NEW YORK, Jan 9, 2026, 09:57 ET — Regular session
- Bloom Energy shares rose about 5% in early trade after an AEP fuel-cell order disclosed a day earlier
- Deal is tied to a planned fuel-cell generation facility near Cheyenne, Wyoming, and a 20-year offtake contract
- Investors are watching delivery timing, contract conditions and the company’s next earnings date
Shares of Bloom Energy (BE.N) were up 5.1% at $128 in early New York trading on Friday, after American Electric Power’s fuel-cell purchase plan put the spotlight back on the U.S. power crunch story.
The move matters because it is a rare, big-ticket utility commitment in a market where investors have questioned how quickly fuel-cell projects can move from talks to orders. Bloom sells solid oxide fuel cells — equipment that makes electricity through a chemical reaction rather than burning fuel — which can help customers add power without waiting years for new grid connections.
AEP said on Thursday its unit would buy a substantial portion of its option for Bloom’s solid oxide fuel cells in a deal worth about $2.65 billion, part of a plan to develop and build a fuel-cell power generation facility near Cheyenne, Wyoming. AEP also disclosed a 20-year agreement with an unnamed customer to take the plant’s output, with conditions it expects to be met by the second quarter of 2026.
Fuel-cell peers were mixed on Friday: Plug Power fell 3.0%, while FuelCell Energy and Ballard Power were little changed to higher. AEP shares rose 0.7%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq proxies were both up about 0.3%.
Bloom, based in San Jose, California, sells fuel-cell systems for on-site power generation and a solid-oxide-based electrolyzer aimed at hydrogen production.
What traders want next is basic: delivery timing and margins. They will also watch for any added disclosure on the Wyoming customer and how quickly the project clears the usual hurdles — permitting, site work and the customer’s own buildout schedule.
Bloom has not posted an upcoming event for its next earnings report on its investor events calendar, leaving investors waiting for a date and fresh guidance as the stock swings.
There is a catch, and it’s not small. Large power projects slip; the offtake agreement has conditions, and any delay in that chain can push out shipments and cash receipts even if the headline order stays intact.
The next hard milestone sits on AEP’s timeline: it expects the conditions tied to the 20-year offtake deal to be satisfied by the second quarter of 2026.
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