Bloom Energy Falls 11% After Q3 Beat as Negative Cash Flow Overshadows Record Revenue and Third Guidance Raise

Bloom Energy reported record third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.235 billion, a 138% year-over-year surge, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.94 against analyst estimates of $0.68 to $0.69, a beat of roughly 36%. The fuel-cell maker also topped revenue expectations by 15% and raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance for the third time this year, to a range of $4.4 billion to $4.6 billion, alongside a lifted non-GAAP EPS outlook of $3.10 to $3.40.

Despite the strong headline numbers, investors sold the stock sharply. Shares fell as much as 11% on the day to around $193, erasing earlier premarket gains. The driver of the selloff was a dramatic reversal in cash flow: operating cash flow swung to negative $27 million in Q3 from positive $226 million in Q2, and free cash flow came in at negative $180 million, far below the consensus expectation of positive $84 million. Bloomberg Intelligence attributed the turn to rising contract assets, receivables, and inventory as the company accelerates its manufacturing expansion.

CEO KR Sridhar argued on the earnings call that America's power grid is "overwhelmed" by the demands of the AI boom, framing Bloom's aggressive capacity buildout as essential to capturing surging data-center demand. Backlog is reportedly growing faster than revenue, underpinning the raised outlook. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on higher shipment forecasts, and Mizuho reiterated its rating, but Roth Capital, JPMorgan, and BTIG all cut their price targets. Oppenheimer maintained its Perform rating, citing cash flow pressure as a key near-term concern.