ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.25 EPS

ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.25), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $0.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.40 million. ESS Tech had a negative return on equity of 1,811.99% and a negative net margin of 1,045.28%.

Here are the key takeaways from ESS Tech’s conference call:

• Project New Horizon announced with Salt River Project and Google for a 5 MW / 50 MWh pilot (manufacturing in 2026, targeted delivery December 2027) under a 10-year capacity agreement, providing a flagship commercial reference for ESS’s Energy Base.
• Independent, real-world validation was achieved—APPA’s 21-month DEED demonstration at Burbank Water & Power validated ESS’s non-flammable iron saltwater chemistry, and two systems were successfully commissioned at Turlock Irrigation District.
• ESS is expanding its addressable market via a letter of intent with Alsym Energy to jointly develop non-flammable sodium‑ion short/medium-duration batteries and by acquiring VoltStorage IP and assets, strengthening its technology and IP base.
• Financials remain constrained—Q1 revenue was just $128k, net loss was $15.9M and adjusted EBITDA loss was $10.3M; liquidity totaled roughly $21.5M after a $15M registered direct offering, while net cash used in operations was $13.5M in the quarter.
• Management laid out a milestone-driven roadmap (200 kW Wilsonville commission in Q3 2026, first 800 kW client system H1 2027, then the 5 MW SRP delivery end of 2027) and says over 500 MW of scaled manufacturing capacity is in place to support commercialization.

ESS Tech Trading Down 30.4%

GWH traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $0.78. 7,796,962 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 525,983. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.23 and a 200 day moving average of $2.02. ESS Tech has a 12-month low of $0.57 and a 12-month high of $13.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.17 million, a P/E ratio of -0.23 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESS Tech

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESS Tech in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESS Tech in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of ESS Tech in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of ESS Tech by 188.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 30,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of ESS Tech by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 49,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 28,749 shares during the last quarter. 46.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWH. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESS Tech from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of ESS Tech from $3.50 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ESS Tech in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.25.

About ESS Tech

ESS Tech, Inc (NYSE: GWH) is a Portland, Oregon‐based company specializing in long‐duration iron flow battery energy storage solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and deployment of modular battery systems that store electricity using an iron‐chloride electrochemical process. These systems are engineered to support grid operators, utilities, commercial and industrial customers in integrating renewable power, managing peak loads and ensuring reliable back‐up power.

At the heart of ESS Tech’s offering is its “Energy Warehouse,” a containerized flow battery system featuring non‐toxic, fully recyclable materials and a simple architecture that separates energy storage capacity from power output.