NEW YORK, May 11, 2026, 11:20 (EDT)
- Plug Power shares jumped roughly 11% in late-morning U.S. trading, ahead of first-quarter results expected after the close.
- Analysts are projecting a smaller loss alongside modest sales growth. Margins and cash burn remain in sharp focus for investors.
- Hydrogen stocks are back in focus, lifted by renewed interest tied to power demand, data centers, and the drive for industrial decarbonization.
Plug Power stock surged Monday before the company’s first-quarter report, with investors pushing shares to $3.47—35 cents higher than Friday’s finish—after an intraday peak at $3.625. The rally comes as Plug continues working to demonstrate that rising hydrogen demand can actually translate into lasting profitability.
Timing is key here. Monday brings the next indication of whether Plug’s margin bounce in the fourth quarter signaled something lasting, or just a short-term boost tied to pricing, product mix, and tightening costs. Attention is also on new CEO Jose Luis Crespo, who stepped in this March—can he hold the line on Plug’s 2026 profitability goals?
The surge is outpacing incoming fundamental data. BörsenNEWS pegged Plug at nearly 2.99 euros in German trade, a 12.87% jump, but flagged that the stock is still a long way off its previous peaks. The real focus, then, is less on a single EPS headline and more on whether Plug can rein in its losses without stalling growth.
Plug is set to report first-quarter results and hold its conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday, just after U.S. markets shut. The company, which focuses on hydrogen—from production and storage to delivery and power generation—counts fuel-cell systems, electrolyzers, and hydrogen plants among its main offerings.
Wall Street isn’t expecting miracles, but it has drawn its line. According to finanzen.net, a group of 17 analysts are looking for an average per-share loss of 9.7 cents—narrower than last year’s 21-cent loss. Revenue is pegged at $139.9 million, which would mark a 4.64% rise from the same quarter a year ago.
Plug’s latest numbers gave bulls a bit of ammo. The company reported a 12.9% jump in 2025 revenue to roughly $710 million, with fourth-quarter revenue coming in at $225.2 million. Gross profit, meanwhile, swung positive—$5.5 million, or 2.4% of sales. Crespo said Plug would stick to “executing with discipline.” The company reiterated its target for positive EBITDAS—earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation—in the fourth quarter of 2026. Plug Power
The analyst community isn’t aligned. Capital.com pointed to Clear Street’s Tim Moore, who upped his target to $3.50 and stuck with a Buy, but Susquehanna’s Biju Perincheril only bumped his target to $2.75 and held firm at Neutral. MarketBeat, meanwhile, still shows an overall Hold consensus, with price targets scattered from $0.80 all the way to $7.
The trade is getting a lift from the competitive landscape. Bloom Energy climbed roughly 11% in U.S. trading Monday. Over in Germany, market chatter positions hydrogen players differently: NEL’s linked to electrolyzer infrastructure, while dynaCERT is being sold as a bridge for diesel-focused fleets.
Power demand is showing up as a new driver. Plug has floated supplying up to 250 megawatts of hydrogen-fueled electricity in a potential PJM Interconnection auction—PJM manages one of the country’s biggest grids, spanning 13 states plus D.C. “We’re courting data center operators and utilities,” Chairman Andy Marsh told Bloomberg, according to Energy Connects, as AI-driven power needs start to squeeze the grid. Energy Connects
But after such a sharp rally, expectations are higher. Plug still needs to prove it can push fuel margins closer to break-even, keep equipment margins intact through a typically weaker quarter, and use asset sales to shore up liquidity as growth investments continue. Even a solid revenue beat might not cut it if cash burn remains high.
Monday’s action is really just a positioning trade ahead of the report. After 4:30 p.m. in New York, investors face the bigger test: has Plug’s turnaround begun to show up in actual cash flows, or is it still only visible in the projections?
