Archer Aviation's Midnight Jet Sets Course for Global Takeoff

Archer Aviation Inc. ACHR, as a prominent electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer, is aiming to transform urban air mobility through its flagship aircraft, Midnight. Built  for short, frequent flights of 20–50 miles, Midnight aircraft is nearing its commercial rollout following a handful of regulatory approvals and strategic partnerships ACHR has signed lately.

In June 2025, Archer Aviation signed a strategic partnership with Jetex to develop infrastructure at the latter’s network of private terminals for facilitating Midnight jet’s upcoming commercial air taxi operations. The partnership will initially concentrate on facilities in the United Arab Emirates, with plans to scale across Jetex’s broader portfolio of 40 private terminals in more than 30 countries worldwide.

Prior to this, ACHR joined U.S. and international regulators to launch a five-nation alliance aimed at streamlining global certification and deployment of its Midnight eVTOL aircraft.

With flight testing already underway and certification efforts in progress, the Midnight jet remains well-positioned to take-off smoothly, further supported by the aforementioned strategic moves undertaken by ACHR.

Rising Competition in the eVTOL Space

With demand for faster, cleaner and more efficient urban transportation on the rise, the eVTOL industry is attracting growing interest from both investors and aviation leaders. Thus, Archer Aviation apart, other players like Joby Aviation Inc. JOBY and Embraer ERJ are also making notable progress in this industry.

Joby Aviation is advancing rapidly with its air taxi program. It has completed more than 40,000 miles of test flights and is now operating six aircraft in its test fleet. It plans to launch commercial passenger services in cities like Los Angeles, New York and Dubai.

On the other hand, Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility is developing an eVTOL aircraft focused on regional transport. Eve has gained strong industry interest, supported by Embraer's experience in commercial aviation and existing relationships with global airlines. The company is also focused on building urban air traffic management systems to support the safe integration of eVTOLs into city airspace.

ACHR’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of ACHR have gained 173.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 16.4% growth.

The company’s shares are trading at a discount on a relative basis, with its trailing 12-month Price/Book being 5.43X compared with its industry’s average of 5.87X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACHR’s 2025 and 2026 loss has improved over the past 60 days.

ACHR stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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