Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The electronics maker reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.05), Zacks reports. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 56.01% and a negative net margin of 220.59%. The firm had revenue of $200.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.36 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Plug Power’s conference call:

• Q3 revenue rose 13% year over year to about $201 million, while gross margin improved to negative 2.7% from negative 68% a year earlier and operating expenses fell to about $70 million. Net cash usage declined to a quarterly low of about $28 million, with no capital raised; reported positive EPS included non-cash fair-value gains, and the company said it would otherwise have reported a net loss.
• Management reaffirmed full-year revenue growth guidance of 15%–16%, implying roughly $280 million of Q4 revenue, and is targeting positive Q4 EBITDAS and approximately flat net cash usage. The outlook depends on executing customer deployments and achieving expected sales volume and mix.
• Material-handling demand strengthened: GenDrive deployments more than doubled year over year to 1,136 units, and a Walmart refresh cycle is expected to begin in Q4 with about 2,000–2,500 units. Plug cited the broader refresh opportunity and potential new customers as additional growth drivers.
• Plug signed a 280 MW electrolyzer supply agreement with Arcadia eFuels and was named preferred supplier for four additional Arcadia projects representing more than 1 GW of potential capacity; it also cited a 50 MW Orica order and other projects in execution or commissioning. However, deliveries under the Arcadia agreement depend on the project reaching notice to proceed, and the company expects electrolyzer revenue to be slightly lower for the full year.
• Q4 cash and earnings expectations face execution and liquidity uncertainties: unplanned plant outages pressured Q3 fuel margins, while Stream asset-sale proceeds are delayed and excluded from the Q4 forecast. Plug ended the quarter with $134 million in unrestricted cash and is targeting release of about $62 million of restricted cash by the end of Q1 2027.

Plug Power Price Performance

Shares of PLUG stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1.50. 82,369,365 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 71,072,961. Plug Power has a fifty-two week low of $1.30 and a fifty-two week high of $4.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.37. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLUG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price target (up from $3.50) on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Plug Power to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Plug Power from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plug Power

In related news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.14, for a total value of $428,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 101,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $216,672.86. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 241,935 shares of company stock valued at $509,397 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Plug Power Company Profile

Plug Power Inc develops hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen-generation solutions for businesses seeking alternatives to conventional power and fuel sources. Its offerings include fuel cell systems, electrolyzers that produce hydrogen, hydrogen storage and handling equipment, and related infrastructure and services.

The company’s products are used in applications such as material-handling equipment, including warehouse forklifts, as well as stationary power and other industrial and mobility uses.