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Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation | 9 Months Ended
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Jul. 31, 2023
Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation |
Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation | Note 1. Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation Headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut, FuelCell Energy, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, the “Company,” “FuelCell Energy,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) has leveraged five decades of research and development to become a global leader in delivering environmentally responsible distributed baseload power platform solutions through our proprietary fuel cell technology. Our current commercial technology produces electricity, heat, hydrogen, and water while separating carbon for utilization and/or sequestration depending on the product configuration and application. We continue to invest in developing and commercializing future technologies expected to add new capabilities to our platforms’ abilities to deliver hydrogen and long duration hydrogen-based energy storage through our solid oxide technologies, as well as further enhance our existing platforms’ carbon capture solutions. ​ FuelCell Energy is a global leader in sustainable clean energy technologies that address some of the world’s most critical challenges around energy access, security, safety and environmental stewardship. As a leading global manufacturer of proprietary fuel cell technology platforms, FuelCell Energy is uniquely positioned to serve customers worldwide with sustainable products and solutions for industrial and commercial businesses, utilities, governments, and municipalities. ​ Basis of Presentation ​ The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not contain all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to fairly present the Company’s financial position and results of operations as of and for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2023 and 2022 have been included. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. ​ Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted. The balance sheet as of October 31, 2022 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but it does not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s financial statements and notes thereto for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, which are contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K previously filed with the SEC. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any other interim period or for the full fiscal year. ​ Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year amounts to conform to the presentation for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2023. Interest income for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2022, which was previously included within Other income, net has been reclassified to Interest income in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. ​ Principles of Consolidation ​ The unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect our accounts and operations and those of our subsidiaries in which we have a controlling financial interest. We use a qualitative approach in assessing the consolidation requirement for each of our variable interest entities ("VIEs"), which are tax equity partnerships further described in Note 3. “Tax Equity Financings.” This approach focuses on determining whether we have the power to direct those activities of the tax equity partnerships that most significantly affect their economic performance and whether we have the obligation to absorb losses, or the right to receive benefits, that could potentially be significant to the tax equity partnerships. For all periods presented, we have determined that we are the primary beneficiary in all of our tax equity partnerships. We evaluate our tax equity partnerships on an ongoing basis to ensure that we continue to be the primary beneficiary. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Estimates are used in accounting for, among other things, revenue recognition, lease right-of-use assets and liabilities, contract loss accruals, excess, slow-moving and obsolete inventories, product warranty accruals, loss accruals on service agreements, share-based compensation expense, allowance for doubtful accounts, depreciation and amortization, impairment of goodwill and in-process research and development intangible assets, impairment of long-lived assets (including project assets), and contingencies. Estimates and assumptions are reviewed periodically, and the effects of revisions are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in the period they are determined to be necessary. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results in future periods may differ from those estimates. Liquidity Our principal sources of cash have been proceeds from the sale of our products and projects, electricity generation revenues, research and development and service agreements with third parties, sales of our common stock through public equity offerings, and proceeds from debt, project financing and tax monetization transactions. We have utilized this cash to accelerate the commercialization of our solid oxide platforms, develop new capabilities to separate and capture carbon, develop and construct project assets, invest in capital improvements and expansion of our operations, perform research and development, pay down existing outstanding indebtedness, and meet our other cash and liquidity needs. As of July 31, 2023, unrestricted cash and cash equivalents totaled $303.7 million compared to $458.1 million as of October 31, 2022. During the nine months ended July 31, 2023, the Company invested in United States (U.S.) Treasury Securities. The amortized cost of the U.S. Treasury Securities outstanding totaled $77.4 million as of July 31, 2023 compared to $0 as of October 31, 2022 and is classified as Investments - short-term on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The maturity dates for the outstanding U.S. Treasury Securities range from August 8, 2023 to October 26, 2023. On July 12, 2022, the Company entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement with Jefferies LLC, B. Riley Securities, Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., BofA Securities, Inc., Canaccord Genuity LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Loop Capital Markets LLC (the “Open Market Sale Agreement”) with respect to an at the market offering program under which the Company may, from time to time, offer and sell up to 95.