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Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (BLDE)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q2 2025 delivered modest top-line growth and notable profitability improvement: revenue $70.80M (+4.2% YoY), gross margin 18.2% (+150 bps YoY), Adjusted EBITDA $3.19M (vs. $0.96M YoY), and net loss narrowed to $(3.74)M from $(11.33)M YoY .
  • Medical segment remained the growth engine (revenue +17.6% YoY to $45.11M), while Passenger saw continued margin progress despite lower revenue; Flight Margin improved to 25.1% overall (+100 bps YoY) .
  • Strategic pivot announced: sale of Passenger division to Joby Aviation for up to $125M; Blade’s Medical division to become standalone Strata Critical Medical with long-term eVTOL access via Joby; management expects Adjusted EBITDA and FCF neutrality post-close and ~$7M corporate cost efficiencies .
  • 2025 guidance reaffirmed (pre-divestiture): revenue $245–$265M and “double-digit” Adjusted EBITDA; standalone medical guidance to follow transaction close. Medical margins expected ~15% in H2 2025 as maintenance headwinds abate .
  • Stock-relevant catalysts: divestiture to a leading eVTOL platform, medical growth acceleration and margin normalization expected in H2, and reaffirmed full-year guidance (update to guidance after close may reset expectations) .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

  • What Went Well

    • Medical revenue accelerated (+17.6% YoY to $45.11M) with new customers and faster growth in TOPS and ground logistics; management emphasized medical’s “pure-play” value with no direct reimbursement risk and limited economic sensitivity .
    • Profitability improved materially: Adjusted EBITDA rose to $3.19M (vs. $0.96M YoY), Passenger Adjusted EBITDA more than tripled YoY to $2.39M on margin gains and lower segment SG&A, and total Flight Margin rose to 25.1% (+100 bps YoY) .
    • Strategic transaction: sale of Passenger business to Joby; long-term partnership expected to provide access to Joby eVTOLs for medical missions, potentially lowering costs and noise footprint—a differentiator for Strata .
    • Quote: “This divestiture is transformational… Blade’s Medical business has grown from 12% of revenue in 2020 to over 60%… best path forward to create long term value” — CEO Rob Wiesenthal .

  • What Went Wrong

    • Passenger revenue declined YoY (Short Distance −17.8% to $17.20M; Jet & Other −2.3% to $8.50M) with U.S. demand impacted by April NY tourist helicopter incident and inclement June weather; management views impacts as transitory .
    • Medical Flight Margin fell YoY to 22.0% (from 23.6%) given elevated scheduled maintenance downtime and higher maintenance costs; management expects improvement in H2 with better fleet uptime .
    • Operating cash flow negative $(3.06)M (working capital build on +30.4% sequential revenue growth), Free Cash Flow before aircraft acquisitions was $(5.70)M; capex $2.73M primarily for medical aircraft maintenance .

Financial Results

MetricQ2 2024Q1 2025Q2 2025
Revenue ($USD Millions)$67.945 $54.306 $70.801
Net Loss ($USD Millions)$(11.326) $(3.493) $(3.743)
Diluted EPS ($USD)$(0.15) $(0.04) $(0.05)
Gross Margin (%)16.7% 14.9% 18.2%
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)$0.958 $(1.238) $3.190
Flight Margin (%)24.1% 22.1% 25.1%

Segment breakdown and profitability

Segment MetricQ2 2024Q1 2025Q2 2025
Passenger Revenue ($M)$29.604 $18.358 $25.693
Medical Revenue ($M)$38.341 $35.948 $45.108
Passenger Flight Margin (%)24.7% 22.0% 30.5%
Medical Flight Margin (%)23.6% 22.1% 22.0%
Passenger Adjusted EBITDA ($M)$0.782 $0.054 $2.389
Medical Adjusted EBITDA ($M)$5.524 $4.098 $6.039

KPIs and cash metrics

KPIQ2 2024Q1 2025Q2 2025
Seats Flown (Passenger)27,391 13,884 22,730
Operating Cash Flow ($M)$8.429 $(0.246) $(3.064)
Capital Expenditures ($M)$16.163 $2.619 $2.299
Free Cash Flow, Before Aircraft Acquisitions ($M)$6.156 $(2.707) $(5.700)
Cash & Short-term Investments ($M)$—$120.0 (end of Q1 2025) $113.4 (end of Q2 2025)

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Revenue ($M)FY 2025$245–$265 (Q1 2025) $245–$265 (reaffirmed Q2) Maintained
Adjusted EBITDAFY 2025“Double-digit” (Q1 2025) “Double-digit” (reaffirmed Q2) Maintained
Medical Adj. EBITDA Margin (%)H2 2025Near-term target ≥15% was demonstrated in Q4 2024 ~15% expected in H2 2025 Maintained/clarified
Post-divestiture impactGo-forwardN/AAdjusted EBITDA & FCF neutral; ~$7M corporate cost efficiencies New disclosure

