Recaps · August 18, 2026

XOS, August 18: Air Force news after the bell, $5.38 before the open

• Small cap
• Momentum
• Main move: pre-market
• Catalyst: contract news
• Float traded pre-market
• Lower high
• Wall break
• Faded from the high

News

GlobeNewsWire, the day before at 4:30 p.m.

Float

8.60 million shares

Volume

48.37 million shares

Previous close

$2.09

Open

$4.52 (up 116.3%)

High

$5.38 at 7:15 a.m.

Close

$4.46

The day before

On August 17, XOS opened at $2.09 and reached $4.77. It closed at $2.09.

The news came after the close. At 4:30 p.m. GlobeNewsWire ran: “Xos Secures U.S. Air Force Contract to Deliver Deployable Mobile Charging, Marking Defense Market Entry”. The last after-hours trade that evening was $3.91.

Pre-market: the float traded by 6:05 a.m.

The first trades on the 18th were at $3.73, already well above the $2.09 close. The low so far, $3.33, came at 4:07 a.m.

From $3.43 at 4:24 a.m. it ran to $4.36 at 5:57 a.m., up 27%. By 6:05 a.m., more shares had traded than exist in the whole float (8.60 million).

From $4.09 at 6:20 a.m. it ran to $5.04 at 6:52 a.m., up 23%. At 7:00 it touched $5.02 and fell back as low as $4.50 at 7:03.

The high so far came in that minute: $5.38 at 7:15 a.m., before the bell. Within two minutes it was back at $4.89.

It then drifted down. A bid wall had built at $4.50 (peak 59,914 shares at 7:40). At 8:22 sellers ate it: 44,409 shares traded at exactly $4.50 in about five seconds. The pre-market low after the high was $4.35 at 8:24 a.m., down 19% from $5.38.

At 8:54 a.m. Benzinga ran: “Xos Stock Surges on US Air Force Contract Win”. By the bell, 29.19 million shares had traded pre-market, about 3.4 times the float.

The open and the slide to $4.01

It opened at $4.52, up 116% from the previous close and 16% under the pre-market high. The first minute traded 904,788 shares and ranged from $4.35 to $4.68. A 164,208-share print went through at $4.55 right at 9:30:00.

At 9:31:20 one sell order swept 116,176 shares from $4.47 down to $4.38 across ten price levels.

By 10:24 it had slipped to $4.01. From there it crept up.

Late morning

From 10:47 the stock climbed out of a quiet stretch around $4.19 to $4.40 by 10:48.

At 10:58:04 a single buy order swept 307,026 shares from $4.63 to $4.91 across 29 price levels. The minute reached $4.95, a lower high under the $5.38 top, on 857,163 shares. Then it faded: $4.35 at 11:00 and $4.12 at 11:06.

Through midday it traded mostly between $4.15 and $4.50. At 1:07 p.m. Invezz ran: “XOS stock soars on Air Force contract: should you chase the rally?”. By then the stock was at $4.18.

The wall at $4.50

This is the part a chart doesn't show you.

From 1:14 p.m. on, an ask wall sat at exactly $4.50. A Form 144 was filed at 3:19 p.m. The wall peaked at 93,669 shares at 3:34 p.m., 1.1% of the float. The stock sat just under it, at $4.45 by 3:34 and $4.48 by 3:35.

From 3:36:04, trades printed at exactly $4.50. In 4.6 seconds, 81,997 shares traded at exactly $4.50 and the wall was gone. It wasn't pulled. Buyers ate it. The 3:36 candle reached $4.56 on 237,004 shares.

The close and after hours

It closed at $4.46, 17% under the $5.38 high. That high came before the bell, 19% above where the stock opened.

The regular session traded 17.20 million shares, about twice the float. Add 29.19 million pre-market and 1.98 million after hours and the day's total is 48.37 million, at 52 times normal volume. After hours it touched $4.80 at 6:02 p.m. and was at $4.11 by 8:00.

What to take from it

• After the top, the next push stopped lower. $5.38 at 7:15 a.m., then $4.95 at 10:58 a.m., the minute of a 307,026-share sweep.
• The float traded over before the open. By 6:05 a.m. more shares had traded than the float holds, and the high of the day came before the bell.
• The screen price is not your price. At the high and again at the wall break, 5,000 shares cost $121 more than the screen showed.