Bloom Energy posts loss as company gears up to work through $10 billion backlog in orders

Fuel cell maker Bloom Energy Corporation passed the $1 billion mark in revenue for 2022, as it posted higher losses in gearing up for a working through a multi-billion dollar backlog in orders.

The earnings performance blew past consensus estimates from Zacks. Bloom has never posted a profit.

Bloom, based in San Jose, CA has a 700-employee site in Newark and a new production site in the bay area of northern California. Its fuel cells are primarily fueled by natural gas, but can also use renewable gas sources and hydrogen. The Newark site has more than 40 job openings.

Commenting on the fourth quarter and full-year earnings, KR Sridhar CEO of Bloom Energy said, “Bloom Energy finished 2022 in a very strong position as our resilient and sustainable energy solutions experienced wider adoption and we were aided by good tailwinds. We expect this trend to continue in 2023 and beyond. Our revenue and non-GAAP gross margin were records for the fourth quarter and for the full year and we closed 2022 with a $10 billion backlog, the strongest order book in our company’s history. Bloom is now a predictable growth company. We offer the world a unique, mature, and proven platform solution at scale – a solution that can be deployed today with a clear pathway to a net-zero future.”

Greg Cameron, executive vice president and CFO of Bloom Energy, said, “This year was about achieving strong commercial, operational and financial results which positions us to be a leader in the global energy transition. The demand for our AlwaysOn energy server is evidenced by our record backlog. The company is clearly at an inflection point to build on our mature technology platform, solid record of accomplishment and robust growth roadmap. We’re extremely excited about our future.”

The earnings release made no direct mention of the company’s hydrogen production technology, which is now being widely tested. Below is an earnings summary from Bloom.

Fourth Quarter

• Revenue of $462.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 35.1% compared to $342.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Product and Service revenue of $400.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 41.4% compared to $283.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Gross margin of 15.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decline of 4.6 percentage points compared to 20.1% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Non-GAAP gross margin of 30.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 9.2 percentage points compared to 21.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Operating loss of $40.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of $27.1 million compared to ($13.5) million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Non-GAAP operating income of $59.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of $53.7 million compared to $5.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Year

• Revenue of $1,199.1 million in 2022, an increase of 23.3% compared to $972.2 million in 2021. Product and Service revenue of $1,031.6 million in 2022, an increase of 27.7% compared to $807.7 million in 2021.
• Gross margin of 12.4% in 2022, a decline of 8.0 percentage points compared to 20.3% in 2021.
• Non-GAAP gross margin of 23.0% in 2022, an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to 21.7% in 2021.
• Operating loss of ($261.0) million in 2022, an increase of $146.5 million compared to ($114.5) million in 2021.
• Non-GAAP operating loss of ($33.5) million in 2022, an improvement of $4.9 million compared to ($38.4) million in 2021.
• Record ending backlog of $10.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to $8.5 billion in 2021.

Increases in fourth quarter and total year revenue of 35.1% and 23.3%, respectively, were primarily driven by increases in product acceptances and improved pricing. Cost of goods sold was impacted by non-cash impairment charges relating to the repowering of PPA IV in the fourth quarter and the repowering of PPA IIIa in the second quarter, which were excluded in our non-GAAP reporting. GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principals