Trump Media & Technology, Joby Aviation, and Archer Aviation Lead Small Cap Losers On Wednesday
A media company burning through cash, a flying taxi startup making a costly bet, and a sector-wide selloff converged on Wednesday to punish three small caps hard. Here is what drove each name lower and what traders are watching next.
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Three names stood out among Wednesday’s decliners heading into the close. Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT), Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY | JOBY Price Prediction), and Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) all finished the regular session sharply lower, with declines ranging from roughly 5% to more than 7%. With the VIX sitting near 15, today’s weakness reads as company and sector-specific rather than a broad market event.
Trump Media Extends A Rough Week
DJT is trading around $8.27, down roughly 7% on the day and about 17% over the past week. There is no single clean catalyst tied to today’s move. The stock is still absorbing a run of headline pressure that started with Monday’s earnings, when the company posted a Q2 net loss of $238.11 million on just $1.70 million of revenue, driven by $190.40 million in non-cash unrealized losses on digital assets and equity securities.
Layered on top of that earnings report: Truth Social monthly visitors have declined roughly 36% compared to the prior year, the new Truth API service that sells fast access to posts for up to $100,000 per month has drawn SEC probe requests from Senators Warren and Schiff and a proposed “Stop Corrupt Trading Act”, and management is pivoting away from crypto arrangements toward a proposed merger with fusion energy firm TAE Technologies, targeted to close in Q4 2026.
Joby Slides As The eVTOL Group Pulls Back
Joby is changing hands near $7.96, off about 5%. The company announced a $500 million acquisition of defense firm Resonant Sciences for $500 million yesterday. The acquisition included $450 million in cash and $50 million in Joby stock. That matters because Joby is still largely a pre-revenue company, so it’s a significant use of cash. Peer Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) is down roughly 7% to $6.29. Both names ran hard into this stretch, and today looks like classic profit-taking across the group.
Archer is still up roughly 21% over the past week and about 38% over the last month even after today’s slide. Joby’s own Q2 revenue of $38.6 million beat consensus by roughly 27%, and management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $115 million to $125 million. GAAP EPS of -$0.25 missed expectations, and the H2 2026 cash usage guide of $385 million to $415 million has given traders reason to trim. Joby is now down roughly 40% YTD.
What To Watch
DJT needs to stabilize above $8 to slow the bleeding after this week’s slide. For Joby and Archer, Thursday’s session will show whether today’s move was a one-day cool-off in a still-hot group.
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Eric Bleeker has been investing for more than 20 years. He began his career working at Microsoft before joining Motley Fool, one of the largest publishers of financial research. In his 15 years at Motley Fool Eric served as the General Manager for Fool.com and led coverage in the Technology & Telecom sector. In addition, he was a featured columnist and has hosted dozens of investing seminars attended by more than a million total investors. Eric has more than 1,000 financial bylines to his name and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fox Business, and many other leading publications. He is currently focused on artificial intelligence investing and is a CFA Charterholoder.
