New York, May 22, 2026, 05:08 EDT
Plug Power shares looked a bit firmer ahead of Friday’s Nasdaq open after the stock surged 14.2% to $3.78 on Thursday. That’s a notable jump for the hydrogen name, which is still working to show it can turn bigger sales into profit. Nasdaq’s main session is from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
Plug Power jumped Thursday without putting out any new announcement. Shares gained as a wave of fuel-cell names moved higher after Bloom Energy landed an AI-related data center power deal. Plug’s recent contract news also drew in traders for another look, according to .
Bloom Energy and Nebius said May 20 that Bloom fuel cells will supply power for Nebius’s AI infrastructure. They plan 328 megawatts of installed capacity going live this year. “Power remains a key constraint,” Andrey Korolenko, Nebius’s chief product and infrastructure officer, said. The setups are “behind the meter,” generating electricity on site, not relying on the public grid. Nebius
Plug’s news broke a day earlier. The company said it reached final investment decision for the 30-megawatt Barrow Green Hydrogen project in Britain, clearing the way for spending and construction to start. Plug will provide six 5-megawatt GenEco PEM electrolyzers to the site. These units split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity and a membrane. Plug expects the project to deliver about 100 gigawatt-hours of green hydrogen annually to Kimberly-Clark’s Barrow facility and cut natural gas use at the plant by as much as 50%.
Plug CEO Jose Luis Crespo said Barrow is “moving our largest UK project from award into execution.” Carlton Power’s hydrogen director Eric Adams called Plug “a strong partner” as the British project picks up. Markets now have a real industrial hydrogen project to follow, not just a pipeline of deals. Plug Power
Plug’s first-quarter numbers are out. The company reported revenue of $163.5 million, up 22% from last year. GAAP gross margin landed at negative 13%, better than negative 55% a year ago. Crespo said these results show “improving the underlying economics” at Plug. GlobeNewswire
Still, the rally looks shaky. Plug posted a first-quarter net loss attributable to the company of $245.3 million, up from $196.7 million in the same period last year. The company finished March with $802.0 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash. Plug also burned through $150.0 million in operating activities for the quarter.
Investors will read this risk paragraph. Plug has a goal to hit positive EBITDAS—earnings before interest, income tax, depreciation, amortization and share-based expense—in the fourth quarter. Getting there needs better margins, less cash burn, selling assets, and good timing on projects. The target is shaky if hydrogen projects face delays, financing gets harder, or costs move up. Thursday’s gain could vanish quickly.
Plug moved ahead of the broader tape Thursday, with MarketWatch noting its outperformance. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.09% and the Dow rose 0.55%. Plug traded around 115 million shares on the day, topping the 50-day average. Ballard Power Systems, another name in fuel cells, was up 14.08%.
Bloom is the clear peer linked to the latest move, after its Nebius deal pulled fuel cells into the AI power talk again. Ballard’s gain showed traders weren’t just focused on Plug. But Plug is still more about hydrogen supply, electrolyzers, and fuel-cell gear for warehouses, not confirmed AI data-center power contracts.
Friday could show if the bounce is just a sympathy play or something bigger for hydrogen stocks. Timing counts. U.S. equity markets are open Friday, but Nasdaq will close for Memorial Day on Monday, May 25, according to its 2026 holiday calendar.
