What happened
Shares of Bloom Energy (BE -1.23%) are popping Friday morning after the clean energy company reported its 2021 fourth-quarter and full-year results. The stock has already been on a roller-coaster ride so far in 2022. Though shares are down by about 20% year to date, they have gained more than 30% during the last two weeks. That includes Friday's jump of 13.9% as of 10:11 a.m. ET.
So what
The maker of hydrogen fuel cells and other alternative energy power grid solutions reported a sharp quarter-over-quarter sequential increase in revenue, as well as a year-over-year jump. Management also painted an optimistic picture of the company's prospects and raised its long-term revenue growth guidance to an annualized range of 30% to 35%. That's a bump of 500 basis points from its previous 10-year outlook.
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Now what
The company also bumped up its near-term guidance, saying it now expects 2022 revenue of at least $1.1 billion. That's 10% above the high end of the range it gave to investors previously.
Bloom is seeing expanding customer acceptance of its systems, with a 63% jump in the quarter versus the prior-year period. Compared to its full-year growth level of 42%, this shows its offerings are gaining steam with customers.
Investors may be most excited, however, about Bloom's current cash position and management's outlook for cash flow. The company ended 2021 with a cash balance of over $615 million, almost $100 million more than it had on the books at the end of 2020. And the company expects positive cash flow from operations for 2022. Those points, in combination with the stock's recent weakness, help explain Friday's pop.
