Bloom Energy was able to increase its turnover by 24 percent in the second quarter to over 301 million USD. The right growth, meanwhile, is to take place – as in every year contingent on project completions – again in the second half of the year – principally in the fourth quarter. The ratio is assumed to be 30:70, so 70 percent of sales – with increasing trend – will wind up in the second semester.
The expectation of delivering in the fiscal year a total turnover of 1.4 to 1.5 billion USD has been validated. The non-GAAP profit margin is to come out to 25 percent for the whole year. The cash on hand was able to be raised as per June 30, 2023 to an astounding 923 million USD. This includes net proceeds from a convertible bond in the amount of 560 million USD.
New business model: Series 10
For industrial customers requiring at least 10 MW of energy output, Bloom offers to make this scalable to purchase via electricity and heat supply contracts – term of at least five years –– without having to themselves invest in technology/hardware. The customer receives energy at a fixed calculable price and that reliably 24/7. For this, Bloom can continue to employ natural gas but also biogas and hydrogen, depending on availability. In addition, Bloom is determined to use waste heat – for example at data centers – wisely. Consider that data centers in particular require a lot of energy for cooling the servers, but at the same time the resulting waste heat (process heat) is also useful. Specifically:
- The customer receives a secure supply of energy at a fixed price over an extended period of time. Up to 0.099 per kWh at the lower end.
- If there is a need for more energy, the system can be expanded to the requested amount through further delivery of additional Energy Servers within 50 days after the signing of the contract.
- No upfront investment required. Bloom provides the Energy Servers and infrastructure for the customer at no additional cost.
- Installation, service (maintenance) and management of the Servers is carried out by Bloom Energy.
- The systems are designed so that they can run on natural gas, biogas and hydrogen – according to customer requirement and availability. Also the switch from one energy source to another is no problem.
- The energy can be requested directly by the customer, but also alternatively through a provider that supplies the customer with energy according to need. Bloom cooperates with energy suppliers of all kinds for this.
Heating
More than 50 percent of the energy used in the business realm is process heat. This area is one of the most important in terms of decarbonization. Rising energy prices are an additional challenge. On the other hand, the increasing digitalization is leading to higher power requirements for data centers and associated networks. Up to 40 percent of the energy required there is used to cool the systems. That energy is primarily electricity. This is also the case with air conditioning and appliances for cooling or freezing. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are employed in these, which are very destructive to the climate – 100 times more damaging than CO2.
Here, Bloom can make a start by employing CHP (combined heat-and-power), as the Energy Servers give off a large amount of heat. From this point of view, the heat is a perfect usable waste product, which can be used by the industrial customer for its process heat. The waste heat can equally be used in return for air conditioning and chilling/freezing. At the end of the day, all this is achieved without the use of HFCs.
All this saves money and reduces CO2 emissions as well as energy requirements. This is already being utilized in Europe, but now with the Inflation Reduction Act, the USA is on track to use this potential for itself. Bloom is in talks with many potential industrial customers on the subject.
Summary: You can bet on the fourth quarter of this year already today. It must be, based on the forecasts, overall very positive in terms of a) the profit margin and b) expected turnover: 400 to 500 million USD. The third quarter is expected to remain at the level of the second quarter and so not offer any surprises. Further speculation should focus on the introduction of high-temperature electrolyzers in 2024, as a further boost to sales and order volume could derive from this.
Bloom is still experiencing losses but will enter the profit zone in 2024/25 – and with high sustainable growth, is my expectation. Furthermore, the topic of hydrogen (production, application, tax incentives via Inflation Reduction Act) will have increasing importance for Bloom. The stock market will have no choice but to show the long-term prospects in its valuation. Bloom seems to me to be very well positioned in the field of energy and hydrogen. Target: More than 50 USD in two years. Collect and leave alone. The stock market anticipates all this.
Disclaimer
Each investor must always be aware of their own risk when investing in shares and should consider a sensible risk diversification. The FC companies and shares mentioned here are small and mid cap, i.e. they are not standard stocks and their volatility is also much higher. This report is not meant to be viewed as purchase recommendations, and the author holds no liability for your actions. All information is based on publicly available sources and, as far as assessment is concerned, represents exclusively the personal opinion of the author, who focuses on medium- and long-term valuation and not on short-term profit. The author may be in possession of the shares presented here.
Author: Sven Jösting
A very positive article. Am in agreement. Investing for a 4X-6X bagger. Believe that BE can deliver that objective. Doubling revenues every 2 1/2 years, Gaap profitabilty for 2024 and a high quality list of customers supports the objective. Hope that the BOD – some of whom are capital venture gunslingers – don’t sell out too early in return for really cushy, high paying consultancies at a whale acquirer !