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Date

Monday, Nov. 3, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. ET

Call participants

  • Chief Executive Officer — Michael Stein
  • Chief Financial Officer — Avi Goldin

Takeaways

  • Consolidated revenue -- $138.3 million, up 24%, driven by higher retail supply sales, increased per meter electricity consumption, and commodity price growth.
  • GRE revenue -- $132.4 million, rising 25%, reflecting growth in both customer base (RCEs) and revenue per kilowatt hour sold.
  • Electricity revenue -- $126.6 million, representing 96% of GRE total; electricity kilowatt hours sold increased by 21% as revenue per kilowatt hour rose 4%.
  • Natural gas revenue -- $5.8 million, higher by 15%; therms sold steady, but revenue per therm up 14%.
  • Retail customer base -- GRE electricity RCEs grew to approximately 318,000, a 5.4% increase; total RCEs advanced 4.2% to 396,000; total meters up 0.8% to 402,000.
  • Consolidated gross profit -- $30 million, falling 21%, with gross margin declining from 33.9% to 21.7% on escalating wholesale commodity costs.
  • Consolidated income from operations -- $6.9 million, a 41% reduction; adjusted EBITDA down 40% to $8.2 million; GRE operating income dropped 32% to $10.2 million, matching adjusted EBITDA contraction.
  • Net income and EPS -- Net income attributable to common stockholders was $6.7 million, or $0.26 per share, decreasing from $10.2 million, or $0.38 per share.
  • Renewables segment -- GREW revenue was $6 million, with Diversegy’s brokerage business growing, offset by declines elsewhere; operating loss increased to $345,000.
  • Operating cost trends -- Consolidated SG&A fell 10% to $22.6 million via lower payroll and acquisition expense.
  • Commodity input costs -- Cost of electricity per kilowatt hour up 20%; gas input cost per therm soared 137%, resulting in negative gross margin for gas sales.
  • Cash and capital management -- Aggregate cash, equivalents, and marketable equity securities totaled $206.6 million, a rise from $201.6 million three months prior; debt at $8.8 million, mainly solar project financing.
  • Shareholder returns -- Repurchased 124,000 Class B shares for $2 million, and paid quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.
  • Guidance -- Management expects to meet the low end of its full-year adjusted EBITDA range of $40 million to $50 million.
  • Upcoming renewable initiatives -- Lansing Community solar project to generate revenue in the next quarter; Diversegy’s projected 2026 profit contribution is $5 million to $6 million, double this year.
  • New business ventures -- Roded, the recycled plastic pallet business, began revenue generation, and scaling options are under review.

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Risks

  • Management and financial commentary both highlight "margin compression" in retail energy, with gross margin falling from 33.9% to 21.7%, and consolidated gross profit dropping 21% on commodity price increases.
  • Wholesale gas input cost surged 137%, leading to negative gross margin on gas sales for the period.
  • CEO Stein noted, "Previous aggregation deals we won were reasonably profitable. This one has been less successful due to the market volatility," with low-margin volume and greater exposure during commodity price spikes.
  • Management stated, "results did not meet our expectations," and confirmed targets will be met only at the "low end" of adjusted EBITDA guidance.

Summary

Genie Energy (GNE 0.23%) delivered record quarterly revenue growth; however, this expansion was offset by sharply reduced profitability from margin compression across its retail business as rising input costs outpaced hedge protections. The gas position deteriorated further, with input costs rising 137% year over year and turning gross margins negative. Progress on renewables included imminent startup revenue from the Lansing solar project and accelerating brokerage profits at Diversegy. Capital management saw cash balances rise modestly despite continued dividend payments and share repurchases. Management projected only the lower end of its adjusted EBITDA guidance would be achieved, as margin recovery remains underway.

  • The renewable business, GREW, is anticipated to contribute expanded profits in 2026, aided by brokerage and advisory growth.
  • The company’s disciplined approach reduced operating expenses, even while pursuing early-stage ventures like Roded.
  • Current municipal aggregation contracts are set to expire, reducing exposure to low-margin, high-volume fixed price arrangements.
  • CFO Goldin confirmed that the cost per thermal gas increased even more steeply, up 137% year over year, and gross margins on gas sales turned negative.

Industry glossary

  • RCE: Residential customer equivalent; a standardized unit for measuring the size of an energy retailer's customer base, representing the average annual consumption of a typical residential customer.
  • Aggregation deal: Contract with a municipality or similar entity to supply energy at negotiated rates to multiple households or businesses within that jurisdiction.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Michael Stein: Thank you, operator. Genie Energy achieved another quarter of double-digit top line growth, leading to record high third quarter revenue. The revenue increase was fueled by an increase in per meter electricity consumption, rising commodity prices and RCE-based growth at GRE. However, the challenging market conditions that impacted GRE's second quarter results persisted in the third quarter and again weighed on our bottom line with diluted EPS decreasing to $0.26 per share from $0.38 per share. Throughout 2023 and 2024, we were able to generate strong margins, thanks to favorable market conditions and our ability to monetize a portion of our forward hedge positions.

So far this year, the rapid run-up in energy commodity prices has cut against us and outstripped the protection afforded by our commodity hedges. The financial impact of this rapidly rising commodity price environment has been somewhat amplified by the increasing percentage of fixed price contracts in our retail book, most notably the large municipal aggregation deal that expires during Q4. These negotiated fixed rate price contracts typically generate large sales volumes at significantly lower margins than the individual customer and small business accounts that comprise the balance of our retail book. Previous aggregation deals we won were reasonably profitable. This one has been less successful due to the market volatility.

