New York, May 26, 2026, 18:01 (EDT)
Plug Power shares moved higher late Tuesday. The hydrogen fuel-cell maker saw another session of strong volume. Traders are waiting to see if margin gains can steady the stock’s volatile rally and help it hold a turnaround.
The stock last traded at $3.84, up around 1.5%. It moved in a range from $3.685 to $4.02. Volume topped 111 million shares, close to its typical heavy turnover.
S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2% as stocks moved up, both setting new record closes. The Dow slipped 0.2%, AP market data showed. Investors were picking up risk assets.
Plug (PLUG) stock is on the move, with investors shrugging off what was a solid first quarter. The company doesn’t have a firm path to steady profit. Plug’s hydrogen business is still losing cash and big projects won’t add revenue for years. That situation hasn’t changed for now.
Plug said earlier this month that first-quarter revenue rose 22% from a year ago to $163.5 million. The company’s GAAP gross margin was negative 13%, a jump from negative 55% a year earlier. CEO Jose Luis Crespo said the quarter “positions us to achieve” positive EBITDAS in the fourth quarter. EBITDAS is operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation. GlobeNewswire
Plug management talked about liquidity on the earnings call. Plug said it ended the quarter with $223 million in unrestricted cash and $579 million restricted. The company said it’s working to sell assets. Plug expects cash from Stream Data Centers deals to start closing in June.
Plug said it made a final investment decision last week on a 30-megawatt green hydrogen project in Barrow-in-Furness, England, and will start construction. The plan uses GenEco PEM electrolyzers to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Crespo said Barrow is now Plug’s “largest UK project” as it moves from the award stage to execution. Plug Power
The project is one thing bulls highlight. Traders are paying more attention to execution than to fresh headlines. Plug has spent years setting up its hydrogen platform, but the stock has mostly moved on fears about cash burn, dilution, and the ability to deliver large projects at good margins.
Plug is getting a mixed response from analysts. Benzinga’s consensus is “Hold” with an average target at $3.74. The last three calls—Wells Fargo, Susquehanna, and Canaccord Genuity—came in with a $3.42 average. Wells Fargo’s most recent target dropped to $2.50. Benzinga
Hydrogen-related shares traded mixed. Ballard Power Systems ended up 7.2%. FuelCell Energy dropped 2.5%. Air Products, which supplies industrial gases, was little changed.
Downside risk hasn’t gone away. Plug is not profitable and reports negative earnings. The company’s cash strategy depends on improving margins, getting access to restricted cash, and selling assets as planned. If hydrogen projects get delayed, funding costs go up, or Plug misses its fourth-quarter EBITDAS target, Tuesday’s rally could just fade, with no change to the underlying fundamentals.
Plug faces a slower stretch after recent stock swings. The company still needs to finish asset sales, deliver on its electrolyzer deals, and prove higher revenue brings improved margins, without putting new strain on its balance sheet.
