The fuel cell maker has raised its 2026 outlook twice. Does the stock need a third raise?
The fuel cell maker has raised its 2026 outlook twice.
Does the stock need a third raise?
Bloom Energy (BE -1.58%) investors have had a hard couple of weeks. The fuel cell maker's shares finished Oct. 20 at around $223, off about 21% from where they closed on Oct. 9. This puts the stock around 36% below its record, a $345.85 close on June 22.
Yet shares have still climbed around 156% this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers have turned to Bloom's fuel cells for on-site power. And the company's third-quarter report comes out after the market closes on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Is it worth buying the stock with that report a day away? I'd say Thursday's most important number isn't the quarter's revenue. It's whatever management says about its forecast for the full year.
Can Bloom raise its forecast again?
Bloom has raised its 2026 outlook at both of its past two reports. In February, management called for revenue of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion.
It boosted that range to $3.4 billion to $3.8 billion in April. Then in July, Bloom posted second-quarter revenue of $1.07 billion, up 166% year over year and a pickup from the first quarter's 130% rate. It raised the range again, to $3.9 billion to $4.2 billion.
But the latest forecast doesn't ask much of the second half. Bloom pulled in around $1.82 billion of revenue in the first half of the year, leaving $2.08 billion to $2.38 billion for the last two quarters. That comes to around $1.04 billion to $1.19 billion a quarter -- a range that starts a bit under the second quarter's total.
Profits look similar. Management sees non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings of $2.55 to $2.85 a share for 2026. Bloom's adjusted earnings were $0.44 a share in the first quarter, then $0.78 in the second, up from just $0.10 a year before. That leaves around $0.67 to $0.82 a quarter for the rest of 2026.
Averytin News Financial update.