However, margin volatility is inherent in our retail business, and we do expect conditions to improve. In fact, we are seeing indications that, that process is underway now in Q4, and we expect that margins will continue to strengthen as we get further into 2026. Our management team has successfully operated this business through a variety of different margin cycles, and I'm confident that this one will be no different. At GRE, we continue to prioritize the acquisition of high-consumption electric meters. In the third quarter, we grew our electricity customer base to approximately 318,000 RCEs, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.4%.

While our gas book contracted on a combined basis for both electricity and gas, we increased total RCEs by 4.2% to 396,000, while total meters increased 0.8% to 402,000. GRE's third quarter adjusted EBITDA decreased from the year ago level as increasing commodity costs continued to pressure margins. At Genie Renewables, GREW, we should be just days away from turning on Genie Solar's Lansing Community solar project, and we expect it to begin generating revenue in the fourth quarter. In addition, we made good progress on the build-out of our Perry, New York array.

For the remainder of Genie Solar's generation pipeline, we continue to evaluate potential paths forward in light of the changes in federal energy policy enacted earlier this year. Meanwhile, our portfolio of operating solar projects is performing well. Also at GREW Diversegy, our energy advisory and brokerage business continued its impressive growth in revenue, gross profit and profitability for the third straight quarter, and we expect that trend will continue. This business has a potential to contribute $5 million to $6 million to GREW's bottom line in 2026, twice its contribution this year. GREW's financial results were also significantly impacted by investments in several very exciting early-stage growth initiatives.

One of these, Roded, our recycled plastic pallet business based in Israel, is now starting to generate revenue. Based on our success to date, we are looking at options to scale manufacturing in Israel and expand internationally. During the third quarter, we continued to return value to our shareholders, repurchasing approximately 124,000 shares for $2 million and paying our regular quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, while further strengthening our balance sheet. For the full year 2025, we expect to achieve our annual guidance range of $40 million to $50 million in adjusted EBITDA, albeit at the lower end of the range as GRE's margin environment gradually improves. Now here is Avi.

Avi Goldin: Thank you, Michael, and thanks to everyone on the call for joining us this morning. My remarks today cover our financial results for the 3 months ended September 30, 2025. In my commentary, I will compare the results for the third quarter of 2025 to the third quarter of 2024 to remove from consideration the seasonal factors that impact our results, particularly within our retail energy business. The third quarter is typically characterized by relatively high levels of electricity consumption as it includes most of the summer's peak cooling season. Our financial results this quarter were highlighted by record revenue, continued margin compression in our retail business and investment in growth initiatives in our Renewables segment.

Consolidated revenue in the third quarter increased 24% to $138.3 million, driven by sales at our retail supply business, GRE. GRE's revenue increased 25% to $132.4 million in the third quarter, reflecting several factors. They included an increase in the average electricity consumption per meter, the year-over-year growth of our customer base as measured in RCEs that Michael mentioned and a slight increase in revenue per kilowatt hour sold. Electricity revenue increased 26% to $126.6 million, contributing 96% of GRE's revenues. Kilowatt hours sold increased by 21%, while our revenue per kilowatt hour sold increased 4%. Natural gas revenue increased 15% to $5.8 million. Therm sold were substantially unchanged, while revenue per therm sold increased 14%.

At GREW, third quarter revenue decreased slightly to $6 million. Continued strong growth from our retail brokerage and advisory business Diversegy was substantially offset by top line declines in other lines of business. Consolidated gross profit decreased 21% to $30 million, while gross margin decreased from 33.9% to 21.7%. At GRE, gross profit declined 23% to $27.6 million, reflecting significant increases in our wholesale electricity and natural gas costs. Essentially, the challenges that we discussed that impacted our results last quarter continued and in some respects, intensified for much of the remainder of the summer.

Our cost of electricity per kilowatt hour increased 20% compared to the year ago quarter with record prices and high weather-driven consumption that outpaced the protection of our forward hedge positions. Our cost per thermal gas increased even more steeply, up 137% year-over-year and gross margins on gas sales turned negative. Gas costs in the quarter were negatively impacted by a mark-to-market on the gas position related to our winter supply. Consolidated SG&A decreased 10% to $22.6 million and reduced payroll and customer acquisition expense. The gross profit reduction in GRE drove a 41% year-over-year decrease in consolidated income from operations to $6.9 million and a 40% decrease in adjusted EBITDA to $8.2 million.

At GRE, income from operations decreased 32% to $10.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA also decreased 32% to $10.5 million. At GREW, the third quarter loss from operations increased to $345,000 from $243,000 in the year ago quarter, while adjusted EBITDA loss increased to a negative $201,000 from negative $24,000 in the year ago quarter. The increased losses reflect investment in new business initiatives, substantially offset by accelerating profitability of Diversegy and lower spending in solar. Consolidated net income attributable to Genie common stockholders was $6.7 million or $0.26 per share compared to $10.2 million or $0.38 per share a year earlier. Turning now to the balance sheet.

At September 30, 2025, cash, cash equivalents, long and short-term restricted cash, which includes cash held by our captive insurance subsidiary and marketable equity securities totaled $206.6 million, an increase compared to the $201.6 million 3 months earlier. Working capital was $113.3 million. Our debt, current and noncurrent totaled $8.8 million, the largest component of which was financing for our portfolio of operating solar arrays that was completed earlier this year. We repurchased approximately 124,000 shares of our Class B common stock in the third quarter for $2 million and paid our regular quarterly dividend, returning an additional $2 million directly to our stockholders.

Wrapping up, while results did not meet our expectations, we do expect to achieve the low end of our full year guidance of $40 million to $50 million in consolidated adjusted EBITDA. As Michael mentioned in his remarks, we have successfully navigated this business through other margin cycles and are confident in its long-term profitability. Operator, back to you for Q&A.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] Okay. As we have no questions on the lines at this time, this will conclude the question-and-answer session and today's call. We thank you for attending today's presentation, and you may now disconnect.