What happened
Shares of Plug Power (PLUG -7.58%) jumped as much as 25.9% in trading Tuesday after completing an important acquisition. Shares held gains late in trading and were up 21.8% as of 1:10 p.m. EDT.
So what
The acquisition of United Hydrogen and Giner ELX was completed, which was a big step forward in the company's vertical integration plans. Financial details of the acquisitions weren't announced but management says these are key additions to get the company to over 50% green hydrogen by 2024, making this much more of a renewable energy stock than it was using hydrogen from natural gas.
Image source: Getty Images.
What investors seem to be really excited about is Plug Power increasing its 2024 financial target to $1.2 billion in revenue, $210 million in operating income, and $250 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). That's up from previous targets of $1 billion in revenue, $170 million in operating income, and $200 million in EBITDA.
Now what
There's certainly a lot of opportunities for Plug Power to grow its hydrogen production and lower costs, but that may only keep the company in-line with expected falling hydrogen costs in the future. What I would be more concerned about is if the company can hit financial targets years into the future. Plug Power has a long history of setting expectations it can't hit, and I'm afraid this is another example of big goals that may be out of reach.
