New York, Feb 17, 2026, 06:22 EST — Premarket
- Plug Power shares traded near $1.89 ahead of the bell, with U.S. markets back online following the holiday.
- Shareholders gave the green light to a charter amendment, paving the way for the hydrogen company’s authorized common shares to jump to 3 billion—doubling the previous count.
- The vote hands Plug extra leeway to issue new shares down the line—a sticking point for investors already wary of dilution.
Shares of Plug Power barely budged in early premarket hours Tuesday, as attention shifted to a shareholder vote that gives the company more flexibility to issue new stock.
The calendar plays a role here: with U.S. markets closed for Presidents Day on Monday, traders couldn’t respond right away — the first true action came Tuesday. Plug, meanwhile, is looking for ways to secure funding at a time when its stock is trading down near penny-stock territory, leaving equity decisions under a sharper microscope.
When a company bumps up its “authorized shares”—basically, the highest number of shares it’s allowed to issue—investors usually interpret it as groundwork for potential fundraising down the road. That doesn’t mean fresh shares hit the market this day.
Plug disclosed in a Form 8-K that shareholders cleared a charter amendment, doubling the authorized common stock to 3.0 billion from the previous 1.5 billion. According to the filing, 696.7 million shares backed the move, while 66.3 million were opposed. Another proposal—this one involving a change to voting rules—failed to gain approval.
Chief executive Andy Marsh said the company knew the odds of hitting the vote threshold “was not favorable,” but moved forward anyway, citing what he called clear backing from shareholders. (Times Union)
Plug said it pushed for more headroom, telling the Times Union that most of its previous authorization had already been used up—shares were outstanding, plus there were commitments to warrants, convertibles, and equity awards. That left Plug with little room for new deals or raising capital.
The difference between authorization and issuance is often where arguments about stocks begin. Authorization hands the board the legal go-ahead, but whether shares actually hit the market? That comes down to later board choices and whatever the market looks like at the time.
Here’s the catch for bulls: should Plug tap the new authorization to raise money, current shareholders face dilution—particularly if the stock keeps struggling and the company has to sell even more shares just to bring in the same amount of cash.
Financing news aside, traders are zeroed in on Plug’s upcoming quarterly numbers and hoping for fresh details on liquidity and capital strategy. According to Investing.com, the next earnings report lands Feb. 26. (Investing)
