Plug Power’s (NASDAQ:PLUG) Q1 CY2026 Sales Beat Estimates, Stock Soars

Fuel cell technology Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 22.3% year on year to $163.5 million. Its GAAP loss of $0.18 per share was 82.4% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

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“Our first quarter results reflect strong commercial execution and continued progress improving the underlying economics of the business and positions us to achieve our EBITDAS positive target in Q4 2026,” said Jose Luis Crespo, Chief Executive Officer of Plug.

Company Overview

Powering forklifts for Walmart’s distribution centers, Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) provides hydrogen fuel cells used to power electric motors.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Thankfully, Plug Power’s 13.9% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was exceptional. Its growth beat the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Plug Power’s recent performance marks a sharp pivot from its five-year trend as its revenue has shown annualized declines of 3.9% over the last two years.

This quarter, Plug Power reported robust year-on-year revenue growth of 22.3%, and its $163.5 million of revenue topped Wall Street estimates by 15.9%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 14.2% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is healthy and indicates its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is an important measure of profitability as it shows the portion of revenue left after accounting for all core expenses – everything from the cost of goods sold to advertising and wages. It’s also useful for comparing profitability across companies with different levels of debt and tax rates because it excludes interest and taxes.

Plug Power’s high expenses have contributed to an average operating margin of negative 170% over the last five years. Unprofitable industrials companies require extra attention because they could get caught swimming naked when the tide goes out. It’s hard to trust that the business can endure a full cycle.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, Plug Power’s operating margin decreased by 96.6 percentage points over the last five years. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability. Plug Power’s performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows that costs were rising and it couldn’t pass them onto its customers.

This quarter, Plug Power generated a negative 67% operating margin.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Although Plug Power’s full-year earnings are still negative, it reduced its losses and improved its EPS by 2.1% annually over the last five years. The next few quarters will be critical for assessing its long-term profitability.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.

For Plug Power, its two-year annual EPS growth of 26.1% was higher than its five-year trend. Its improving earnings is an encouraging data point, but a caveat is that its EPS is still in the red.

In Q1, Plug Power reported EPS of negative $0.18, up from negative $0.21 in the same quarter last year. Despite growing year on year, this print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Plug Power to improve its earnings losses. Analysts forecast its full-year EPS of negative $1.32 will advance to negative $0.29.

Key Takeaways from Plug Power’s Q1 Results

We were impressed by how significantly Plug Power blew past analysts’ adjusted operating income expectations this quarter. We were also excited its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates by a wide margin. On the other hand, its EPS missed. Overall, we think this was a decent quarter with some key metrics above expectations. The stock traded up 7.8% to $3.79 immediately following the results.

Indeed, Plug Power had a rock-solid quarterly earnings result, but is this stock a good investment here? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).