Key Takeaways: FuelCell Energy shares fell 13% to $14.90 after a wider-than-expected fiscal Q3 2026 loss. Revenue dropped 29% to $33.0 million, missing estimates, while adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $36.7 million. The company's first data center reservation deal and $3.65 billion backlog were overshadowed by the miss.
FuelCell Energy Inc. shares fell 13 percent to $14.90 in early trading Wednesday after the fuel-cell maker reported a wider-than-expected fiscal third-quarter loss, overshadowing its first data center capacity reservation agreement.
"During the third quarter, FuelCell Energy accelerated the commercial execution of our data center strategy while continuing to expand the manufacturing capacity we believe is required to support long-term growth," Chief Executive Officer Jason Few said in the release.
The Danbury, Connecticut-based company posted a net loss of $45.3 million, or 64 cents a share, for the quarter ended July 31, compared with a $91.9 million loss a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the loss of 64 cents a share missed analyst estimates by 25 cents, while revenue of $33.0 million declined 29 percent from $46.7 million and fell short of consensus by about $6 million. Gross loss widened to $24.5 million from $5.1 million, and adjusted EBITDA swung to a $36.7 million loss from $16.4 million, hurt by $17 million of inventory charges tied to contractual pricing under its Fit Energy agreement.
The miss masked commercial progress. Committed backlog rose 4.1 percent to $1.3 billion, and the company added $2.35 billion in awarded capacity backlog from Fit Energy's option to buy up to 350 megawatts across three phases, lifting total committed and awarded backlog to $3.65 billion. After the quarter, FuelCell Energy signed its first capacity reservation agreement with a major data center operator for a planned 75-megawatt project in Texas, backed by an upfront payment.
The selloff was largely company-specific. Bloom Energy Corp. slipped and Plug Power Inc. barely moved, while the Global X Hydrogen ETF was unchanged at $42, suggesting investors treated the loss as a FuelCell Energy problem rather than a sector-wide signal.
FuelCell Energy ended the quarter with $737.3 million in cash and restricted cash, up from $341.8 million at the end of fiscal 2025, after a July stock offering that raised $245.5 million. The company is expanding its Torrington, Connecticut plant toward 500 megawatts of annualized capacity by June 2028 and targets a 100-megawatt production rate by October 2026, with positive adjusted EBITDA expected in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027.
The wider loss and the 13 percent drop signal investors are pricing in execution risk on the company's manufacturing ramp and its ability to convert awarded backlog into revenue. The next test comes as FuelCell Energy begins delivering the initial 30-megawatt phase of the Fit Energy contract in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
