Investors in Plug Power (PLUG 8.48%) were staring at massive losses as the hydrogen stock plummeted 59% in the first five months of 2025. In June, however, Plug Power made a dramatic U-turn and shot up 69% in the month.
However, that still means Plug Power stock ended the first half of 2025 down 30%, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. But the question is: Does the stock's recent rally signal a long-awaited turnaround?
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Plug Power's tumultuous 2025
Plug Power's fortunes appeared to be turning at one point in early 2025. The hydrogen producer and fuel-cell maker bagged a huge 3 gigawatt (GW) electrolyzer supply deal with Australia's Allied Green Ammonia. At the same time, it secured a $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy earlier this year. That's a big sum of money for a company facing a severe cash crunch that even cast doubts on its ability to remain a going concern.
The euphoria, however, was short-lived. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order halting the release of federal funding worth billions of dollars for green hydrogen projects previously approved by the Biden administration. That also put Plug Power's loan at risk, compelling the company to initiate several cost-cutting moves in the following weeks.
Meanwhile, Plug Power's revenue nearly halved in 2024, and it reported a negative gross margin of 78% and a staggering net loss of $2.1 billion for the year.
However, Plug Power's notably stronger first-quarter numbers caught investors' attention, and that's when the stock started to reverse course. Its sales grew 11% year over year, gross loss more than halved, and rate of cash burn fell.
June turned out to be a monumental month as Plug Power stock bagged another 2 GW deal from Allied Green as CFO Paul Middleton purchased shares in the company, signaling his conviction in Plug Power's prospects. The hydrogen stock zoomed over 65% in June and has managed to stay in the green so far this month.
Is it time to buy Plug Power stock?
Amid all its challenges, the one notable thing about Plug Power is how it continues to win deals. In early July, it signed a contract with an unnamed U.S. industrial gas company, this time to purchase liquid hydrogen through 2030. Although Plug Power is expanding its own hydrogen production capacity, it continues to rely heavily on outside purchases. Plug Power expects this deal to reduce its costs "significantly" and boost cash flows.
This hydrogen deal comes close on the heels of Trump signing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4. Although the new law rolls back several core incentives the green hydrogen industry previously relied on, it proposes to phase out tax credits on projects starting only after Dec. 31, 2027. The earlier iterations of the bill proposed to ax tax credits by the end of this year.
I see promise in Plug Power's latest hydrogen deal since it should help it cut costs. However, I'd still stay on the sidelines until Plug Power's revenue, margins, and cash flows confirm an uptrend. It's anyone's guess when that will be. Plug Power stock will likely remain highly volatile in between, with high odds of a delisting.
