Aerospace Start-Up Beta Posts Its First Earnings Report. The Stock Rises.

Beta Technologies plans to commercialize electric helicopters and planes by 2027 or 2028. (GRAHAM HUGHES/AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

• Beta Technologies reported a third-quarter operating loss of $81 million on sales of $8.9 million, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company projects 2025 sales between $29 million and $33 million, aligning with Wall Street’s $30.5 million projection.
• Beta ended the quarter with $687.6 million in cash, excluding $1.1 billion in IPO net proceeds from November.

Aerospace and defense company Beta Technologies issued its first quarterly report on Thursday as a publicly traded company. It went OK.

The maker of electric aircraft and aircraft components had a third-quarter operating loss of $81 million from sales of $8.9 million. Wall Street was looking for a $90 million loss from sales of $6.8 million. A year ago, Beta recorded an operating loss of $73 million on sales of $3.1 million.

Beta expects 2025 sales of $29 million to $33 million. Wall Street projects $30.5 million. Backlog looks impressive with 891 aircraft worth $3.5 billion on order, of which 289 are for firm orders, and 602 are options.

It’s a beat with solid guidance. In response, the stock was all over the place. It traded as low as $27.89 and as high as $31 on Thursday. Shares closed at $29.79, up 1.3%. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%.

Shares remain below the Nov. 3 initial public offering price of $34. Current prices value Beta stock at just under $7 billion.

Beta is still relatively new to investors. The company is developing electric aviation technologies and plans to commercialize what amounts to electric helicopters and planes by 2027 or 2028.

That means significant sales are still down the road. Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu projects $4.2 billion in annual sales for 2030. She rates shares Hold and has a $30 price target for the stock.

Kahyaoglu is the only Hold rating. Seven other analysts rate shares Buy. The average analyst price target is about $38 a share. Anthony Valentini of Goldman Sachs is one of those with a Buy rating. His price target is $47.

“Beta is an aircraft OEM and parts supplier, the most attractive business models in aviation,” he wrote this week. “It has partnered with GE Aerospace to build a hybrid vehicle for defence, and has taken a team approach to selling motors and chargers to competitors, which will help it scale.”

Valentini calls Beta the “best positioned” of companies trying to develop electric aircraft, comparing it to the likes of Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation.

Developing planes isn’t cheap, and Beta is projected to use about $300 million to $400 million a year for the next few years before turning the corner near the end of the decade.

Beta ended the quarter with $687.6 million in cash on its books. That excludes approximately $1.1 billion in IPO net proceeds raised in November.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com