SAN JOSE, Calif. / May 09, 2023 / Business Wire / Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE: BE) reported today its total revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 grew 37% compared with the first quarter of 2022. The record revenue for the quarter was driven by continued growth in Product and Service revenue and supported an improvement in operating margin of over five percentage points.

First Quarter Highlights

• Revenue of $275.2 million in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 36.9% compared to $201.0 million in the first quarter of 2022. Product and Service revenue of $234.4 million in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 38.9% compared to $168.8 million in the first quarter of 2022.
• Gross margin of 19.7% in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 5.8 percentage points compared to 13.9% in the first quarter of 2022.
• Non-GAAP gross margin of 21.2% in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 5.4 percentage points compared to 15.8% in the first quarter of 2022.
• Operating loss of ($63.7) million in the first quarter of 2023, an improvement of $2.0 million compared to ($65.7) million in the first quarter of 2022.
• Non-GAAP operating loss of ($34.1) million in the first quarter of 2023, an improvement of $5.3 million compared to ($39.4) million in the first quarter of 2022.

Commenting on first quarter results, KR Sridhar founder, Chairman and CEO of Bloom Energy said, “Bloom Energy is off to a very strong start in 2023. Our company is operating well and delivering on our goals. We are making great strides in developing products that serve the needs of our customers today, will help them to position well for the future and, importantly, create revenue growth for us.”

Greg Cameron, President and CFO of Bloom Energy, added, “We had record first quarter revenue driven by strong domestic acceptances. Our margins improved as we maintained price while reducing our product costs. We are reaffirming our 2023 framework for revenue and profitability.”

Summary of Key Financial Metrics

Preliminary Summary of GAAP Profit and Loss Statements

Preliminary Summary of Non-GAAP Financial Information¹

1. A detailed reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP financial measures is provided at the end of this press release

Outlook

Bloom reaffirms outlook for the full-year 2023:

Bloom Will host an investor conference at the NYSE on May 23, 2023.

Acceptances

We use acceptances as a key operating metric to measure the volume of our completed Energy Server installation activity from period to period. Acceptance typically occurs upon transfer of control to our customers, which depending on the contract terms is when the system is shipped and delivered to our customers, when the system is shipped and delivered and is physically ready for startup and commissioning, or when the system is shipped and delivered and is turned on and producing power.

Conference Call Details

Bloom will host a conference call today, May 9, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss its financial results. To participate in the live call, analysts and investors may call +1 (404) 975-4839 and enter the passcode: 984263. Those calling from outside the United States may dial +44 204-525-0658 and enter the same passcode: 984263. A simultaneous live webcast will also be available under the Investor Relations section on our website at https://investor.bloomenergy.com/. Following the webcast, an archived version will be available on Bloom’s website for one year. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available for one week following the call, by dialing +1 (866) 813-9403 or + 44 204-525-0658 and entering passcode 878051.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These non-GAAP financial measures are in addition to, and not a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures versus their nearest GAAP equivalents. For example, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. Bloom urges you to review the reconciliations of its non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures set forth in this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. With respect to Bloom’s expectations regarding its 2023 Outlook, Bloom is not able to provide a quantitative reconciliation of non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP operating margin measures to the corresponding GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts due to the uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, reconciling items such as stock-based compensation expense. Material changes to reconciling items could have a significant effect on future GAAP results and, as such, we believe that any reconciliation provided would imply a degree of precision that could be confusing or misleading to investors.

About Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy empowers businesses and communities to responsibly take charge of their energy. The company’s leading solid oxide platform for distributed generation of electricity and hydrogen is changing the future of energy. Fortune 100 companies turn to Bloom Energy as a trusted partner to deliver lower carbon energy today and a net-zero future. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will” and “would” or the negative of these words or similar terms or expressions that concern Bloom’s expectations, strategy, priorities, plans or intentions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Bloom’s expectations regarding: Bloom’s positioning operationally and with respect to its goals; Bloom’s product development, serving customers’ needs and revenue growth; Bloom’s 2023 framework for revenue and profitability; Bloom’s financial outlook for 2023. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to: Bloom’s limited operating history; the emerging nature of the distributed generation market and rapidly evolving market trends; the significant losses Bloom has incurred in the past; the significant upfront costs of Bloom’s Energy Servers and Bloom’s ability to secure financing for its products; Bloom’s ability to drive cost reductions and to successfully mitigate against potential price increases; Bloom’s ability to service its existing debt obligations; Bloom’s ability to be successful in new markets; the ability of the Bloom Energy Server to operate on the fuel source a customer will want; the success of the strategic partnership with SK ecoplant in the United States and international markets; timing and development of an ecosystem for the hydrogen market, including in the South Korean market; continued incentives in the South Korean market; the timing and pace of adoption of hydrogen for stationary power; the risk of manufacturing defects; the accuracy of Bloom’s estimates regarding the useful life of its Energy Servers; delays in the development and introduction of new products or updates to existing products; Bloom’s ability to secure partners in order to commercialize its electrolyzer and carbon capture products; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and its potential impact on Bloom’s business; supply constraints; the availability of rebates, tax credits and other tax benefits; changes in the regulatory landscape; Bloom’s reliance on tax equity financing arrangements; Bloom’s reliance upon a limited number of customers; Bloom’s lengthy sales and installation cycle, construction, utility interconnection and other delays and cost overruns related to the installation of its Energy Servers; business and economic conditions and growth trends in commercial and industrial energy markets; global macroeconomic conditions, including rising interest rates, recession fears and inflationary pressures, or geopolitical events or conflicts; overall electricity generation market; Bloom’s ability to protect its intellectual property; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Bloom’s SEC filings from time to time. More information on potential factors that may impact Bloom’s business are set forth in Bloom’s periodic reports filed with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the SEC on February 21, 2023, as well as subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC from time to time. These reports are available on Bloom’s website at www.bloomenergy.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Bloom assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements.

