Vertical Aerospace Ltd
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
We found at least one documented issue that threatens the company itself — regardless of how the stock is currently valued.
Why this colour
Substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern appears in the August 13, 2026 operating review and in PwC’s audit report, equity is negative (minus £34.4 million as of June 30, 2026), and without new capital the cash lasts only to the end of the third quarter of 2027, per the company — around the same time it expects to breach the secured notes’ minimum cash covenant. An NYSE cure period for a sub-$1 share price is running as well. That is why the rating is red. The technology is real and advancing, which makes Vertical more than an empty shell, but it does not prove a viable business. If you wait, check: does the Critical Design Review land by the end of 2026, how much cash is left in the next report, and what does the strategic review produce? The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Vertical Aerospace is a textbook case of anchoring: the stock fell from $7.28 in December 2025 to $0.40 in October 2026, but it only looks cheap next to a company that no longer exists in that form. The air taxi flies, there is no revenue, the profits are accounting entries, the cash lasts to the end of Q3 2027 per the company, and a creditor with 158.0 million conversion shares holds the controls. Not investment advice.
Technology & progress
Piloted transition flight in April 2026, a second prototype by August 2026, five days of flying at Farnborough; long-term supply agreements with ANH and Northrop Grumman LITEF (October 2026).
Revenue & demand
No revenue through 06/30/2026. Per the 2025 Form 20-F, the roughly 1,500 pre-orders are not legally binding and may be terminated at any time without penalty; certification now targeted for 2029 instead of 2028.
Earnings power
Operating loss of £127.4m in 2025 and £75.8m in H1 2026. The net profits for 2025 (£232.9m) and H1 2026 (£18.7m) come from remeasuring the convertible notes as the share price fell.
Liquidity & going concern
Going-concern warning from the company and its auditor, PwC. About £99m of cash (08/13/2026) lasts to the end of Q3 2027 without new capital, per the company; a breach of the $10m minimum cash covenant is expected around the same time.
Capital structure & control
Mudrick Capital is in control (64.2 percent beneficial ownership, 13D/A of 09/24/2026); the conversion price of its secured notes was amended from $3.50 to $1.30: 158.0m conversion shares next to 171.7m outstanding. Equity −£34.4m (06/30/2026).
Worth Noting
Vertical Aerospace made our research list through our in-house Reddit hype scanner (3 mentions in 24 hours, rank 147 after rank 668 the day before, ApeWisdom, as of October 21, 2026). Since 09/16/2026, per a 6-K, Vertical has been paying a firm to communicate about the company, including via social media.
Vertical is a foreign private issuer: annual report on Form 20-F instead of a 10-K, current reports on Form 6-K instead of 10-Qs, IFRS financial statements in pounds. The stock trades in U.S. dollars, so cash and price figures appear partly in pounds and partly in dollars. Form 25 of 12/04/2024 concerned only the old warrants, not the shares.
Market value calculated by us: 171,723,641 shares (prospectus 424B3, as of 08/10/2026) × the $0.4037 close on 10/20/2026 ≈ $69m; cross-check against fundamental data: $69.5m. The price has fallen sharply since the 08/10/2026 offering ($1.05 per unit). About $205m of notes = 157,972,433 conversion shares (operating review, 6-K of 08/13/2026; the 424B3 prospectus states 157,972,431) × $1.30 (our math).
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of October 21, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at EVTL since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 0.3618 $ to 7.30 $ · Last price: 0.3771 $ (As of: November 12, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 11/12/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Aerospace & Defense
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical Aerospace Ltd EVTL | 0.1 | – | 1.8 | – | 0.0 | – | -90.5 |
| Space Exploration Technologies Corp. SPCX | 1,059.2 | – | 172.5 | 56.8 | – | – | – |
| GE Aerospace GE | 344.9 | 42.9 | 26.9 | 30.1 | 20.2 | 18.5 | 7.6 |
| RTX Corporation RTX | 260.7 | 37.7 | 16.9 | 21.1 | 13.2 | 9.7 | 13.3 |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT | 139.3 | 29.1 | 14.0 | 11.7 | 11.0 | 5.7 | 35.6 |
| The Boeing Company BA | 135.3 | 67.9 | 12.9 | 9.5 | 1.7 | 34.5 | -12.3 |
| General Dynamics Corporation GD | 98.6 | 23.2 | 14.5 | 15.4 | 10.5 | 10.1 | 5.8 |
| Howmet Aerospace Inc HWM | 89.3 | 52.2 | 29.9 | 36.6 | 28.2 | 11.1 | 9.0 |
| Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC | 77.1 | 17.2 | 12.3 | 20.0 | 11.7 | 2.2 | -1.2 |
| Median of companies shown | 135.3 | 37.7 | 14.5 | 20.6 | 11.3 | 10.1 | 6.7 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year £M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue (£M) | EBIT (£M) | Net Income (£M) | EPS (£) | Operating Cash Flow (£M) | Equity (£M) | Total Assets (£M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0 | -7 | -7 | -0.75 | -7 | 4 | 7 |
| 2020 | 0 | -12 | -12 | -3.23 | -12 | -1 | 9 |
| 2021 | 0 | -277 | -245 | -19.76 | -38 | 62 | 233 |
| 2022 | 0 | -98 | -94 | -5.26 | -104 | 7 | 151 |
| 2023 | 0 | -102 | -60 | -3.13 | -75 | -50 | 84 |
| 2024 | 0 | -61 | -781 | -38.46 | -46 | -499 | 48 |
