We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
BE vs. PLUG: Which Fuel-Cell Stock Has More Growth Potential?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Key Takeaways
BE's ROE of 6.8% far exceeds PLUG's ROE of -90.22%.
BE stock has returned 694.4% in the last year compared with Plug Power's rally of 32.5%.
BE TIE ratio is 1.4 compared with PLUG's TIE ratio of -36.1.
The companies operating in the Zacks Alternate Energy- Other industry are becoming increasingly important as nations strive to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower emissions from electricity generation. Among the various clean technologies, fuel-cell systems are steadily emerging as a promising option. These systems produce electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, with water and heat as the only byproducts. Unlike conventional combustion-based generators, fuel cells operate without releasing harmful pollutants and can be scaled to meet needs ranging from portable devices to large industrial plants.
The fuel cell systems are well-suited for powering electric vehicles as well as providing reliable backup energy for homes and industries. A further advantage is their ability to generate clean electricity directly at the point of use, reducing dependence on transmission and distribution networks. Let’s focus on Bloom Energy Corporation (BE - Free Report) and Plug PowerInc. (PLUG - Free Report) as both utilize the fuel-cell technology to generate clean electricity for their customers.
Bloom Energy utilizes solid-oxide fuel cell technology to generate clean and reliable electricity for its customers. The company can capitalize on its versatile Energy Server system, which connects directly to customers’ main electrical feeds and avoids efficiency losses common in centralized grids. Its modular design enables flexible clustering, providing scalable capacity from hundreds of kilowatts to several hundred megawatts and can provide power 24x7 to its customers. With growing demand for decarbonization, grid independence, and hydrogen adoption, Bloom Energy is positioned to benefit from the global shift toward sustainable energy solutions, supporting long-term revenue growth and margin expansion.
Plug Power offers clean energy to its customers utilizing its hydrogen fuel cell technology. The company’s GenDrive fuel cell systems, built for material handling equipment such as forklifts, provide notable efficiency advantages by enabling rapid refueling, longer operating hours, and minimized downtime compared to conventional battery-powered solutions. By successfully integrating its products, Plug Power has created a formidable offering. Driven by the growing shift to clean energy and the need to decarbonize logistics, it is positioned for sustained long-term growth, while continuing to manage near-term challenges related to profitability and execution.
Given the rising demand for round-the-clock, reliable, clean energy from data centers and other industries, it is important to examine the fundamentals of Bloom Energy and Plug Power to determine which of the two holds stronger growth potential at present levels.
BE & PLUG’s Earnings Growth Projections
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Bloom Energy’s earnings per share in 2025 and 2026 has increased year-over-year by 71.43% and 51.04%, respectively. Long-term (three to five years) earnings growth per share is pegged at 28.02%.
Image Source: Bigstock
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Plug Power’s earnings per share in 2025 and 2026 has increased year-over-year by 77.24% and 41.76%, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Return on Equity (ROE)
Return on Equity (ROE) is an important measure of financial performance that indicates how efficiently a company converts shareholder equity into profits. It highlights management’s effectiveness in utilizing invested capital to grow earnings and enhance shareholder value.
BE’s current ROE is 6.8% compared with PLUG’s -90.22%.
Debt to Capital & Times Interest Earned Ratio
The debt-to-capital of Bloom Energy currently stands at 69.05% compared with Plug Power’s debt-to-capital of 28.18%. It indicates Bloom Energy is using a higher percentage of debt to run its operations.
Times interest earned ("TIE") ratio measures the ability of the company to meet interest obligations on outstanding debt using its operating earnings. The current TIE of Bloom Energy is 1.4, and for Plug Power, it is -36.1. A TIE ratio greater than 1 indicates that a company has enough financial flexibility to meet its interest obligations. This ratio indicates that BE can easily meet its interest obligations, but Plug Power can face challenges in meeting its debt obligations.
Valuation
Price-to-sales ratios are generally used for the valuation of companies like Bloom Energy and Plug Power, and this ratio indicates how much investors are willing to pay for the company’s sales.
At present, Price/ Sales F12M of Bloom Energy is 9.91X, and for Plug Power, it is 3.73X.
Price Performance
Bloom Energy is benefiting from the rising demand for clean power from artificial intelligence-based data centers. In the last year, Bloom Energy has gained 694.4% compared with Plug Power’s rally of 32.5%.
Price Performance (One Year)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
Bloom Energy and Plug Power are investing in research and are utilizing the fuel cell technology to provide reliable power to their customers.
