Henry Roberts

Henry Roberts asked about the performance of Protiviti's financial services segment, its runway into the next quarter and 2026 given strong capital markets, and any differences in current trends between enterprise and SMB customers.

Answer

CEO Keith Waddell noted that Protiviti's financial services segment, comprising 40-50% of Protiviti's revenue, performed well in Q3, with strength spread across major solution areas. He added that the trend of replacing large projects with smaller ones is also evident in financial services. For customer trends, Mr. Waddell stated that enterprise clients (mid-cap, $4B-$6B revenues) have shown more resilient results than SMB clients for several quarters, which is typical. He expects SMBs to outgrow and react more quickly when conditions improve. CFO Michael Buckley added that the large project/small project issue is very true in financial services.

Henry Roberts asked about the performance of Protiviti's financial services segment within its 1% sequential revenue growth and the runway for this segment into the next quarter and 2026, given strong capital markets. He also inquired about any differences in current trends between enterprise and SMB customers and the factors influencing their business confidence.

Answer

CEO Keith Waddell noted that financial services constitutes 40-50% of Protiviti's business, so its trend largely mirrors the overall. He confirmed good performance in Q3, with strength across major solution areas, but acknowledged the impact of replacing large projects with smaller ones in financial services. For customer trends, Mr. Waddell stated that enterprise clients (mid-cap, $4B-$6B revenue) have shown more resilient results than SMB clients for several quarters, which is typical. He added that SMBs tend to react more quickly on the upside when market conditions improve.

Henry Roberts, on behalf of Jordan Levy, asked for an update on the carbon capture project's construction timeline, specifically when the compression and lateral pipe work would be completed ahead of the Q4 start-up. He also questioned the potential impact of retaliatory tariffs on product exports.

Answer

Michelle Mapes, Interim Principal Executive Officer, stated that construction is on track for a late Q3 or early Q4 completion with minimal delay before start-up. Chris Osowski, EVP of Operations & Technology, added that major equipment is built and awaiting delivery. On tariffs, Imre Havasi, SVP of Trading, reported no current impact but noted potential industry-wide risks if tariffs were placed on ethanol exports to Canada or the UK. He also highlighted that protein exports are proceeding without tariff discussions.

Henry Roberts, on behalf of Jordan Levy from Truist Securities, questioned potential supply chain actions related to tariffs and the expected cadence of capital expenditures for the year.

Answer

President and CEO Randall MacEwen detailed mitigation actions such as accelerating component shipments and exploring supplier transitions, but stated he expects tariff costs to ultimately be passed through to customers. Regarding capital expenditures, MacEwen noted that 2025 spending includes the final costs of the 'Project Forge' program and no similar large-scale CapEx is anticipated through 2030. CFO Kate Igbalode advised that for modeling purposes, the midpoint of the guidance range should be applied evenly across the remaining quarters of the year.

Henry Roberts, on behalf of Jordan Levy, asked about the fluid tariff situation and whether to expect any updates on supply chain movements or material sourcing later in the year. He also asked a housekeeping question about the cadence of capital expenditures for the remainder of the year, given the light spending in Q1.

Answer

President and CEO Randall MacEwen addressed the tariff question, stating that mitigation actions, such as accelerating component shipments and transitioning some suppliers, have already been factored in. He does not anticipate any major updates on this front later in the year. Regarding CapEx, MacEwen noted that 2025 spending includes the trailing costs of the multi-year 'Project Forge' program. CFO Kate Igbalode added that for modeling purposes, the midpoint of the guidance range, spread evenly across the remaining quarters, is a reasonable expectation.

Henry Roberts, on for Jordan Levy, noted the strong performance in the utility segment and asked for the company's outlook on that market and its ability to compete there.

Answer

CEO Yehoshua Nir explained that SolarEdge's technology is particularly advantageous in 'optimized utility' projects with non-ideal conditions. He mentioned that a product introduced last year is gaining traction in this segment, which is not a traditional market for the company, and this is reflected in the segment's revenue growth.

Henry Roberts, on for Jordan Levy, asked for more detail on power demand in the domestic Commercial & Industrial (C&I) sector and its impact on orders. He also inquired about the gross margin trajectory for the rest of the year.