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q4 2024, Q1 2025)Current Period (Q2 2025)Trend
Strategic portfolio shiftBuilding Passenger profitability; organox alliance; Europe restructuring Passenger sale to Joby; Strata standalone with eVTOL access Transformation accelerates
Medical growth driversRecord trip volumes; new hospital starts; owned aircraft value Medical revenue +17.6% YoY; new customers; TOPS and ground outgrow average Accelerating
Maintenance impact on marginsMargin attainability ≥15% demonstrated in Q4 Elevated H1 maintenance lowers margins; H2 margin ~15% expected Temporary headwind easing
Europe operationsRestructuring benefits emerging Two consecutive quarters of strong revenue growth; improved alignment Improving
Passenger demand/macroQ4 growth ex-Canada; restructuring benefits U.S. Short Distance impacted by incident and weather; viewed transitory; July improvement Recovering
Technology/eVTOLOrganOx alliance; airport transfer pilot Long-term Joby partnership for medical missions; lower noise/cost potential Strategic access
Regulatory/legalLegal advocacy costs (Drulias, airport restrictions) Continued references to legal advocacy costs in adjustments Ongoing, managed

Management Commentary

  • “This divestiture is transformational… Blade’s Medical business has grown from 12% of revenue in 2020 to over 60%… best path forward to create long term value” — Rob Wiesenthal, CEO .
  • “Post-close, Strata will be a pure-play… supported by approximately $200 million of cash… we expect our use of Joby eVTOLs will provide value to Strata customers and a competitive advantage” — Melissa Tomkiel, President .
  • “Financial impact of the divestiture is expected to be Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow neutral… supported by approximately $7 million in estimated corporate cost efficiencies… strength continued in Q3 to-date” — Will Heyburn, CFO .
  • “Our end-to-end time-critical air logistics platform is second to none… 100% contracted customer retention rate over the last twelve months” — Melissa Tomkiel .
  • “We expect mid-teens revenue growth in the second half of the year… medical margins of approximately 15%” — Will Heyburn .

Q&A Highlights

  • Capital allocation and holdback: Management prioritizes actionable M&A and organic growth (TOPS, critical cargo); ~$35M holdback split between retention (largely CEO) and financial metrics they view as achievable .
  • Operational impact of divestiture: Standalone medical set up for success; long-term Joby agreement provides helicopter continuity now and future eVTOL access; opportunity to streamline corporate overhead .
  • Rationale for sale timing and Joby selection: Investors discounted Passenger value and capital needs; broad process with OEMs/PE/strategics; Joby seen as best positioned on certification, capital, and tech; Dubai flying next year cited .
  • Medical growth/margins outlook: Organic drivers include tech adoption (OrganOx, NRP), share gains, and services expansion; long-term high-teens Adjusted EBITDA margin target intact .
  • Seasonality and tax: No notable seasonality in Q3 to-date; sufficient NOLs to offset capital gains with expected immaterial cash tax (~couple million dollars) assuming full $125M proceeds .

Estimates Context

  • S&P Global (Capital IQ) consensus data for BLDE could not be retrieved due to a mapping issue; therefore, comparisons vs. Wall Street estimates are unavailable at this time. Investors should monitor subsequent updates for consensus revisions following the divestiture announcement and Q2 print.
  • Note: We attempted to pull consensus EPS, revenue, EBITDA, and target price for Q2 2025 and next quarter; data was unavailable due to the CIQ mapping error.*

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • The portfolio transformation (Passenger sale to Joby, medical rebrand to Strata) reframes BLDE as a pure-play time-critical medical logistics platform with potential eVTOL access—a key narrative pivot likely to drive re-rating if execution on growth and M&A follows .
  • Medical growth is accelerating with diversified drivers (new centers, TOPS, ground), while margin headwinds from H1 maintenance appear transitory with H2 margin ~15% expected; watch H2 delivery against margin targets .
  • Passenger margin improvement and corporate cost efficiencies underpin management’s assertion of Adjusted EBITDA and FCF neutrality post-divestiture; timing of close may introduce modest 2025 timing effects given seasonal Q3 strength .
  • Working capital build tied to sequential revenue growth weighed on OCF/FCF in Q2; liquidity remains strong ($113.4M cash/STI, no debt). Watch cash conversion as maintenance normalizes .
  • Guidance reaffirmed for FY 2025 (pre-divestiture): $245–$265M revenue and double-digit Adjusted EBITDA; expect updated guidance post-close, which can be a near-term stock catalyst .
  • Strategic M&A pipeline and capital deployment will be central to the medium-term thesis; management signals disciplined capital allocation backed by a sizable cash position .
  • Monitor regulatory/legal cost adjustments and any divestiture-related retention/earn-out milestones that could affect near-term reported metrics .

Footnote: *Estimates data unavailable due to S&P Global CIQ mapping issue; we will update when accessible.