Investors Who Get In on Plug Power (PLUG) Now Could See Their Money Multiply
Key Points
Plug Power’s stock trades 99% below its IPO price.
But its stock could finally bounce back as the hydrogen market expands.
- 10 stocks we like better than Plug Power ›
Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), a developer of hydrogen charging technologies, went public in 1999 at a reverse split-adjusted price of $150 per share. It trades at about $2 as of this writing.
Plug Power originally planned to build hydrogen charging systems for entire homes, but high expenses, regulatory hurdles, and weak consumer demand derailed that ambitious strategy. Today, it mainly sells hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyzers, and storage systems.
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Its two largest customers are Amazon and Walmart, which use its fuel cells in their hydrogen-powered forklifts. It's already deployed more than 74,000 fuel cell systems worldwide at over 280 hydrogen-powered material handling sites across five continents, and it's ramping up green hydrogen production across the United States.
With a market cap of $3 billion, Plug Power trades at less than four times its projected sales for 2026. Therefore, I believe this out-of-favor stock might deliver some multibagger gains for investors who can tune out the noise and ride out the near-term volatility.
Plug Power is on the cusp of a turnaround
Plug Power grew rapidly in 2022 and 2023, but a lot of that growth was fueled by its acquisitions of two smaller cryogenic storage companies rather than its core businesses. In 2024, its revenue plunged as it lapped those acquisitions, and the macro headwinds drove many companies to pause their hydrogen charging projects. Its operating and net losses also widened as sales growth stalled, and its stock plummeted below $1 last year.
|
Metric |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Revenue |
$701 million |
$891 million |
$629 million |
$710 million |
|
Growth (YOY) |
40% |
27% |
(29%) |
13% |
|
Operating Margin |
(97%) |
(151%) |
(321%) |
(207%) |
|
Net Income (Loss) |
($724 million) |
($1.37 billion) |
($2.10 billion) |
($1.69 billion) |
Data source: Plug Power. YOY = Year-over-year.
But in 2025, Plug's revenue rose 13%, and it narrowed its operating and net losses. That growth was driven by rising demand for green hydrogen and new hydrogen charging projects, even after the Trump Administration paused the Department of Energy's $1.7 billion loan guarantee (for the construction of up to six green hydrogen facilities) to the company last year.
To meet that growing demand, it's increasing green hydrogen production in Texas and Georgia as it builds a new hydrogen liquefaction plant in Louisiana through a joint venture with Olin. It's also aggressively cutting costs with its "Project Quantum Leap" initiative. All of these catalysts suggest it's on the cusp of a turnaround.
From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect its revenue to grow at an 18% CAGR to $1.17 billion. The company also expects its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to turn positive by the fourth quarter of 2026 as it tightens up its spending. Assuming Plug Power matches those estimates, continues to grow its revenue at a 15% CAGR through 2036, and trades at ten times sales, its stock could rise nearly 12 times over the next decade.
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Leo Sun has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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