| 2025 | 0 | -127 | 233 | 1.83 | -78 | -121 | 105 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales (£M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF (£M) | FCF (£M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q1 | – | – | 0 | -100.00 | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2026: Q2 | -0.42 | 76.10 | 0 | – | – | -47 | -48 |
| 2024: Q2 | – | – | 0 | – | – | 18 | 18 |
| 2024: Q3 | -1.48 | 7.50 | 0 | – | – | -24 | -24 |
| 2024: Q4 | -13.56 | -1,406.20 | 11 | – | -33,349.50 | -21 | -21 |
| 2025: Q1 | 5.08 | – | 0 | – | – | -21 | -21 |
| 2025: Q2 | -1.76 | – | 0 | – | – | -6 | -6 |
| 2025: Q4 | -0.60 | 95.60 | 0 | -100.00 | – | -31 | -31 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.60 | -88.20 | 0 | – | – | -36 | -37 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 4 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Research
Risk & Weakness
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. Scanners marked in red are red-flag signals (risk/short scanners) — appearing there is not a seal of approval. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate (£) | EPS Range (£) | Revenue Estimate (£M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | -0.61 | -1.12 – -0.13 | 0 | -123.4% | 7 |
| 12/31/2027 | -0.81 | -1.39 – -0.35 | 0 | -31.0% | 6 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Geprüft am 21.10.2026 gegen die Jahresberichte 20-F 2025 und 2024, die Halbjahresmeldung 6-K vom 13.08.2026 (Anlagen 99.1/99.2), die Q1-Meldung 6-K vom 06.05.2026 und die 6-K vom 21.10.2026: Vertical Aerospace entwickelt das Elektro-Fluggerät Valo, hat noch keinen Umsatz und verkauft keine KI. Künstliche Intelligenz erscheint im 20-F 2025 nur als Werkzeug von Cyberangreifern und als mögliches Sicherheitsrisiko. Die geplanten „autonomous capabilities“ (Partnerschaft mit Near Earth Autonomy, 6-K vom 13.08.2026) sind ein Entwicklungsziel ohne belegten KI-Einsatz im Betrieb, und dass der neue Direktor Marc Fontaine bei Helsing arbeitet, einem Anbieter militärischer KI (6-K vom 21.10.2026), macht KI nicht zum Geschäft von Vertical. Nach dem Kriterienkatalog bleibt es bei „neutral“.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Further, any integration of artificial intelligence in our or any third party’s operations, products or services is expected to pose new or unknown cybersecurity risks and challenges."
Zudem dürfte jede Einbindung künstlicher Intelligenz in unsere Abläufe, Produkte oder Dienstleistungen oder in die Dritter neue oder unbekannte Cybersicherheitsrisiken und Herausforderungen mit sich bringen.
20-F · 2026-03-24 · View SEC filing
„Cybersecurity attacks are expected to accelerate on a global basis in frequency and magnitude, and the techniques and tools (including artificial intelligence) used to breach security safeguards, circumvent security controls, evade detection and remove forensic evidence are evolving rapidly."
Cyberangriffe dürften weltweit an Häufigkeit und Ausmaß zunehmen, und die Techniken und Werkzeuge (einschließlich künstlicher Intelligenz), mit denen Schutzvorkehrungen durchbrochen, Sicherheitskontrollen umgangen, Entdeckung vermieden und forensische Spuren beseitigt werden, entwickeln sich rasant weiter.
20-F · 2026-03-24 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 6-K 2026-10-21 · 6-K 2026-08-13 · 6-K 2026-08-13 · 6-K 2026-05-06 · 20-F 2026-03-24 · 6-K 2025-08-05 · 20-F 2025-03-11
Rated on October 21, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Quality check
AAQS
0/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% -100.0%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% –
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% –
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% –
- Net debt < 4x EBIT –
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 0
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% –
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% –
- Expected return > 10% –
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
The company
About the Company
Vertical Aerospace Ltd., an aerospace and technology company, engages in designing, manufacturing, and selling zero operating emission electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) in the United Kingdom. It is involved in developing its flagship VX4, an eVTOL aircraft; and designing, manufacturing and commercializing for deployment in the advanced air mobility market. Vertical Aerospace Ltd. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Bristol, the United Kingdom.
- Employees
- 434
- Headquarters
- Bristol, United Kingdom
- Address
- Camwal Court, BS2 0UW Bristol, United Kingdom
- Phone
- 44 11 7471 0150
- Website
- vertical-aerospace.com
- IPO Date
- 12/15/2021
- ISIN
- KYG9471C2068
- Stock Split
- 1:10 on 09/23/2024
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Stuart Simpson | CEO & Executive Director | 1968 |
| John Maloney | Principal Financial & Accounting Officer | 1982 |
| Stephen Fitzpatrick | Founder | 1977 |
| Mark Vincent Higson | Chief Operating Officer | 1956 |
| Michael Cervenka | Chief Commercial, Strategy & Technology Officer | 1976 |
| Juan Carlos Sacristan | Chief Data & Information Officer | – |
| Samuel Emden | Head of Investor Affairs | – |
| Sanjay Verma | Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer | – |
| Justin Bates | Head of Communications | – |
| Ollie Roberts | Chief People Officer | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Data as of: November 12, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.