Plug Power Inc. PLUG shares have surged 10.1% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the industry and the S&P 500, which have returned 37.5% and 12.2%, respectively. In comparison, the company’s peers like Bloom Energy Corporation BE and FuelCell Energy, Inc. FCEL have gained 191% and 104.5%, respectively, over the same time frame.
PLUG Underperforms Industry & S&P 500
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Although PLUG has been persistently grappling with net losses, its growing presence in the lucrative green hydrogen energy and strong expertise in the electrolyzer market are expected to drive its long-term performance.
PLUG Stock’s 50-Day & 200-Day Moving Averages
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Let’s take a look at PLUG’s fundamentals to better analyze how to play the stock.
Factors Driving PLUG’s Performance
Plug Power showed encouraging signs of recovery across its core businesses during the first six months of 2026. The company’s total net revenues increased to $341.8 million compared with $307.6 million in the first six months of 2025. While revenues from equipment, related infrastructure and other products declined 1.1% year over year to $160.9 million from $162.7 million, the impact was more than offset by strong growth in other revenue streams.
Revenues from services performed on fuel cell systems and related infrastructure increased 55.9% year over year to $51.8 million, while revenues from power purchase agreements increased 13.6% to $53.2 million. Fuel revenues also continued to benefit from rising hydrogen consumption, supporting the company’s broader revenue recovery.
Plug Power is benefiting from an increase in demand for its electrolyzer product line. In the first half of 2026, the company generated $54.1 million in electrolyzer revenues, in line with the prior-year period, reflecting continued demand for its green hydrogen production solutions despite project timing differences.
Demand for Plug Power’s GenEco proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers continues to increase across industrial and energy sectors globally. PLUG’s electrolyzers enable customers in refining, chemicals, steel, fertilizer and commercial refueling to generate hydrogen on-site. Healthy demand for electrolyzers continues to be supported by strong policy backing in Europe, where government investments and faster project timelines are accelerating green hydrogen adoption.
It is worth noting that in July 2026, Plug Power secured a 50-megawatt (MW) GenEco electrolyzer order for Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub in Australia, which became the country’s largest renewable hydrogen project to reach final investment decision (FID). Also, in May 2026, the 30-MW Barrow Green Hydrogen Project in the United Kingdom reached FID, with PLUG set to supply six 5-MW GenEco PEM electrolyzers for the renewable hydrogen facility. These projects strengthen the company’s position as a leading provider of large-scale green hydrogen solutions.
However, Plug Power continues to face significant financial pressures. The company reported a net loss attributable to Plug Power of approximately $433.5 million in the first six months of 2026 compared with $423.8 million in the prior-year period. The higher loss was primarily affected by a $145.0 million loss from changes in the fair value of convertible debt instruments and an $83.9 million loss from changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities.
PLUG also operates in the highly competitive green hydrogen and fuel cell markets, which include major industry players like FuelCell Energy and Bloom Energy.
PLUG’s Estimate Revisions
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLUG’s bottom line for 2026 has declined in the past 60 days.
Valuation
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From a valuation standpoint, Plug Power is trading at a trailing price-to-sales ratio of 3.26X compared with the industry average of 7.7X. In comparison, FuelCell Energy and Bloom Energy are trading at 5.11X and 12.94X, respectively.
Conclusion
Strong revenue growth, resilient electrolyzer demand and a robust project pipeline are likely to support Plug Power’s long-term performance. While significant net losses remain near-term concern, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s growing presence in the large-scale green hydrogen market and improving business momentum offer attractive long-term growth prospects.
While current shareholders should hold their positions, new investors should wait for the stock to retract some of its recent gains and provide a better entry point.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).