By Alex Kozul-Wright

Shares of QuantumScape were soaring early Thursday. While the electric-vehicle battery maker reported a loss in the first quarter, it also revealed increased interest from sectors outside the car industry -- and touted its AI data center potential.

The stock jumped 25% to $9.15 ahead of the open, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures indexes both dropped by 0.5%. Coming into Thursday trading, QuantumScape stock was up 85% over the past year.

The company said it was ramping up its engagements in new markets, and signaled "strong customer interest" in its lithium-metal battery technology from the military, aerospace and government sectors.

QuantumScape also said its technology can help "address the evolving energy-storage needs of AI data centers."

"Driven by massive compute demand, data centers are transitioning to 800V DC designs and adopting power systems architecture and technology from the electric vehicle industry. We see this as a natural fit for our no-compromise solid-state battery," it added."

The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of 16 cents a share Wednesday, slightly less than analysts had expected -- at 17 cents -- according to FactSet, and an improvement from the 21 cents loss in the same quarter last year

Customer billings--which track customer activity and future cash flows, but aren't a substitute for revenue under U.S. accounting principles-- for the first quarter were $11 million.

Customer billings for the full year 2025 were $19.5 million. The company is still in its development phase and has not yet begun generating significant sales.

Write to Alex Kozul-Wright at alexander.kozul-wright@barrons.com

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April 23, 2026 06:47 ET (10:47 GMT)

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