New York, Jan 2, 2026, 12:33 ET — Regular session
- Bloom Energy shares climb about 12% in midday trading, leading gains among U.S.-listed fuel-cell names.
- Plug Power, Ballard Power Systems and FuelCell Energy also rise sharply.
- Investors are watching next week’s macro catalysts and signs of follow-through in data-center power demand.
Bloom Energy Corporation shares rose about 12% in midday trading on Friday. The stock was last up $10.09, or 11.6%, at $96.98. It traded between $88.84 and $97.30.
The move matters now because Bloom has become a high-beta proxy for the “AI power” trade — the idea that data-center buildouts will push customers toward faster-to-install, on-site generation. A strong first-week bid can reset positioning after late-December volatility in the group.
Friday’s rally also landed as investors sized up early-2026 macro catalysts, with attention on the U.S. jobs report due Jan. 9 and how the data could shape interest-rate expectations. Reuters also flagged looming risks including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Trump-era tariffs and the expected announcement of a new Federal Reserve chair.
Bloom sells solid oxide fuel-cell systems that generate electricity through an electrochemical process rather than combustion. The company pitches the technology as a way to add capacity quickly for customers that cannot wait for new grid connections.
A core concept in the story is “behind-the-meter” power — electricity generated on the customer’s side of the utility meter. In plain terms, it can reduce reliance on the grid and shorten the timeline from order to power.
Bloom has tied that pitch to large data-center customers and financiers. The company said in July it would deploy its fuel-cell systems at selected Oracle Cloud Infrastructure data centers in the United States, and in October it said Brookfield would invest up to $5 billion to deploy Bloom’s technology for “AI factories.” 1
Brookfield has framed AI power demand as a once-in-a-generation buildout. Sikander Rashid, its head of AI infrastructure, said AI is creating “one of the largest infrastructure build outs in history” and would require $7 trillion of capital over the next decade, according to Reuters. 2
Bloom’s jump came with broad gains across the fuel-cell complex. Plug Power rose about 14%, Ballard Power Systems gained about 8%, and FuelCell Energy climbed about 11%.
The sector move suggests investors are leaning back into higher-volatility clean-energy names as the new year starts, rather than reacting to a single company headline. For Bloom, that tends to amplify both upside momentum and downside air pockets.
Technically, traders were watching whether the stock could sustain a move toward the $100 mark, a level that often draws attention in short-term trading. A retreat toward the prior close area in the high-$80s would put Friday’s bounce back on trial.
On the company calendar, Bloom says it will appear at PowerGen International in San Antonio on Jan. 20-22, with sessions focused on behind-the-meter generation and data-center applications. 3
Investors are likely to keep the focus on order timing, capacity additions and service margins — the details that determine whether fast growth translates into durable cash generation. The big data-center tie-ups have set a high bar for the next round of results and guidance.
