Energy Vault (NYSE: NRGV) backlog more than doubles but revenue falls by over half

What happened

Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NRGV) reported third-quarter revenue down 61% to $13.1 million, while its contract backlog grew sharply from a year earlier.

The $20.3 million drop from the prior-year quarter was expected, the company said, because of planned project deliveries. Energy Vault affirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance at the top half of its prior range. It issued preliminary 2027 guidance of $600 million to $700 million in revenue and $40 million to $50 million in adjusted EBITDA.

Backlog stood at $2.3 billion as of Nov. 10, up 15% from the prior quarter and 147% from a year earlier. About $800 million is Build and Transfer work. About $1.5 billion is Build, Own Operate, where the company builds, owns and operates projects. Management hosts a call at 4:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 10.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Contract backlog (as of Nov. 10, 2026)	$2.3 billion	+147%	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Q3 revenue	$13.1 million	from $33.3 million, -61%	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
GAAP gross margin	71.0%	from 27.0%, +44.0 percentage points	Calculated from SEC 8-K
GAAP gross margin excluding tariff refunds	37.9%		SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Total cash including restricted cash	$236 million	+281%	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Q3 GAAP net loss	$28.2 million	from $26.8 million, +5.0%	Calculated from SEC 8-K

Read more: Energy Vault (NRGV) company research

Margins without the tariff refunds

GAAP gross margin was 71.0%, up from 27.0% a year earlier. But $4.3 million of tariff refunds helped. Without them, GAAP gross margin was 37.9%. Adjusted gross margin adds back non-cash depreciation and amortization. It was 81.1% against 30.6% a year earlier, or 48.0% excluding the refunds.

Gross profit was $9.3 million, against $9.0 million a year earlier, on less than half the revenue. The company said the refunds drove part of that figure.

For the full year, Energy Vault expects gross margin of 20% to 22%. That is below even the quarter's margin excluding refunds.

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Where the cash came from

Total cash, including restricted cash, was $236 million at Sept. 30. That is up 59% from the prior quarter and 281% from a year earlier. The cash flow statement shows it rose $132.77 million from $103.44 million at the start of the year.

Operations provided $69.8 million in the nine months. Financing provided $151.3 million, including $262.4 million of debt proceeds. Investing used $89.9 million.

Contract liabilities were $245.5 million, up from $6.6 million at Dec. 31, 2025. The current portion of advances to suppliers rose to $203.0 million from $6.3 million. Long-term debt was $210.7 million, against $38.0 million at year-end. The company reported a stockholders' deficit of $12.4 million.

Why it matters

OptimistFi has argued that Energy Vault creates value only if its storage projects become repeatable, financeable deployments with durable gross margins, not one-off revenue spikes. The quarter splits on that test. Backlog, cash and project financings underway support it. Refund-aided margins and wider losses cut against it.

The 2026 guide sets a steep step. Nine-month revenue was $52.3 million. By OptimistFi's calculation, fourth-quarter revenue must reach about $238 million to $258 million to land in the guided $290 million to $310 million range.

Backlog carries conditions. It includes contingent option backlog, which depends on Energy Vault exercising purchase rights and then executing the projects. Contracted backlog includes SOSA, which the release says is expected to reach financial close imminently.

Losses widened. GAAP net loss was $28.2 million, against $26.8 million a year earlier, or $0.17 a share. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $14.7 million versus $6.0 million. Adjusted operating expenses rose 56% to $25.2 million. The 2027 adjusted EBITDA guidance would be a turn from a $45.3 million adjusted loss in the first nine months of 2026.

What's next

The company says expected fourth-quarter project deliveries support its revenue guide. Deliveries have begun to the 1.25GW hybrid generation and energy storage project in Texas supporting AI compute infrastructure. It also expects $170 million to $200 million of total cash at the end of 2026, below the $236 million reported, and lower corporate-level recourse debt than at Sept. 30.

The next quarterly report will show whether fourth-quarter revenue reaches the needed range and whether full-year gross margin lands in the guided range. Hitting both would strengthen the case. A miss on revenue or cash would weaken it.

Project financings in the U.S. and Australia are underway. Stoney Creek, a 125 MW, 1 GWh project in Australia, received formal grid interconnection approval. Energy Vault also secured a credit facility commitment of up to $40 million from S2G Investments. It has non-recourse financing for 275 MW of Rolls-Royce MTU reciprocating engine generation capacity.

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