Think Outside the Box With These 3 Companies That Make Unusual Business Models Work

Key Points

• Fulgent Genetics, Joby Aviation, and Veritone all pursue unconventional business models but show financial performance that supports a case for future growth.
• Fulgent's book value per share exceeds its stock price, and its therapeutics pipeline, including FID-007, adds upside beyond its diagnostics business.
• Joby is expanding into defense with a $131-million Pentagon contract and a $500-million Resonant Sciences purchase, backed by $2.3 billion in cash.

Some of the most successful companies started with business models that likely seemed unusual at first. Investors willing to take a chance on what may appear to be a quirky approach could find a surprisingly strong set of financials and a compelling case for future growth. Three companies that stand out in this way are Fulgent Genetics Inc. NASDAQ: FLGT, Joby Aviation Inc. NYSE: JOBY, and Veritone Inc. NASDAQ: VERI.

All three companies take unusual approaches to their respective industries, but all make a compelling case based on their financial performance. They may suggest to investors that thinking outside the box is beneficial, provided the investment target has a strong value proposition.

Fulgent Combines Genomics With Therapeutics

Fulgent is a genomic testing company that became known throughout the COVID-19 crisis for its PCR testing. It has since pivoted more fully to a unique set of offerings in oncology genomics, pharmacogenomics, and rare disease data analysis. In this case, the company's current business model is not so unusual; it's more about where it came from.

Looking at Fulgent's recent earnings performance, it might be easy to dismiss the company: it suffered a setback when its largest customer moved its testing in-house, prompting management to reduce full-year guidance. However, this obscures the fact that book value per share of $35.80 is about two-thirds higher than the company's current share price.

At the same time, Fulgent is advancing major clinical candidates like its FID-007 toward advanced trials, a sign that it is seeing some important success in its growing therapeutics pipeline. In this way, the company balances characteristics of a traditional biotech name—including a high-risk, high-reward profile—with the stability of a successful diagnostics business.

Joby's Defense Expansion May Be Critical to Improving Analyst Confidence

The electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft industry still seems straight out of science fiction for many investors, but Joby has succeeded in reaching key milestones with the U.S. FAA and has even logged a major $131-million Department of Defense contract for air taxi services on military bases. The company's leadership in the area of autonomous flying—aircraft that fly without control inputs from an onboard safety pilot—is undisputed, as it most recently completed its first-ever cross-country U.S. autonomous flight.

Joby's model is expanding to focus increasingly on defense, including via a $500-million purchase of Resonant Sciences, announced in August 2026. The company certainly has the cash to handle some major purchases, having ended last quarter with $2.3 billion in cash and short-term investments. This is a good thing, too, because Joby expects some significant outlays in the coming quarters—it will invest in certification, manufacturing, the integration pilot program (eIPP), and more.

Investors should keep in mind the risks associated with Joby, which remains focused on specialized and cutting-edge parts of the aerospace industry that may not eventually be feasible for broader commercial applications. This may be a reason why analysts are hesitant to recommend the stock, despite its successes.

Veritone Is Positioning Itself as a Future Leader in AI and Media

As an AI media company, Veritone may not strike investors as immediately unusual. However, its synthetic voice and digital media licensing business generates revenue in a way that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: it uses AI-generated voices of famous figures, both living and deceased, for commercial use.

Of course, the company is pushing the boundaries of intellectual property licensing, so it may face unexpected regulatory pushback as legislators try to catch up with the rapid advancement of AI.

The company's primary growth driver is its data refinery business, which converts audio, video, and text data into assets that can be more readily used by AI tools.

The company's financials are mixed, and it recently cut its full-year guidance due to delayed deals and other headwinds.

It also widened its net losses in the latest quarter, even as revenue climbed by 5% year over year (YOY).

The appeal of Veritone for investors bullish on AI in general may be that the company has already expanded into new avenues in both public-sector and commercial applications. Given Veritone's advanced work in this area—it is one of the few companies that already has technology infrastructure capable of handling this type of AI-media interaction—it could benefit as major media and entertainment firms continue to wrestle with how to integrate AI into their existing operations.