Bloom Energy and Illumina Join S&P 500 as Three Stocks Exit

ERock, Inc. has entered into a multi-year agreement with HD Construction Equipment, a subsidiary of Hyundai, for the supply of high-efficiency natural gas engine long blocks for its RockBlock generator. The agreement spans 2027 through 2028 and is intended to support increased production and help ERock fulfill large-scale orders from data centers, utilities, and other critical infrastructure operators. The long blocks form the core of ERock's proprietary natural gas generators and are engineered for reliability in the hyperscale data center segment. Chief Executive Officer John Carrington said long block supply is the foundation of the company's production and that the deal secures supply through 2028 as assembly capacity ramps, with production commitments extending into early 2028. ERock reported a $1.7 billion contracted backlog as of June 30, 2026, more than 400 operational sites, and approximately 1.1 GW of installed base, following major data center contracts with Meta and Microsoft. An HD Construction Equipment representative called the order a meaningful achievement that validates its engine long block technology in the emerging data center power market.

Bloom Energy bought a 158,000-square-foot building in Fremont to expand production, almost matching its existing 164,000-square-foot plant there, and separately stands as a natural contender for a 20-year Ameren Missouri energy plan calling for 500 MW of natural-gas fuel cells by 2030, though Ameren has not named a supplier. The news lifted Bloom shares as much as 15% in a single session, a day after a 9% drop in a broader AI selloff, sending the stock to a three-month high. Bloom's revenue topped $1 billion for the first time last quarter, up 166% from a year earlier, and the company expects sales to roughly double this year while working to double yearly production capacity at Fremont from about 1 GW to 2 GW by the end of 2026. Each extra gigawatt costs about $100 million to $150 million, so going from 2 GW to 5 GW would cost roughly $300 million to $450 million, well within reach of Bloom's $2.72 billion in cash. The stock trades at a forward earnings multiple of about 135 times, with earnings forecast to skyrocket 256% this year, 82% in 2027, 58% in 2028, and 33% in 2029, and hedge funds holding Bloom rose from 91 in Q1 to 116 in Q2 while their stakes more than doubled from $4.5 billion to $10.8 billion.

Jim Cramer said Caterpillar Inc. may be a buying opportunity after the stock fell 24% in the third quarter, citing its growing role in supplying power for data centers. Caterpillar has secured substantial orders tied to data center electricity demand, including an agreement announced in January under which American Intelligence & Power ordered 2 gigawatts of natural gas generator sets for its Monarch Compute Campus, with deliveries scheduled from September 2026 through August 2027. The company's second-quarter sales and revenues rose 24% year-over-year to approximately $20.5 billion, with Power & Energy segment sales up 17%, Construction Industries up 35% and Resource Industries up 20%; adjusted profit per share increased to $8.17 from $4.72 and the adjusted operating margin expanded to 21.9% from 17.6%. Caterpillar also updated its outlook to approximately $2.2 billion in full-year tariff costs, excluding expected IEEPA tariff recoveries recorded in the second quarter. The stock trades at approximately 29x forward earnings versus 16x for Cummins Inc., and Insider Monkey's database of more than 1,000 hedge funds showed 84 funds holding Caterpillar in the second quarter, down from 87 in the first, with short interest at 2.03% of the public float.