The Investor Relations section of Bloom’s website at investor.bloomenergy.com contains a significant amount of information about Bloom Energy, including financial and other information for investors. Bloom encourages investors to visit this website from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted.

Use of non-GAAP financial measures

To supplement Bloom Energy condensed consolidated financial statement information presented on GAAP basis, Bloom Energy provides financial measures including non-GAAP gross profit (loss), non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating profit (loss), (non-GAAP earnings from operations), non-GAAP operating profit (loss) margin, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP basic, diluted net earnings per share and Adjusted EBITDA. Bloom Energy also provides forecasts of non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP operating margin.

These non-GAAP financial measures are not computed in accordance with, or as an alternative to, GAAP in the United States.

• The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit (loss) is gross profit (loss).
• The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross margin is gross margin.
• The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP operating profit (loss) (non-GAAP earnings from operations) is operating profit (loss) (earnings from operations).
• The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP operating margin is operating margin.
• The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP net earnings is net earnings.
• The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share is diluted net earnings per share.
• The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA is net earnings.

Reconciliations of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP information are included in the tables above or elsewhere in the materials accompanying this news release.

Use and economic substance of non-GAAP financial measures used by Bloom Energy

Non-GAAP gross profit (loss) and non-GAAP gross margin are defined to exclude charges relating to stock-based compensation expense and PPA IV repowering related impairment charge. Non-GAAP operating profit (loss) (non-GAAP earnings from operations) and non-GAAP operating margin are defined to exclude any charges relating to stock-based compensation expense, PPA IV repowering related impairment charge and the amortization of acquired intangible assets. Non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share consist of net earnings or diluted net earnings per share excluding stock-based compensation, loss for non-controlling interest, loss (gain) on derivatives liabilities, PPA IV repowering related impairment charges, loss on extinguishment of debt related to PPA IV repowering and the amortization of acquired intangible assets. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation, loss for non-controlling interest, loss (gain) on derivatives liabilities, PPA IV repowering related impairment charge, loss on extinguishment of debt related to PPA IV repowering.

Bloom Energy management uses these non-GAAP financial measures for purposes of evaluating Bloom Energy’s historical and prospective financial performance, as well as Bloom Energy’s performance relative to its competitors. Bloom Energy believes that excluding the items mentioned above from these non-GAAP financial measures allows Bloom Energy management to better understand Bloom Energy’s consolidated financial performance as management does not believe that the excluded items are reflective of ongoing operating results. More specifically, Bloom Energy management excludes each of those items mentioned above for the following reasons:

• Stock-based compensation expense consists of equity awards granted based on the estimated fair value of those awards at grant date. Although stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to our employees, Bloom Energy excludes these charges for the purpose of calculating these non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are non-cash expenses and such an exclusion facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of Bloom Energy current operating performance and comparisons to Bloom Energy operating performance in other periods.
• Loss for non-controlling interest represents allocation to the non-controlling interests under the hypothetical liquidation at book value (HLBV) method and are associated with our Bloom Energy legacy PPA entities.
• Loss (gain) on derivatives liabilities represents non-cash adjustments to the fair value of the embedded derivatives associated with the convertible notes and other derivatives.
• PPA IV repowering related impairment charge represents non-cash impairment charges on old server units decommissioned upon repowering.
• Loss on debt extinguishment related to PPA IV repowering.
• Amortization of acquired intangible assets.
• Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted Net Income (Loss) before depreciation and amortization expense, provision for income tax, interest expense (income), other expense (income), net. We use Adjusted EBITDA to measure the operating performance of our business, excluding specifically identified items that we do not believe directly reflect our core operations and may not be indicative of our recurring operations.

Material limitations associated with use of non-GAAP financial measures

These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of Bloom Energy results as reported under GAAP. Some of the limitations in relying on these non-GAAP financial measures are:

• Items such as stock-based compensation expense that is excluded from non-GAAP gross profit (loss), non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP operating profit (loss) (non-GAAP earnings from operations), non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net earnings, and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measure.
• Loss for non-controlling interest, loss (gain) on derivatives liabilities, though not directly affecting Bloom Energy cash position, represents the loss (gain) in value of certain assets and liabilities. The expense associated with this loss (gain) in value is excluded from non-GAAP net earnings, and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share and can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measure.
• Other companies may calculate non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP operating profit (non-GAAP earnings from operations), non-GAAP operating profit margin, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share and Adjusted EBITDA differently than Bloom Energy does, limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes.

Compensation for limitations associated with use of non-GAAP financial measures

Bloom Energy compensates for the limitations on its use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying primarily on its GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as a supplement. Bloom Energy also provides a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP measure within this news release and in other written materials that include these non-GAAP financial measures, and Bloom Energy encourages investors to review those reconciliations carefully.

Usefulness of non-GAAP financial measures to investors

Bloom Energy believes that providing financial measures including non-GAAP gross profit (loss), non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating profit (non-GAAP earnings from operations), non-GAAP operating profit (loss) margin, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share in addition to the related GAAP measures provides investors with greater transparency to the information used by Bloom Energy management in its financial and operational decision making and allows investors to see Bloom Energy’s results “through the eyes” of management. Bloom Energy further believes that providing this information better enables Bloom Energy investors to understand Bloom Energy’s operating performance and to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by Bloom Energy management to evaluate and measure such performance. Disclosure of these non-GAAP financial measures also facilitates comparisons of Bloom Energy’s operating performance with the performance of other companies in Bloom Energy’s industry that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures that may be calculated in a similar manner.