Bloom Energy Stock Falls Despite Q3 Beat, With $27M Operating Cash Outflow

Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) shares traded near $209 in premarket trading Friday, extending the previous session’s losses despite the fuel-cell manufacturer’s stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and increased full-year guidance. The quarter also recorded a $27.1 million operating cash outflow.

At that price, the stock was 4.06% below Thursday’s closing level of $217.77. Bloom released its quarterly results after the market closed on October 22.

For the quarter ended September 30, Bloom generated record revenue of $1.24 billion, up 138.1% year over year and ahead of the approximately $1.06 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted diluted earnings reached $0.94 per share, $0.25 above analysts’ forecast of $0.69.

Bloom raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $4.4 billion–$4.6 billion from $3.9 billion–$4.2 billion, with the revised midpoint representing 122% year-over-year growth. The company also lifted its adjusted earnings guidance to $3.10–$3.40 per share from $2.55–$2.85, surpassing Wall Street’s $2.71-per-share consensus.

The results also showed continued growth in Bloom’s core equipment business. Product revenue increased 179.4% year over year to $1.07 billion, while adjusted gross margin expanded to 34.5% from 30.4%.

Adjusted operating income reached $285.7 million, compared with $46.2 million a year earlier. On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings rose to $0.78 per share from a loss of $0.10. 

Bloom Chief Executive KR Sridhar said demand for reliable onsite electricity was expanding beyond large cloud-computing companies into other commercial and industrial markets. Chief Financial Officer Simon Edwards attributed the company’s third increase in its annual outlook to its year-to-date performance and customer demand.

Operating Cash Flow Turns Negative Despite Higher Earnings

Bloom’s third-quarter operating cash outflow compared with positive operating cash flow of $226.4 million in the second quarter.

Edwards said higher working-capital requirements, particularly inventory, contract assets and receivables, contributed to the cash use. He explained that Bloom can recognize product revenue before contractual billing milestones are reached, with some customer payments expected in later periods.

Spending on property, plant and equipment increased to $153.5 million from $51.6 million in the preceding quarter. Free cash flow, calculated as operating cash flow less those purchases, fell to negative $180.6 million from positive $174.8 million.

The company remained operating-cash-flow positive for the first nine months of 2026, generating $272.9 million.

Bloom Shares Retreat After Heavy Thursday Trading

Bloom shares fell 8.7% on Thursday ahead of the earnings announcement, with trading volume reaching about 23.3 million shares, up from 12.4 million in the previous session. In early Friday premarket trading, the stock remained about 41% below its 52-week high of $351.28.

Separately, Bloom Energy Tokenized bStocks (BEB) is trading at $209.11, down 8% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. BEB is a blockchain-based instrument linked to Bloom Energy shares, not the NYSE-listed common stock, and its trading figures do not represent BE’s premarket price movement.