On June 6th, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled "Unleashing American Drone Dominance."
Five days later, he signed additional orders targeting drones, flying cars, and supersonic industries.
What does that mean? The sky is about to get a lot more crowded.
Drones are not new, but regulations and spending on them has been slow, up until recently.
This new order could make it easier for businesses to build the software and hardware to create things like drones.
And according to United Nations AI advisor Neil Sahota, these orders will "launch the low-altitude economy."
That means spending may soon increase for drone manufacturers - which many investors have started taking notice of.
Joby Aviation (JOBY) is one drone stock that investors have taken interest in over the last six months - but will it benefit from this increased spending and demand?
Let’s break down what is going on with drones in 2026, the potential opportunities, and the risks investors should be aware of.
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What Is the Low-Altitude Economy?
Think of it as everything that flies below helicopter altitude.
For decades, drones were primarily military tools. Now, the White House is pushing to commercialize them for taxi services, deliveries, surveillance, and agriculture.
This new executive order should benefit defense contracts as well - but soon, drones could be flying above everyone in major cities everywhere.
That creates a new market opportunity for drone companies to create this infrastructure - along with drones, software, and more.
But which companies specifically could benefit?
Joby Aviation: Flying Cars Aren't Science Fiction Anymore
Joby Aviation (JOBY) is building aircraft that can transport humans in the sky, like small helicopters.
Yes, we're talking about flying taxis straight out of The Jetsons.
Joby has already established partnerships with major transportation players including Delta (DAL) and Uber (UBER).
Toyota (TM) has invested over $900 million into the company, signaling serious institutional confidence.
When Trump's executive orders dropped, Joby's stock jumped
Shares rallied more than 20% over the following month, spiking on June 6th and peaking after the June 11th order.
From June 6th 2025 to Jan 13th 2026, Joby has jumped over 80%.
Our analysts found even more data and research on not only Joby, but other potential drone stock opportunities.
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Drone Stock Outlook
The drone taxi market is small, but growing - valued at only $74 million in 2025.
But projections show explosive growth to $852 million by 2030 as regulatory approvals unlock commercial operations.
North America is expected to lead this expansion, with early adopter cities like Detroit planning to launch commercial drone operations within the next year.
That could create many opportunities for drone stocks or makers in the future as that spending gets distributed.
The Catch For Drone Stocks: FAA Certification
Before Joby can start flying passengers, they need FAA approval.
The certification process has five steps, and Joby has completed four. They began the final phase - test flights - in late 2024.
One reason investors got excited about Trump's executive orders?
Experts believe the President wants to eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks, potentially speeding up Joby's certification timeline.
To be clear: As of January 13th, 20206, it has not completed all five steps for certification.
And there’s no guarantee that it will.
All drone stocks in this space will need to complete the certification as well, especially other competitors, with some already having completed all five certifications.
While it’s heading in the right direction, it isn’t there yet, which could create risks for investors in the meantime.
Drone Stocks & Joby: Reality Check
Despite the hype, Joby is still burning through cash during R&D.
They have partnerships, funding, and government support - but no commercial revenue yet.
Our analysts spoke to Airspace Link CEO Michael Healander, who laid out a three-year timeline for the industry.
Early commercial operations could begin in select cities within a year, but nationwide services and major IPOs for drone infrastructure companies are roughly three years away.
That makes Joby and other drone stocks still a speculative opportunity.
However, it could also see some growth in the future, so investors should determine if the risk and rewards with drone stocks make sense for them.
The Bottom Line On Drone Stocks
The low-altitude economy is coming. Whether Joby becomes the Uber of the skies or gets acquired by a larger player remains to be seen.
But with government backing, institutional investment, and a clear path to certification, this could be one market shift investors will want to keep an eye on.
But, many of these drone stocks are not profitable yet. Joby has not made it through all five steps of FAA certification yet.
That makes them speculative opportunities, because there is no guarantee that they will continue to grow in the future.
If that growth does come though, drone stocks like Joby could benefit.
We identified other potential investment opportunities in this market shift in our full Market Briefs Pro report.
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