Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of natural gas fuel provider Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE 2.15%) jumped 11% today after the company reported earnings.
So what: First-quarter gallons delivered rise 24% from a year ago to 59.3 million gallons and revenue was up slightly to $95.3 million, hurt by last year's comparison that included $26.2 million in volumetric excise tax credit. The absence of the tax credit also resulted in a loss of $28.6 million, or $0.30 per share, which was exactly in line with estimates.
Now what: Clean Energy Fuels needs growth to be profitable and with revenue and gallons delivered higher than expected, investors got excited today. Management also indicated that there's momentum on the heavy-duty trucking side of the business, which is where the real upside is in natural gas fuel. This earnings report was a positive sign that growth is continuing, but I'm taking a cautious approach because of the loss and will sit out the move today.
