One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$4.30 our estimate vs market $1.46
Wall Street consensus: $3.98 (-7.5% lower than our fair-value estimate)
66% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
CLNE · NMS · Energy · Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
Current price
$1.46
52-week range
$1.33 - $2.91
Market cap
$320.75M
Balance sheet
Distressed
-1.81x Concerning
Net debt $184.59M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
1 Risk
2 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 4.1% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 6/10 years.
- Risk Return on equity was -16.4% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
What this company does
Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. sells cleaner burning natural gas to power trucks and buses, making money from selling the fuel and also from government incentives (like tax credits) that encourage its use. This matters because they are helping transition heavy vehicles to a more environmentally friendly fuel source, which can also reduce operating costs for their customers. They also build and maintain the fueling stations needed to deliver this gas.
How the company got here
Clean Energy Fuels was founded in 2001 with the idea that natural gas could be a cleaner and more economical fuel for transportation. Early backing from energy pioneer T. Boone Pickens helped shape the company's trajectory. It went public in 2007 and began offering renewable natural gas (RNG) for transportation in 2013. The company has since focused on expanding its RNG offerings, particularly dairy-based RNG, and has formed partnerships, including a significant joint venture with BP. This evolution reflects a strategic shift towards cleaner fuel sources and a focus on the heavy-duty trucking sector, which is a major contributor to transportation emissions.
What it actually does
Clean Energy Fuels provides natural gas as an alternative fuel for vehicle fleets, primarily in the United States and Canada. They supply renewable natural gas (RNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Beyond fuel supply, the company designs, builds, operates, and maintains fueling stations for these fleets. They also sell equipment used in natural gas production and fueling stations, and they benefit from government credits for using cleaner fuels.
Fueling Solutions and Services
This is the core of Clean Energy Fuels' business. They offer a range of natural gas fuels, including renewable natural gas (RNG), which is produced from sources like dairy manure and landfills, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They also provide compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company's services extend to building and operating fueling stations for their fleet customers, ensuring a reliable supply of these alternative fuels. This segment is the largest part of the company's operations, serving a wide array of fleet types.
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Development
A key and growing part of Clean Energy Fuels' business is the development, ownership, and operation of projects that produce RNG. This involves capturing methane emissions from sources like dairy farms and landfills. By converting this waste methane into usable fuel, they not only create a cleaner energy source but also help mitigate environmental impact. This segment is crucial to the company's strategy of offering increasingly sustainable fuel options and is a significant focus for future growth.
Equipment and Station Services
Clean Energy Fuels also manufactures, sells, and services equipment essential for natural gas fueling stations. This includes compressors and other technologies used in the production and dispensing of CNG and LNG. Additionally, they provide operation and maintenance services for fueling stations, whether they are company-owned or customer-owned. This segment supports the broader fueling infrastructure and ensures the reliable functioning of their natural gas fueling network.
What management is betting on now
Management is focused on increasing the supply and demand for renewable natural gas (RNG), particularly in the heavy-duty trucking sector, which is a major source of transportation emissions. They are investing in developing more RNG sources, especially from dairy farms, to improve fuel availability and profitability. The strategy also involves expanding their services to existing customers and leveraging government credits and incentives for clean fuels. The ultimate goal is to transition fleets to cleaner fuels without compromising performance or reliability, positioning RNG as a leading solution for decarbonizing transportation.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$42.00K
FY2024 Q4
$10.33M
FY2025 Q1
$15.94M
FY2025 Q2
$30.94M
FY2025 Q3
$6.47M
FY2025 Q4
$6.50M
FY2026 Q1
$-15.26M
FY2026 Q2
$25.14M
Revenue
$106.36M
Net income
$-14.85M
Diluted EPS
-0.07
Operating cash flow
$28.79M
Free cash flow
$25.14M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$117.56M
Net income
$-12.41M
Diluted EPS
-0.06
Operating cash flow
$-8.36M
Free cash flow
$-15.26M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$112.32M
Net income
$-43.00M
Diluted EPS
-0.21
Operating cash flow
$13.11M
Free cash flow
$6.50M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$106.14M
Net income
$-23.82M
Diluted EPS
-0.11
Operating cash flow
$13.09M
Free cash flow
$6.47M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$102.61M
Net income
$-20.24M
Diluted EPS
-0.09
Operating cash flow
$35.90M
Free cash flow
$30.94M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$103.76M
Net income
$-134.97M
Diluted EPS
-0.60
Operating cash flow
$23.43M
Free cash flow
$15.94M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$103.71M
Net income
$-30.16M
Diluted EPS
-0.14
Operating cash flow
$21.86M
Free cash flow
$10.33M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$104.88M
Net income
$-18.18M
Diluted EPS
-0.08
Operating cash flow
$21.36M
Free cash flow
$42.00K
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $4.30 vs current price $1.46
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $3.98 (-7.5% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $4.30 a share — about 195.5% above today's price of $1.46, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $184.6M. Interest coverage -1.8x.
Net debt
$184.59M
Interest coverage
-1.81x
Clean Energy Fuels Corp.'s profit covers its interest bill about 0.0 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here and 5 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
CLNE
BASELINE
Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
Total debt $322.57M Interest coverage -1.81x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $431.69M Interest coverage 0.17x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CLNE does not.
Total debt $157.14M Interest coverage 0.85x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while CLNE does not.
Total debt $552.13M Interest coverage -0.68x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $548.63M Interest coverage -1.10x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $170.70M Interest coverage -1.07x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
What you should know
The case for and against CLNE
2 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 4.1% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 6/10 years.
Risks
-
Return on equity was -16.4% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
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Forward P/E
-34.24x
P/B
0.58x
P/S
0.73x
EV/EBITDA
37.28x
PEG ratio
4.72x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
27.5%
Operating margin
-4.8%
Net margin
-21.3%
ROE
-16.4%
ROA
-1.7%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.58x
Current ratio
2.48x
Quick ratio
1.90x
Total debt
$322.57M
Total cash
$137.98M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$442.37M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
13.5%
EPS TTM
-0.43
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$46.62M
Free CF TTM
$59.85M
FCF margin
13.5%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.0%
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
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