Bloom Energy is down 5% after analysts pointed out a 40-to-1 backlog gap that some investors said could squeeze future revenue if orders don’t pick up. NEW YORK, July 10, 2026, 14:11 (EDT)
Bloom Energy Corporation NYSE:BE dropped 5.5% to $243 Friday afternoon, giving back Thursday’s minor rebound after a short-seller report and the company’s response. The bigger question for many is the math: Bloom’s last posted backlog near $20 billion is about 40.6 times its $492.6 million in remaining performance obligations from the latest quarterly statement.
This doesn’t mean the backlog is mostly made up. Each measure uses its own rules and timelines. The difference matters now because Bloom’s forecast for 2026 pegs revenue at $3.4 billion to $3.8 billion and adjusted operating income between $600 million and $750 million. The company needs big data-center projects to move from financing to actual installation on time to hit those numbers.
The drop was steeper than the main market but fuel-cell stocks moved lower as a group. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust NYSEARCA:SPY was up 0.3%, while FuelCell Energy NASDAQ:FCEL lost 8.7% and Plug Power NASDAQ:PLUG fell 5.3%.
| Security | Latest price | Day move |
|---|---|---|
| Bloom Energy NYSE:BE | $243.00 | fell 5.5% |
| FuelCell Energy NASDAQ:FCEL | $21.01 | lost 8.7% |
| Plug Power NASDAQ:PLUG | $2.26 | dropped 5.3% |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF NYSEARCA:SPY | $754.30 | inched up 0.3% |
Bloom says its product backlog is the expected revenue from deals already in place, with estimated investment-tax credits counted in. For services, the backlog comes from maintenance contracts that can run five to 20 years, but customers can cancel every year. “Unsatisfied performance obligations,” or RPO, refers to contracted revenue for work not finished yet. Bloom leaves out contracts of a year or less and some services billed as the job gets done.
| Latest disclosed measure | Backlog, year-end 2025 | RPO, March 31, 2026 | Backlog/RPO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ~$20.0 billion | $492.6 million | 40.6 times |
| Product | ~$6.0 billion | $441.1 million | 13.6 times |
| Service | ~$14.0 billion | $51.5 million | 271.8 times |
Product RPO counts installation obligations too. The ratios use different dates and definitions for comparison.
The comparison isn’t apples-to-apples, since measurement dates are off by a quarter. There is a plus side: total RPO went up 17.5% from December 31 to March 31, and customer deposits surged 93% to $151.1 million. But investors still don’t have numbers showing how much of the $20 billion backlog is cancellable, linked to tax incentives, or outside RPO.
One number is harder to ignore. Bloom saw $373.3 million in related-party revenue in the first quarter, almost half of total sales and up sharply from $2.8 million a year ago. These are deals with entities connected by ownership or JV setup. The filing ties the business to Brookfield Asset Management NYSE:BAM. Bloom and Brookfield boosted their project-finance agreement to $25 billion from $5 billion on June 30. These structures can speed up funding. Still, real revenue comes when the end data-center user starts deployment.
Hunterbrook Media, which has an investment fund betting against Bloom shares, also raised questions about where the company gets its scandium. Scandium oxide is used in small amounts to enhance the ceramic electrolyte in Bloom’s fuel cells. Eric Wachsman, director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, told Hunterbrook that most purification is “primarily in China.” Hunterbrook
Bloom fired back at the July 9 supply-chain and accounting claims, denying them in a filing. The company said it has enough scandium on hand for demand now and can back 25 gigawatts of yearly fuel-cell manufacturing. “No single supplier determines our destiny. No single country does either,” Chief Operating Officer Satish Chitoori wrote. The filing left backlog and RPO unreconciled. Securities and Exchange Commission
Sell-side analysts mainly stayed bullish. Baird’s Ben Kallo stuck with his Outperform call and $310 target after the results. Susquehanna bumped its target up to $298 from $293 on Friday, holding its Positive rating.
The downside risk here is delays in big AI projects, slow conversion from JV sales to end-user installs, or higher scandium costs. Bulls are watching for Q2 numbers that show RPO and deposits up again, less party concentration, and stable margins. Bloom’s results are due after the close July 28.
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