BE’s better movement in earnings estimates, stronger ROE, and better TIE ratio make it a better choice among the companies utilizing fuel cell technology to produce electricity.
The companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each.
Image: Bigstock
BE vs. PLUG: Which Fuel-Cell Stock Has More Growth Potential?
Key Takeaways
The companies operating in the Zacks Alternate Energy- Other industry are becoming increasingly important as nations strive to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower emissions from electricity generation. Among the various clean technologies, fuel-cell systems are steadily emerging as a promising option. These systems produce electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, with water and heat as the only byproducts. Unlike conventional combustion-based generators, fuel cells operate without releasing harmful pollutants and can be scaled to meet needs ranging from portable devices to large industrial plants.
The fuel cell systems are well-suited for powering electric vehicles as well as providing reliable backup energy for homes and industries. A further advantage is their ability to generate clean electricity directly at the point of use, reducing dependence on transmission and distribution networks. Let’s focus on Bloom Energy Corporation (BE - Free Report) and Plug Power Inc. (PLUG - Free Report) as both utilize the fuel-cell technology to generate clean electricity for their customers.
Bloom Energy utilizes solid-oxide fuel cell technology to generate clean and reliable electricity for its customers. The company can capitalize on its versatile Energy Server system, which connects directly to customers’ main electrical feeds and avoids efficiency losses common in centralized grids. Its modular design enables flexible clustering, providing scalable capacity from hundreds of kilowatts to several hundred megawatts and can provide power 24x7 to its customers. With growing demand for decarbonization, grid independence, and hydrogen adoption, Bloom Energy is positioned to benefit from the global shift toward sustainable energy solutions, supporting long-term revenue growth and margin expansion.
Plug Power offers clean energy to its customers utilizing its hydrogen fuel cell technology. The company’s GenDrive fuel cell systems, built for material handling equipment such as forklifts, provide notable efficiency advantages by enabling rapid refueling, longer operating hours, and minimized downtime compared to conventional battery-powered solutions. By successfully integrating its products, Plug Power has created a formidable offering. Driven by the growing shift to clean energy and the need to decarbonize logistics, it is positioned for sustained long-term growth, while continuing to manage near-term challenges related to profitability and execution.
Given the rising demand for round-the-clock, reliable, clean energy from data centers and other industries, it is important to examine the fundamentals of Bloom Energy and Plug Power to determine which of the two holds stronger growth potential at present levels.
BE & PLUG’s Earnings Growth Projections
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Bloom Energy’s earnings per share in 2025 and 2026 has increased year-over-year by 71.43% and 51.04%, respectively. Long-term (three to five years) earnings growth per share is pegged at 28.02%.
Image Source: Bigstock
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Plug Power’s earnings per share in 2025 and 2026 has increased year-over-year by 77.24% and 41.76%, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Return on Equity (ROE)
Return on Equity (ROE) is an important measure of financial performance that indicates how efficiently a company converts shareholder equity into profits. It highlights management’s effectiveness in utilizing invested capital to grow earnings and enhance shareholder value.
BE’s current ROE is 6.8% compared with PLUG’s -90.22%.
Debt to Capital & Times Interest Earned Ratio
The debt-to-capital of Bloom Energy currently stands at 69.05% compared with Plug Power’s debt-to-capital of 28.18%. It indicates Bloom Energy is using a higher percentage of debt to run its operations.
Times interest earned ("TIE") ratio measures the ability of the company to meet interest obligations on outstanding debt using its operating earnings. The current TIE of Bloom Energy is 1.4, and for Plug Power, it is -36.1. A TIE ratio greater than 1 indicates that a company has enough financial flexibility to meet its interest obligations. This ratio indicates that BE can easily meet its interest obligations, but Plug Power can face challenges in meeting its debt obligations.
Valuation
Price-to-sales ratios are generally used for the valuation of companies like Bloom Energy and Plug Power, and this ratio indicates how much investors are willing to pay for the company’s sales.
At present, Price/ Sales F12M of Bloom Energy is 9.91X, and for Plug Power, it is 3.73X.
Price Performance
Bloom Energy is benefiting from the rising demand for clean power from artificial intelligence-based data centers. In the last year, Bloom Energy has gained 694.4% compared with Plug Power’s rally of 32.5%.
Price Performance (One Year)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
Bloom Energy and Plug Power are investing in research and are utilizing the fuel cell technology to provide reliable power to their customers.
BE’s better movement in earnings estimates, stronger ROE, and better TIE ratio make it a better choice among the companies utilizing fuel cell technology to produce electricity.
The companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.