Bloom Energy stock fell 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday even after the fuel-cell manufacturer reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The issue appears to be how much the company is spending.
The bar was set high for the company’s earnings, given the stock’s 121% gain this year. Bloom reported 94 cents of earnings per share on $1.24 billion in revenue. Analysts had been expecting 69 cents of earnings on $1.07 billion in revenue. Its revenue was up 138% year over year as the company’s fuel cells have been in high demand from data centers.
The company sees more growth ahead.
“Our backlog is continuing to expand faster than our revenue,” said CEO KR Sridhar on the company’s earnings call.
Bloom’s cash flow, however, was negative in the quarter, as it spent heavily on working capital, plants, and equipment. Operating cash flow was negative $27 million, versus positive $226 million last quarter. Free cash flow was negative $181 million in the quarter, compared with positive $175 million last quarter.
The company is working on ramping up its annual manufacturing capacity from around 1 gigawatt to 5 gigawatts. Each gigawatt is equivalent to the capacity of a large nuclear reactor.
Bloom raised its full-year 2026 EPS guidance to a range of $3.10 to $3.40, ahead of expectations for $2.71. It also lifted revenue guidance to $4.4-4.6 billion, ahead of expectations for $4.1 billion. Its gross margin guidance of 34% was in line with expectations.