Deliveries - Direct eVTOL
Deliveries refer to the total number of eVTOL aircraft that have been manufactured and sold to customers, including operators and government entities.
Guide to eVTOL Industry KPIs
This guide highlights the key performance indicators for the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) industry and where investors should look to find an investment edge. While this guide is not a fully integrated eVTOL industry primer, as the market leader in granular consensus estimates data, Visible Alpha works with partners and clients to determine the key performance indicators in the industry. This guide will aid market participants in identifying industry KPIs and the potential future performance of eVTOL companies, by region and service type.
Industry Business Model
Revenue
Analysts model eVTOL company revenue by accounting for various factors that influence the development, commercialization, and scaling of urban air mobility (UAM). Since UAM is a nascent industry and eVTOL companies are relatively new, revenue modeling involves several assumptions about market adoption, pricing strategies, infrastructure, and regulatory timelines.
The core business model for eVTOL companies is providing air taxi services within urban environments. To estimate revenue, analysts focus on key operational aspects, including:
- Available seat miles (ASM) represent the total number of seat miles available for passengers across the fleet over a specific period.
- Average stage length refers to the average distance traveled in a single flight or journey from the point of departure to the destination. This metric is typically used to measure the range and efficiency of eVTOL operations within urban air mobility networks.
- Revenue passenger miles (RPM) measures the total number of miles flown by paying passengers and provides insights into how much of the available capacity is being utilized for generating revenue.
- Revenue per available passenger mile (RASM) is a key performance metric used to evaluate the revenue generated per mile available for passenger transport. It provides insight into how effectively an eVTOL company generates revenue based on the total capacity it offers passengers.
RASM= Total revenue / Available seat miles (ASM)
- Total yield: Often referred to as revenue per RPM, measures how much revenue the company generates for each mile flown by a paying passenger.
Total yield= Total revenue / RPM
- Load factor: Similar to how airlines assess seat utilization, the load factor measures how effectively the available capacity (seats) of the eVTOL fleet is being utilized by passengers.
Load Factor=RPM / ASM ×100
eVTOL companies generate revenue through two primary channels: by manufacturing or developing, and selling aircraft to operators, governments, and private entities, and by offering ride-sharing services. This revenue structure is typically divided into Urban Air Mobility (UAM) revenue and Direct eVTOL revenue.
UAM revenue—derived from air taxi services—is a pivotal income stream for many eVTOL companies. One way to calculate revenue for eVTOL companies follows a method similar to that used in the airline industry.
First, the available seat miles (ASM) metric assesses total seat supply, offering insight into how capacity might influence pricing. ASM is then adjusted by the load factor, indicating the percentage of seats filled with paying passengers, to produce revenue passenger miles (RPM), which reflects the miles flown by fare-paying passengers. By multiplying RPM by yield (revenue per passenger mile), analysts arrive at the total revenue generated from UAM services.
However, a tailored approach specific to eVTOL firms refines this calculation to account for unique aspects of the industry. Here, analysts calculate UAM revenue as:
Here, ASM is calculated as:
Beyond UAM revenue, eVTOL firms also rely on direct eVTOL sales revenue from manufacturing and selling aircraft directly to end customers—operators, governments, or other organizations—without intermediaries. This model gives eVTOL companies greater control over customer relationships, pricing, and branding, which can be advantageous in high-value, specialized markets like aviation. Direct sales of eVTOL units are typically negotiated at substantial prices, reflecting the advanced technology and specialized engineering involved.
Direct eVTOL revenue can be calculated as follows:
eVTOL Industry Business Models
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Expenses
eVTOL companies face a variety of major expenses as they work to develop, produce, and operate electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. These costs reflect the complexities of building a new transportation sector and include both upfront capital investments and ongoing operational expenditures. Key categories of expenses include:
- Cost of revenue: This encompasses all direct costs associated with producing, delivering, and maintaining eVTOL aircraft and services, whether the revenue comes from selling aircraft units or providing air taxis and related services. This cost category includes both production expenses and operational costs necessary for fulfilling revenue-generating activities.
- Research and development expense (R&D): Major costs include developing and testing new aircraft designs and electric propulsion technologies. R&D covers areas such as aerodynamics, battery systems, autonomous navigation, safety protocols, and noise reduction. R&D expenses primarily consist of personnel-related costs, which include salaries, bonuses, benefits, and stock-based compensation for employees engaged in research and development. Additionally, R&D expenses cover the costs of developing and constructing prototype aircraft, maintaining related facilities, and accounting for depreciation.
