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The Zacks Analyst Blog Bloom Energy and Plug Power

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For Immediate Releases

Chicago, IL – April 21, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include  Bloom Energy (BE - Free Report) and Plug Power (PLUG - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Bloom Energy vs. Plug Power: Which Clean Energy Bet Looks Stronger?

The companies belonging to the Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry are increasingly drawing investor attention as companies leverage fuel cell technology and other clean energy sources to deliver cleaner and more efficient power generation solutions.

Fuel cell technology is becoming increasingly important as nations push toward stricter emission-reduction goals and cleaner energy adoption. Unlike traditional power generation, fuel cells produce electricity through an electrochemical process, resulting in very low greenhouse gas emissions. This makes them well-suited for hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as heavy industry and backup power. With high efficiency and a minimal environmental footprint, fuel cells support the shift away from fossil fuels while ensuring a reliable energy supply.

Firms like Bloom Energy and Plug Power are at the forefront, deploying solid oxide and hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity with significantly lower emissions compared with traditional fossil-fuel-based systems

A major benefit of fuel cells is their ability to deliver dependable onsite power. They can function independently of the grid, making them well-suited for critical facilities such as hospitals, data centers and industrial sites. By providing steady, high-quality electricity with minimal disruptions, fuel cells strengthen energy security and overall system resilience.

Bloom Energy utilizes solid oxide fuel cell technology through its Energy Server platform to deliver clean and dependable power. Its modular, onsite systems reduce transmission losses, can scale from kilowatts to megawatts and provide continuous, round-the-clock electricity. With increasing demand for decarbonization, improved grid resilience and hydrogen-based solutions, the company is well positioned to drive steady revenue growth and expand margins.

Plug Power delivers clean energy solutions through hydrogen fuel cell technology, with its GenDrive systems improving efficiency in material-handling operations. These systems enable quick refueling, extended operating hours and reduced downtime, enhancing overall productivity. Backed by a vertically integrated product ecosystem, the company is positioned to benefit from the growing shift toward logistics decarbonization and clean energy adoption, although it continues to face short-term challenges related to profitability and execution.

With demand rising for always-on, reliable clean power from data centers and other industries, let us take a closer look at the fundamentals of these stocks to assess which offers stronger growth potential at current levels.

BE & PLUG’s Earnings Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Bloom Energy’s earnings per share in 2026 and 2027 has increased year over year by 89.47% and 111.62%, respectively. Long-term (three to five years) earnings growth per share is pegged at 25%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Plug Power’s earnings per share in 2026 and 2027 has increased year over year by 77.46% and 34.53%, respectively.

BE & PLUG’s Sales Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Bloom Energy’s sales in 2026 and 2027 has increased year over year by 61.79% and 71.18%, respectively.The same for Plug Power’s sales in 2026 and 2027 has increased year over year by 12.53% and 22.79%, respectively.

Return on Equity

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 29.44% in contrast to PLUG’s negative 45.97%.

Liquidity

The current ratio measures a company’s ability to cover short-term liabilities with the short-term assets, helping assess its near-term financial stability.

The current ratio of Bloom Energy is 5.98 compared with Plug Power's 2.31. This indicates Bloom Energy has comparatively better near-term financial capabilities compared with Plug Power.

Valuation

Price-to-sales ratios are generally used for the valuation of firms 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 14.71X, and for Plug Power, it is 4.54X.

Price Performance

Bloom Energy is benefiting from the rising demand for clean power from artificial intelligence-based data centers. In the past six months, Bloom Energy has gained 99.2% against Plug Power’s decline of 10.9%.

Rounding Up

Bloom Energy focuses on providing large-scale stationary power solutions for customers such as data centers, healthcare and utilities. Plug Power is more concentrated on hydrogen fuel cells for material-handling equipment, like forklifts and applications in transportation. Both companies are investing in research and utilizing the fuel cell technology to provide reliable power to their customers.

Based on the above discussion, Bloom Energy currently has an edge over Plug Power, given its better movement in sales and earnings estimates, stronger liquidity, higher ROE and strong share price gains.

Bloom Energy currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while Plug Power has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Previewreports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance  for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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