Is Archer Aviation Stock Still Worth Owning After Its Quarter?
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Archer Aviation (ACHR) reported Q3 FY2026 results after the market closed on November 9, 2026. The stock fell 2.1% the next day, as the S&P 500 slipped 0.4%. By November 12, shares were down 10.0% from that report-day close, while the index gained 0.6%. Sales barely grew from the quarter before, and management expects a bigger loss in the fourth quarter. So what are Archer holders paying for, and did the Q3 FY2026 report change it?
Holders Pay Up For Archer’s Air Taxi Plans
Archer stock trades at 286.3 times its sales over the past twelve months, against 3.2 times for the S&P 500. Buyers appear to be paying for Midnight, the company’s electric air taxi, rather than for today’s sales. During the November 9 call, management said the FAA had granted Midnight a certificate that lets it begin flying in Los Angeles, and that its piloted transition campaign remains on track to finish by the end of 2026. Management still plans to fly passengers in 2027.
Management tied the quarter’s sales to defense work. Q3 FY2026 revenue of $5.1 million beat consensus, management said, crediting the first engine deliveries to Anduril for Omen, an autonomous aircraft. During the trading session after the report, Joby Aviation fell 4.2% and Eve rose 2.1%, placing Archer’s move between its two peers. That suggests the market treated the quarter as little news on its first day.
Archer’s Sales Held Flat While Losses Grew
Archer’s Q3 FY2026 revenue barely cleared the $5.0 million it reported in Q2 FY2026. The company’s operating loss has grown in each of the last four quarters, reaching $289 million in Q3 FY2026, against $175 million a year earlier.
Management said it expects sales to grow in the fourth quarter. It guides Q4 FY2026 revenue of $5 million to $6 million, as operations pick up at Hawthorne and more engines and batteries go to Anduril. The bottom of that range is below the third quarter’s sales. On its own adjusted EBITDA measure, management put the third-quarter loss at $178.5 million and guides a loss of $185 million to $205 million for the fourth, as it pays for Midnight certification and its Halo defense aircraft.
Management gave no revenue target for 2027 for Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu, the businesses it is buying from Boeing, saying it will share more after the deal closes. It described Insitu as profitable, with over $200 million in annual revenue, but Archer does not yet own it.
More Shares And Less Cash For Archer Holders
Archer’s diluted share count rose 20% in the twelve months to September 30, 2026, reaching 793 million. Over the same year, its cash and short-term investments fell to $1,354 million from $1,641 million. At the third quarter’s free cash outflow of $196 million, that cash covers about seven quarters.
More shares are coming. Boeing is taking payment for the three businesses entirely in Archer stock and will become Archer’s largest shareholder at closing, management said. Management said one approval remains and it believes closing will be soon. Management’s goal is to keep net cash burn after the deal roughly flat from where it is today.
Holders still own Archer for Midnight, and the quarter showed that the losses before it flies passengers are still growing. When Archer releases its next report, expected in March 2027, the figure to watch is its fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss against the range management gave on the November 9 call.
Does This Mean You Should Act On ACHR?
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