Bloom Energy Corp
Bloom saw 24% of its share price disappear before trading on Thursday after news broke that the company had misreported four years of earnings. The adjustments needed to make the company's earnings from that period accurate will increase Bloom's overall losses by $55 million, leaving the company with a $75 million net loss for the four-year period. The news prompted analysts to downgrade Bloom to sector weight, with analysts voicing their concern over the future of the company's finances going forward.
The pending restatement of the company's earnings also coincides with rumors that layoffs were forthcoming at its Delaware factory, with the company confirming that "some positions had been eliminated." Bloom benefits from government subsidies in Delaware, partly for its job generation; Bloom also benefits from subsidies and tax credits in other states, such as California. The company has come under increasing scrutiny, however, with some groups calling the lucrative subsidies a waste of money.
Bloom, in general, hasn't had the best performance in recent years and has been the subject of continual scrutiny due to some dubious practices. Performance-wise, the company has never actually made a profit despite lucrative contracts with many major firms and plenty of government subsidies. The company's 2018 IPO left much to be desired, with Bloom shares losing half their value since the IPO. Perhaps most dubious is Bloom's false claims of lucrative contracts that never existed, and inflated statements about its financial performance. Part of Bloom's efforts to raise capital for its operations included misstatements that it had $3 billion in contracts with the CIA and private interests, and even had a sizable loan from the Department of Energy. The day after its IPO, Bloom told reporters that the company was profitable would be cash-flow positive and GAAP-Profitable within the year.
- https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/business/fuel-cell-maker-bloom-energy-misreported-nearly-four-years-revenue
- https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bloom-energy-stock-downgraded-at-keybanc-on-concerns-restatements-will-create-overhang-2020-02-13
- https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2020/02/13/blooms-latest-blemishes-delaware-job-cuts-and-multimillion-dollar-accounting-error/4741488002/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2020/02/13/the-forbes-investigation-how-bloom-energy-blew-through-billions-promising-cheap-green-tech-that-falls-short/