Certification with aviation authorities (e.g., FAA, EASA) requires extensive testing and documentation, which can stretch R&D budgets over many years. - Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) costs: SG&A expenses cover a broad range of costs essential for running the business but not directly tied to production or operational costs. SG&A includes all expenditures related to corporate functions, sales, marketing, and administrative support, which are critical for scaling, regulatory compliance, and establishing market presence.
Profitability
Analysts break down unit economics to assess the profitability and scalability of eVTOL companies. This includes:
- EBIT margin and EBITDA margin are two key profitability metrics used to assess the financial performance of eVTOL companies. Given the capital-intensive nature of the eVTOL industry, these metrics help evaluate how efficiently these companies are managing their operating expenses and generating profit from core operations before accounting for non-operating costs and capital expenditures.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the most important business metrics for a particular industry. When understanding market expectations for the eVTOL industry, whether at a company or industry level, some KPIs to consider include:
Visible Alpha’s Standardized Industry Metrics
To understand market expectations for the eVTOL industry, a key information source is sell-side analyst estimates and consensus forecast data. The buy-side, sell-side, and public companies leverage this type of data to conduct competitive analysis, a type of analysis conducted by professional analysts that involves comparing standardized metrics of one company with those of similar companies. Because companies report metrics differently – and sometimes report on different metrics altogether – standardizing the key metrics for each company can be a cumbersome process.
Visible Alpha Insights includes analyst data, company data, and industry data at a level of granularity unparalleled in the market. Our industry data – Standardized Industry Metrics – enables market participants to quantify and compare market expectations for companies across 150+ industries.
Data as of December 09, 2024
4
Global Tickers
28
Current Analyst Excel Models
58
Proprietary line items in our standardized operating metrics data
14
Contributing Brokers
356
Total standardized line items
228
Unique Line Items In Our Standardized Financials Data
Visible Alpha offers one eVTOL-related comp table, comparing forecasts for key financial and operating metrics, to make it easy to quickly conduct relative analysis. Every pre-built, customizable comp table is based on region, sub-industry, or key operating metrics.
- Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY)
- Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR)
- Eve Holding (NYSE: EVEX)
- Ehang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH_US)
Industry KPI Terms & Definitions
Visible Alpha offers an innovative, integrated experience through real-time, granular consensus estimates and historical data created directly from the world’s leading equity analysts. Using a subset of the below KPIs, this data can help investors hone in on the key drivers of companies to uncover investment opportunities.
Deliveries – Direct eVTOL
Deliveries refer to the total number of eVTOL aircraft that have been manufactured and sold to customers, including operators and government entities.
Average Selling Price (ASP) – Direct eVTOL
The average selling price (ASP) is the average price at which eVTOL aircraft are sold, calculated by dividing direct eVTOL revenue by the Deliveries—Direct eVTOL.
Number of Units – Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Number of units is the total number of eVTOL vehicles used for ride-sharing.
Average Stage Length – Urban Air Mobility (UAM) (Miles)
Average stage length is the average distance, in miles, that each eVTOL aircraft flies per trip.
Number of Trips per Day – Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Number of trips per day is the average number of trips each eVTOL aircraft completes in a day, representing the total takeoffs and landings within 24 hours.
Total Operating Days – Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Total operating days are the total days an eVTOL aircraft is in active operation over a specific period.
Passengers Per Aircraft – Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Passengers per aircraft is the number of passengers each eVTOL aircraft can carry per trip.
Available Seat Miles (ASM)
Available seat miles is a measure of airline capacity and is calculated by taking the number of seats available and multiplying by the distance flown.
Revenue Passenger Mile (RPM)
Revenue passenger mile (RPM) is a measure of the total number of miles flown by paying passengers, calculated by multiplying the number of paying passengers by the distance flown.
Revenue per Available Seat Mile (RASM)
Revenue per available seat mile is calculated by dividing the Revenue—Urban Air Mobility (UAM) by the total available seat miles.
Load Factor (%)
Load factor is a measure of utilization. It is the number of revenue passenger miles expressed as a percentage of Available seat miles.
Total Revenue – Direct eVTOL
Total revenue – Direct eVTOLis the total income generated from the direct sale of eVTOL aircraft to customers, excluding any intermediary sales.
Total Revenue – Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Total revenue – Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is the total income generated from urban air mobility services provided by eVTOL companies, including air taxi services and related operations.
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Guide to eVTOL Industry KPIs for Investment Professionals
This guide highlights the key performance indicators for the eVTOL industry and where investors should look to find an investment edge, including:
- eVTOL Industry Business Model & Diagram
- Key eVTOL Industry Metrics PLUS Visible Alpha’s Standardized Industry Metrics
- Available Comp Tables
- Industry KPI Terms & Definitions
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