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Plug Power (PLUG) to Post Q3 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Plug Power Inc. (PLUG - Free Report) is scheduled to release third-quarter 2020 results on Nov 9, before market open.

The company reported weaker-than-expected results twice in the trailing four quarters, while surpassing and meeting estimates once each. Earnings surprise for the last four quarters was a positive 3.34%, on average. Notably, in the last reported quarter, the company’s loss per share of 3 cents was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 9 cents.

In the past three months, shares of the company have surged 53.8% compared with the industry’s growth of 5.6%.

Factors to Influence Q3 Results

Plug Power has been benefiting from the increased adoption of fuel-cell solutions and growing popularity of hydrogen stations over time. This is likely to have contributed to the company’s top-line performance in the third quarter of 2020. In addition, the company’s efforts to leverage its ProGen platform to expand into on-road and large-scale stationary end-markets are anticipated to have been favorable in the quarter.

Also, the company is expected to have gained from its investments for product development and improving sales channel in the third quarter. Also, the company’s supply chain and cost-savings initiatives, along with its focus on achieving greater operational efficacy, are expected to have boosted its performance.

Moreover, Plug Power’s efforts to expand its presence in core markets including material handling, green hydrogen and other applications in Europe are likely to have been beneficial in the to-be-reported quarter.

However, the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the demand for the company’s products and supply chain, along with the governmental regulations imposed in response to the crisis, are expected to get reflected in its third-quarter results.

In addition, headwinds related to forex issues and geopolitical concerns arising from international operations might have hurt the company’s quarterly performance.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter loss per share is pegged at 6 cents, indicating an improvement from a loss of 8 cents recorded in the year-ago-quarter. The consensus estimate for revenues of $105 million suggests an 87.5% increase from the prior-year reported figure.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Plug Power this season.

This is because a stock needs to have the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or at least 3 (Hold) to increase the odds of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here as we will see below.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: Plug Power has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as both the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at loss per share of 6 cents.

Plug Power, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Plug Power, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Plug Power, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Plug Power, Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank: Plug Power carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Key Picks

Here are a few companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:

Nordson Corporation (NDSN - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.96% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Pentair plc (PNR - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.85% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Zebra Technologies Corporation (ZBRA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.27% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

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