The movie Back to the Future depicted a 2015 with hoverboards and flying cars, neither of which came to pass. Although we're still waiting for flying DeLoreans to populate the sky, Archer Aviation (ACHR 1.03%) is on a quest to give us the next-best thing: a flying taxi.
Well, sort of.
Archer's electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are quiet like a Prius, but fly up and down like a helicopter. The idea is still in the early stages of development, but Archer might be very close to making it a reality. Aggressive investors looking for growth might want to snatch up this industrial stock before it soars in five years. Here's why.
Strong early support from an impressive array of partners
Archer Aviation has never had as much strategic support as it does now. Indeed, with a commercial partner in United Airlines and a manufacturing partner in Stellantis, Archer has a growing roster of blue chip giants that are lending the start-up execution support to help get its craft off the ground.
Archer Aviation's Midnight aircraft. Image source: Archer Aviation and Stellantis.
Archer has also wisely aligned with foreign aviation players, like Japan Airlines and Abu Dhabi Aviation, to help it enter new markets. On that front, Archer has started testing aircraft at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, with the hopes of achieving commercialization there.
Speaking of commercialization, Archer is driving hard to achieve that in the U.S. as well. Right now, it doesn't have FAA Type Certification, which prevents Archer from putting paying customers in the air. That said, a recent eVTOL pilot program through the White House could see its FAA certification process accelerate from here.
NYSE: ACHR
Key Data Points
Recently, the company won a bid to acquire 300 patents from its rival Lilium. On the heels of that news, Korean Air announced it was buying 100 of Archer's flagship Midnight craft.
With a market valuation north of $7 billion, the stock has a lot of expectations built in. And yet for investors betting on the future, Archer's vision of electric flight -- backed by these big names in aviation -- might be well worth the wait.
