Joby Aviation, Inc. — 2021 Form 10-K
Business context and reporting period. This is Joby Aviation’s annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021—not a standalone fourth-quarter report. Joby is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and plans to manufacture and operate it as an aerial ridesharing service. It had not begun commercial passenger operations and reported no revenue line in the financial statements. The August 2021 merger with Reinvent Technology Partners was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization.
Financial performance and liquidity
| Metric | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | No commercial revenue reported | No commercial revenue reported |
| Research and development expense | $197.6 million | $108.7 million |
| Selling, general and administrative expense | $61.5 million | $23.5 million |
| Operating loss | $259.1 million | $132.2 million |
| Net loss | $180.3 million | $114.2 million |
| Net loss per share | $0.61 | $1.10 |
| Net cash used in operating activities | $195.7 million | $105.9 million |
Margins are not meaningful because the company was pre-revenue. At year-end, cash and cash equivalents were $955.6 million, short-term investments were $343.2 million, and restricted cash was $0.8 million. Management said available cash was expected to meet working-capital and capital needs for at least the next 12 months. Total liabilities were $171.6 million, including $44.9 million of warrant liabilities and $109.8 million of earnout-share liability; tenant-improvement loans and capital leases were comparatively modest.
Net cash provided by financing was $1.09 billion, primarily from $1.07 billion of merger proceeds. Property and equipment purchases were $32.3 million. The company reported an accumulated deficit of $476.6 million and said it expected continued losses and negative operating cash flow as it develops the aircraft and prepares for commercialization.
Material changes versus 2020
- Operating expenses nearly doubled, led by higher engineering, certification, testing, manufacturing-process development, staffing, insurance, and public-company costs.
- Operating cash use increased by $89.8 million to $195.7 million.
- Net loss grew by $66.2 million, although net loss per share decreased from $1.10 to $0.61, reflecting a higher weighted-average share count after the recapitalization.
- Reported results included $29.4 million of equity-method income from SummerBio and a $49.9 million gain from fair-value changes in warrants and earnout shares. These items helped offset operating losses and are not equivalent to recurring operating revenue.
- The company raised substantial capital in the merger, acquired Uber Elevate, and converted legacy redeemable convertible preferred stock into common stock.
Outlook, commentary, and principal risks
- Commercialization: Joby’s goal was to begin commercial passenger service in 2024. It still needed FAA type certification, production approval, and operating authority, including Part 135 requirements. The filing says certification work was expected to continue through at least 2023.
- Aircraft and service projections: The company described an aircraft designed for a pilot and four passengers, speeds up to 200 mph, and range up to 150 miles. These are design specifications, not proof of certified commercial performance.
- Long-term economics: Management projected a $3-per-passenger-mile price by 2026 and estimated approximately $2.2 million in net revenue and $1.0 million in earnings per aircraft at that price. These are forward-looking estimates dependent on certification, production scale, utilization, demand, and cost assumptions.
- Development incident: A remotely piloted experimental prototype aircraft was involved in an accident during flight testing in February 2022. Joby said it was investigating with the FAA and NTSB and did not then expect a significant effect on operations or certification timing.
- Key risks: Certification or launch delays; unproven customer demand and willingness to pay; manufacturing scale-up, supplier, and infrastructure constraints; aircraft safety, performance, maintenance, and weather-related utilization; regulatory and community approvals; competition; and the need for future capital.
- Other notable matters: Joby disclosed a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting related to insufficient accounting staffing and technical expertise. It had begun remediation but had not established that the weakness was remediated. Management did not complete an internal-control effectiveness assessment for 2021; the auditor’s financial-statement opinion was unqualified, but the auditor did not opine on internal controls. A shareholder lawsuit related to the merger was settled in December 2021 for an immaterial amount.
Most important facts for investors to verify
- Progress and timing for FAA type certification, production approval, and Part 135 operating authority, including any impact from the February 2022 prototype accident.
- Actual cash burn, investment portfolio liquidity, and funding required for manufacturing, aircraft fleet, and skyport development.
- Evidence supporting projected aircraft performance, production costs, utilization, passenger demand, and the 2026 pricing and aircraft-economics estimates.
- Remediation and independent validation of the disclosed material weakness in financial reporting controls.
- How much reported earnings depend on non-operating items, including SummerBio equity income and fair-value changes in warrant and earnout liabilities.