very doable to build an aircraft that can fly really far, and fly really high, or fly really fast. But once you try to certify that, a lot of the case falls apart because the FAA is extremely rigorous in terms of the standards that they make you have.

Speaker #2: And so what we do is we look at different trades and so all three are possible and can be done. You can use a two-bladed propeller, a three-bladed propeller, or a four-bladed propeller.

Speaker #2: You can even probably use a five-bladed propeller. They just all come with different trade-offs. And so what we mentioned in the letter was a two-bladed propeller had more of a weight penalty on the trade, versus a four-bladed propeller had more of a drag penalty.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): You can even probably use a five-bladed propeller. They just all come with different trades. What we mentioned in the letter was the two-bladed propeller had a more of a weight penalty on the trade, versus a four-bladed propeller had more of a drag penalty. One gives you more range, one gives you more payload. We optimize around payload, which is why we chose the four-bladed propeller. We just use that as an example to help show there are literally thousands of trades that go on like that throughout these programs. Some could be design trades, where they're industrial designs for, like, better looks, where it can look, but it might hit your performance. Some might be payload, some might be range, some might be speed.

Adam Goldstein: You can even probably use a five-bladed propeller. They just all come with different trades. What we mentioned in the letter was the two-bladed propeller had a more of a weight penalty on the trade, versus a four-bladed propeller had more of a drag penalty. One gives you more range, one gives you more payload. We optimize around payload, which is why we chose the four-bladed propeller. We just use that as an example to help show there are literally thousands of trades that go on like that throughout these programs. Some could be design trades, where they're industrial designs for, like, better looks, where it can look, but it might hit your performance. Some might be payload, some might be range, some might be speed.

Speaker #2: So, one gives you more range, one gives you more payload. We optimized around payload, which is why we've chosen the four-bladed propeller. And we just use that as an example to help show there are literally thousands of trades that go on like that throughout these programs.

Speaker #2: And so some could be design trades, where they're industrial designs for better looks, where it can look, but it might hit your performance. Some might be payload.

Speaker #2: Some might be range. Some might be speed. So those are just trying to give you a flavor for how we think about design here.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Those are just trying to give you a flavor for how we think about design here, but any of them are possible. We went with the four-bladed option because we thought it optimized for what we needed to, you know, make sure we could build a proper business case around.

Adam Goldstein: Those are just trying to give you a flavor for how we think about design here, but any of them are possible. We went with the four-bladed option because we thought it optimized for what we needed to, you know, make sure we could build a proper business case around.

Speaker #2: But any of them are possible. We went with the four-bladed option because we thought it optimized for what we needed to make sure we could build a proper business case around.

Speaker #8: Okay. Thanks. And good luck.

Chris Pierce: Okay. Thanks, and good luck.

Speaker #2: Thanks.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Thanks.

Adam Goldstein: Thanks.

Speaker #1: Thank you. There are currently no more questions at this time, so I'll pass it back over to the team for closing remarks.

Operator: Thank you. There are currently no more questions at this time, so I'll pass it back over to the team for closing remarks.

Speaker #2: Well, thank you very much for attending the call. We certainly have a lot of work ahead of us, but I could not be more excited about where we are headed.

[Company Representative] (Archer Aviation): Well, thank you very much for attending the call. We certainly have a lot of work ahead of us, but I could not be more excited about where we are headed. Every day, our team shows up with the same urgency that we had on day one, and that is not changing. I do not take your support for granted. We will keep earning it every day. Thank you very much.

Adam Goldstein: Well, thank you very much for attending the call. We certainly have a lot of work ahead of us, but I could not be more excited about where we are headed. Every day, our team shows up with the same urgency that we had on day one, and that is not changing. I do not take your support for granted. We will keep earning it every day. Thank you very much.

Speaker #2: Every day, our team shows up with the same urgency that we had on day one. And that has not changing. I do not take your support for granted.

Speaker #2: We will keep earning it every day. Thank you very much.

Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your line.

Q4 2025 Archer Aviation Inc Earnings Call

Request a DemoDemo

ACHR

Archer Aviation

Earnings