Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) just added another name to its growing list of AI infrastructure customers. On August 6, the company announced an expanded partnership with MiTAC Computing Technology Corp., a subsidiary of MiTAC Holdings Corporation, to deploy a fuel cell microgrid at MiTAC’s AI server manufacturing campus in Fremont, California. It is a small deal in isolation, but it fits a pattern that has turned Bloom into one of the more talked-about names in the AI power trade.
Bull Case: Bloom Energy Scales Up AI Microgrids
The MiTAC expansion builds on an existing installation at the company’s San Jose facility, and it will run as an islanded microgrid, meaning it operates independent of the local grid entirely. That matters because manufacturers building AI servers are running into the same power bottlenecks as the data centers buying their products. Bloom’s Chief Commercial Officer Aman Joshi noted the company now serves nearly two dozen AI infrastructure customers with about 250 megawatts of contracted capacity, up from nearly zero just two years ago. Fuel cells generate power through an electrochemical process rather than combustion, which sidesteps permitting delays, water constraints and noise limits that can slow down traditional generation.
That growth shows up in the numbers too. Bloom’s backlog reached $20 billion at the start of 2026, and product orders within that backlog rose 140% year over year, according to analysis from Reuben Gregg Brewer published August 5. The company posted its first billion-dollar revenue quarter, and management raised full-year 2026 guidance to a range of $3.9 billion to $4.2 billion, per analysis from Steven Porrello also published August 5. Wall Street currently expects revenue to more than triple over the next two years, and Bloom was profitable in both the first and second quarters of 2026.
Bear Case: High-Growth Valuation and Volatility
The service portion of that backlog, roughly $14 billion of the $20 billion total, is the more durable piece of the business, since every fuel cell sold locks in an annuity-like service contract. But Brewer’s analysis points out that Bloom’s overall profitability only turned positive in 2026, after losses in 2024 and 2025 even while the services business alone stayed profitable since 2024.
The stock has also been volatile. Shares are up roughly 500% over the trailing year but have pulled back about 35% from their highs, trading near $218 after touching roughly $345. Brewer argues that much of the good news already appears priced in, and that only aggressive growth investors should consider buying after such a rapid move. Even on a forward basis, Porrello notes the stock trades around 11 times next fiscal year’s expected sales, a multiple that still assumes the AI buildout keeps accelerating without interruption.
Market Sentiment
Hedge fund ownership climbed to 91 funds in the most recent quarter from 88 in the prior one, a modest increase in institutional conviction. Short interest sits at just 3.39% of float, which suggests little organized skepticism toward the stock right now. Bloom’s forward price-to-earnings ratio stands at 34.25 as of August 10, a premium that reflects expectations for continued rapid growth rather than current results. Rising fund ownership paired with low short interest points to a market that, for now, is largely comfortable with the story.
Conclusion
Bloom Energy’s MiTAC expansion is one more data point in a business that has moved from data center power into the broader AI supply chain. The tension is straightforward: the backlog and guidance keep climbing, but the stock has already run hard and trades at a multiple that leaves little room for a slip. For the bulls, that means the AI power shortage needs to keep intensifying.
While we acknowledge the risk and potential of BE as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BE and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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