Answer

K.R. Sridhar (Founder, Chairman, and CEO) described a bifurcated C&I market: robust demand from large manufacturing driven by reshoring, but potentially slower decisions from consumer-facing retail. He and CFO Daniel Berenbaum reiterated the full-year margin guidance, noting Q1 benefited from favorable mix and factory level-loading, and that the company will absorb tariff impacts through innovation.

Henry Roberts, on for Jordan Levy, asked about the long-term potential for carbon capture (CCS), including potential attach rates and its economic viability compared to green hydrogen for achieving net-zero emissions.

Answer

CEO KR Sridhar expressed strong conviction that carbon capture and sequestration is essential for decarbonization and represents a 'huge opportunity' for Bloom. He believes it will be a more scalable and faster-growing market than hydrogen in the short term. He highlighted the recent partnership with Chart Industries as a key investment in this promising area.

Henry Roberts, on for Jordan Levy, asked about the potential long-term attach rates for Bloom's carbon capture solution and its viability as an economical path to net-zero for customers.

Answer

CEO KR Sridhar described carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a "huge opportunity" essential for decarbonization. He asserted that Bloom's technology is one of the best for capturing high-concentration CO2 from natural gas and expects the CCS market to develop faster than hydrogen in the short term. He confirmed Bloom is investing in this area, referencing its partnership with Chart Industries.

Henry Roberts, on for Jordan Levy of Truist Securities, asked about the long-term opportunity with SK, including potential for more sites and whether order sizes could exceed 80 MW.

Answer

CEO K.R. Sridhar noted that Korea volumes have been steady but highlighted recent public statements from SK's Chairman about playing a major role in AI and using Bloom's systems. He expressed hope that the Korean market could grow similarly to the U.S. due to AI demand, positioning Bloom and its partner SK to support that growth.

Henry Roberts, on behalf of Truist Securities, asked about potential incremental updates on the PowerCo partnership during the year and questioned the expected performance improvements of B1 cells versus B0 cells.

Answer

CEO Siva Sivaram stated that any major announcements would come from PowerCo at the appropriate time, but confirmed the collaboration is progressing well. He clarified that the focus for B1 cells is not on further performance improvement over the already strong B0 cell, but on industrialization, process reliability, and scaling production with the new Cobra process to support the 2026 customer demo program.

Henry Roberts from Truist Securities, on for Jordan Levy, asked about the key learnings from the continuous operation of the Raptor separator production line and how they are being applied to the next-generation Cobra process. He also requested more detail on the drivers behind the shift of certain CapEx payments from 2024 into 2025.

Answer

CEO Siva Sivaram confirmed that the Raptor line serves as a crucial learning platform for the Cobra process, stating that running a stable baseline enabled the significant performance improvements seen in the QSE-5 B-samples. CFO Kevin Hettrich explained that the payment shift was a minor, single-digit million-dollar adjustment within the normal course of operations that does not impact any publicly stated milestones or the industrialization timeline.

Henry Roberts, on behalf of Truist Securities, asked about customer receptiveness to price increases in the material handling business and whether the company was considering divesting any business lines to improve cash flow.

Answer

CEO Andrew Marsh acknowledged that raising prices was tough but confirmed an expected uptick in the material handling business in Q4 and projected 20-30% growth for next year, stating the process revealed their value proposition was stronger than anticipated. Regarding divestitures, Marsh stated that after careful review, the company currently has no plans to sell off any business lines.

Speaking for Jordan Levy, Henry Roberts asked about customer receptiveness to price increases in the material handling business and whether Plug Power would consider divesting any business lines.

Answer

CEO Andy Marsh acknowledged the difficulty of raising prices but confirmed the material handling business is seeing an uptick in Q4 and is projected to grow 20-30% next year, as its value proposition proved resilient. He firmly stated that after a thorough review, the company currently has no plans to divest any of its business lines.

Henry Roberts, on for Jordan Levy, asked about the perceived risk to future tax credits like the ITC and 45Z under a new presidential administration. He also inquired about the potential impact of tariffs and related feedstock price increases on the economics of the Riverbank facility.

Answer

Founder, Chairman, and CEO Eric McAfee addressed the 45Z production tax credit, noting concern about the timing of guidance from the current administration but emphasizing that it is federal law as of January 1, 2025. He added that the Riverbank plant anticipates using domestic feedstocks, mitigating tariff risks, and that the India tallow operation serves as a hedge. President of North America, Andy Foster, added that it is too early to tell the full impact of potential retaliatory tariffs on domestic corn.