Electricity generation and hydrogen production company Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 38.6% year on year to $326 million. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $1.75 billion at the midpoint came in 1.2% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.03 per share was significantly above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy Bloom Energy? Find out in our full research report.

Company Overview

Working in stealth mode for eight years, Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) designs, manufactures, and markets solid oxide fuel cell systems for on-site power generation.

Sales Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Over the last five years, Bloom Energy grew its sales at an exceptional 14.5% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth surpassed the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.

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. Bloom Energy’s annualized revenue growth of 10.9% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results suggest healthy demand.

We can better understand the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its most important segment, Product. Over the last two years, Bloom Energy’s Product revenue (energy servers and electrolyzers) averaged 14.9% year-on-year growth. This segment has outperformed its total sales during the same period, lifting the company’s performance.

This quarter, Bloom Energy reported wonderful year-on-year revenue growth of 38.6%, and its $326 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 11.9%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 14.6% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is healthy and suggests its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance.

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Operating Margin

Bloom Energy’s high expenses have contributed to an average operating margin of negative 10.3% over the last five years. Unprofitable industrials companies require extra attention because they could get caught swimming naked when the tide goes out.

On the plus side, Bloom Energy’s operating margin rose by 9.2 percentage points over the last five years, as its sales growth gave it operating leverage. Still, it will take much more for the company to reach long-term profitability.

This quarter, Bloom Energy generated a negative 5.8% operating margin.

Earnings Per Share

Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth – for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Bloom Energy’s full-year EPS flipped from negative to positive over the last five years. This is a good sign and shows it’s at an inflection point.

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 Bloom Energy, its two-year annual EPS growth of 74.4% was higher than its five-year trend. We love it when earnings growth accelerates, especially when it accelerates off an already high base.

In Q1, Bloom Energy reported EPS at $0.03, up from negative $0.17 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts’ estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Bloom Energy to perform poorly. Analysts forecast its full-year EPS of $0.36 will hit $0.45.

Key Takeaways from Bloom Energy’s Q1 Results

We were impressed by how significantly Bloom Energy blew past analysts’ revenue, EPS, and EBITDA expectations this quarter. Zooming out, we think this was a solid quarter. The stock remained flat at $18.25 immediately after reporting.

So should you invest in Bloom Energy right now? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free.