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Should You Buy Plug Power Stock While It's Below $2?
PLUGPlug Power(PLUG) The Motley Fool·2025-03-23 12:22

Core Viewpoint - Plug Power's stock has significantly declined since its peak in early January, with a loss of over 50% leading up to its earnings report on March 3, where it was trading around 1.50pershare[2].FinancialPerformancePlugPowerreporteda451.50 per share [2]. Financial Performance - Plug Power reported a 45% year-over-year decline in equipment sales (hydrogen fuel cells), indicating weak demand, while fuel sales (hydrogen) increased by 48% from a smaller base, failing to offset the overall revenue drop of 30% from 2023 levels [2]. - The company experienced increased losses at gross (23% more), operating (50% more), and net (54% more) levels, culminating in total losses of 2.1 billion, equating to 2.68pershare[3][4].Thepersharelosswasonly16.52.68 per share [3][4]. - The per-share loss was only 16.5% worse than in 2023 due to a 32% increase in share count from issuing new shares to raise cash [4]. Cash Flow and Financial Strategy - Plug Power reported a negative free cash flow of over 1 billion in 2024, necessitating share sales to maintain liquidity [5]. - The company has initiated "Project Quantum Leap," aiming to reduce annual expenses by 150millionto150 million to 200 million through layoffs, consolidations, and other cost-cutting measures [7]. - As of the last report, Plug had approximately 405millionincash,whichisexpectedtoincreasetoabout405 million in cash, which is expected to increase to about 685 million following a recent share sale that raised 280million[8].FutureOutlookDespiteeffortstooptimizeoperationsandreducecashburn,projectionsindicatethatPlugPowermayrunoutofcashbeforetheendof2025,necessitatingfurthersharesales[9].Therecentincreaseinsharesoutstandingtoapproximately1.11billionwilllikelydilutecurrentinvestorsandcouldnegativelyimpactstockvalue,especiallyifthestockpriceapproaches280 million [8]. Future Outlook - Despite efforts to optimize operations and reduce cash burn, projections indicate that Plug Power may run out of cash before the end of 2025, necessitating further share sales [9]. - The recent increase in shares outstanding to approximately 1.11 billion will likely dilute current investors and could negatively impact stock value, especially if the stock price approaches 2, triggering the exercise of warrants [10].