This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
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Revenue: $112 million in Q3 2026.
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GAAP Net Loss: $5.7 million, significantly improved from a $23.8 million net loss in Q3 2025.
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Adjusted EBITDA: $27.2 million, up from $17.3 million in Q3 2025; 2026 guidance raised by $5 million to a range of $75 million$80 million.
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RNG Volumes Distributed: 66.8 million gallons, up 9% year over year.
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RNG Volumes Produced: 2.2 million gallons at dairy projects, a nearly fivefold increase versus Q3 2025.
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Production Tax Credit (PTC): Included an $8.3 million catch-up from applying new GREET model values to first-half 2026 production; remaining PTC comprised $5.8 million from third-party RNG producers, $3.5 million from South Fork, Texas, and $4.3 million from BP and TotalEnergies joint ventures.
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RIN and LCFS Revenues: Increased $4.6 million year over year, driven by higher RNG volumes and higher credit pricing.
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SG&A Expense: Higher in Q3 2026 due to variable costs tied to strong earnings and market/organizational optimization efforts; not indicative of go-forward run rate.
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Operating Cash Flow: $36.2 million, including $23.3 million in net proceeds from ITC and PTC sales.
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Capital Expenditure: $5.5 million; Maas Dairy RNG joint venture investments of $12 million (excluding capitalized interest), with less than $10 million expected to be spent in the remainder of the year.
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Cash and Investments: $140 million, after repaying $15 million on the term loan.
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Long-Term Subordinated Debt: $235 million at the end of September.
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Tax Credit Sales: Approximately $31 million sold in September, including a $26 million ITC for the South Fork project and $5 million of 45Z credits from 2025 production at seven RNG projects.
Release Date: November 05, 2026
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) increased its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance by $5 million to a range of $75 million-$80 million, driven by strong Q3 performance and improved 45Z credit value.
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Q3 2026 revenue was $112 million with 67 million gallons of RNG sold, and adjusted EBITDA of $27.2 million significantly improved from $17.3 million in Q3 2025.
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The updated GREET model for 45Z credits recognizes the ultra-low-carbon intensity of dairy RNG, resulting in higher credit values and an $8.3 million catch-up benefit in Q3.
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Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) repaid $15 million on its term loan, ending the quarter with $140 million in cash and investments, and sold $31 million of tax credits from its RNG portfolio.
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The Cummins X15N engine is now performing well, and with high diesel prices, fleet interest is increasing, evidenced by a new contract for multiple private stations and a fuel agreement with Penske.
Negative Points
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Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) reported a GAAP net loss of $5.7 million for Q3 2026, despite improvement from the prior year.
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The company expects one-time charges in Q4 2026 related to organizational restructuring and market optimization efforts.
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Adoption of RNG in heavy-duty trucking remains slow due to long sales cycles, unsettled regulatory picture, and fleets’ limited understanding of total cost of ownership benefits.
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Incremental cost of natural gas trucks versus diesel has not decreased due to low volumes, potentially hindering faster adoption.
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Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) share price has declined recently, which management believes is disconnected from fundamentals, but near-term stock performance remains uncertain.
Q & A Highlights
Q: With diesel above $6 per gallon, how much of the X15N adoption delay is due to a tough fleet market versus the incremental cost of natural gas systems, and are you more confident the page has turned? A: CEO Barclay Corbus said Cummins has worked out the early bugs and the X15N is now performing extremely well, with major fleets issuing RFPs for stations and trucks. He noted the incremental truck cost has not come down because volumes have not risen, but total cost of ownership has improved sharply with diesel prices, and fleets are tiring of diesel volatility versus more stable RNG. He cautioned adoption will not happen in Q1 given long sales and build cycles, but said the direction is encouraging.
Q: How do you expect heavy-duty adoption to play out between fleets using Clean Energy’s station network versus building their own private stations? A: CEO Barclay Corbus expects a bifurcated model. Larger fleets with cheap capital will build backlot stations, where Clean Energy earns construction and O&M margins and supplies RNG from its large supply portfolio, similar to the refuse and transit markets. Smaller fleets will fuel at Clean Energy stations, which carry better margins, and the Penske leasing arrangement supports that path. He sees a combination of both models over the next two to three years.
Q: What is the opportunity set in the newer markets you mentioned, such as LNG bunkering and natural gas supply for power generation? A: CEO Barclay Corbus said NG Advantage can supply CNG to stranded industrial customers such as fulfillment centers and food processing plants waiting for utility power, using excess trailers and compression capacity at relativel
Source: finance.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.