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock. From the date of the Open Market Sale Agreement through July 31, 2023, the Company sold approximately 60.8 million shares under the Open Market Sale Agreement at an average sale price of $2.67 per share. Of this 60.8 million shares, approximately 57.4 million shares were issued and settled on or prior to July 31, 2023 resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $155.0 million before deducting sales commissions and fees. During the nine months ended July 31, 2023, approximately 42.3 million shares were sold under the Open Market Sale Agreement at an average sale price of $2.26 per share. Of this 42.3 million shares, approximately 38.9 million shares were issued and settled during the nine month period ended July 31, 2023 resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $88.0 million before deducting sales commissions and fees. The balance of approximately 3.4 million shares was settled subsequent to July 31, 2023, resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $7.4 million before deducting sales commissions and fees. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company sold approximately 2.0 million shares of its common stock under the Open Market Sale Agreement at an average price of $2.14 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $4.3 million before deducting sales commissions and fees. ​ As of the date of this report, approximately 32.2 million shares are available for issuance under the Open Market Sale Agreement. The Company currently intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to accelerate the development and commercialization of its product platforms (including, but not limited to, its solid oxide and carbon capture platforms), for project development, market development, and internal research and development, to invest in capacity expansion for solid oxide and carbonate fuel cell manufacturing, and for project financing, working capital support, and general corporate purposes. The Company may also use the net proceeds from this offering to invest in joint ventures, acquisitions, and strategic growth investments and to acquire, license or invest in products, technologies or businesses that complement its business. See Note 11. “Stockholders’ Equity” for additional information regarding the Open Market Sale Agreement. ​ During the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, the Company entered into a project financing facility (which is referred to as the “OpCo Financing Facility”) in the amount of $80.5 million, which was partially used to extinguish certain existing debt, to partially repay other existing debt, and to repurchase project assets under sale-leaseback transactions, resulting in $46.1 million of net proceeds. See Note 15. “Debt” for additional information regarding the OpCo Financing Facility. ​ We believe that our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, expected receipts from our contracted backlog, funds received upon the maturity of U.S. Treasury Securities, and release of short-term restricted cash less expected disbursements over the next twelve months will be sufficient to allow the Company to meet its obligations for at least one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. ​ To date, we have not achieved profitable operations or sustained positive cash flow from operations. The Company’s future liquidity, for the remainder of fiscal year 2023 and in the long-term, will depend on its ability to (i) timely complete current projects in process within budget, (ii) increase cash flows from its generation operating portfolio, including by meeting conditions required to timely commence operation of new projects, operating its generation operating portfolio in compliance with minimum performance guarantees and operating its generation operating portfolio in accordance with revenue expectations, (iii) obtain financing for project construction and manufacturing expansion, (iv) obtain permanent financing for its projects once constructed, (v) increase order and contract volumes, which would lead to additional product sales, service agreements and generation revenues, (vi) obtain funding for and receive payment for research and development under current and future Advanced Technologies contracts, (vii) successfully commercialize its solid oxide, hydrogen and carbon capture platforms, (viii) implement capacity expansion for solid oxide product manufacturing, (ix) implement the product cost reductions necessary to achieve profitable operations, (x) manage working capital and the Company’s unrestricted cash balance and (xi) access the capital markets to raise funds through the sale of debt and equity securities, convertible notes, and other equity-linked instruments. We are continually assessing different means by which to accelerate the Company’s growth, enter new markets, commercialize new products, and enable capacity expansion. Therefore, from time to time, the Company may consider and enter into agreements for one or more of the following: negotiated financial transactions, minority investments, collaborative ventures, technology sharing, transfer or other technology license arrangements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions or other business transactions for the purpose(s) of geographic or manufacturing expansion and/or new product or technology development and commercialization, including hydrogen production through our carbonate and solid oxide platforms and storage and carbon capture, sequestration and utilization technologies. Our business model requires substantial outside financing arrangements and satisfaction of the conditions of such arrangements to construct and deploy our projects to facilitate the growth of our business. The Company has invested capital raised from sales of its common stock to build out its project portfolio. The Company has also utilized and expects to continue to utilize a combination of long-term debt and tax equity financing (e.g., sale-leaseback transactions, partnership flip transactions and the monetization and/or transfer of eligible investment and production tax credits) to finance its project asset portfolio as these projects commence commercial operations, particularly in light of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. The Company may also seek to undertake private placements of debt securities of a portfolio of assets to finance its project asset portfolio. The proceeds of any such financing, if obtained, may allow the Company to reinvest capital back into the business and to fund other projects. We may also seek to obtain additional financing in both the debt and equity markets in the future. If financing is not available to us on acceptable terms if and when needed, or on terms acceptable to us or our lenders, if we do not satisfy the conditions of our financing arrangements, if we spend more than the financing approved for projects, if project costs exceed an amount that the Company can finance, or if we do not generate sufficient revenues or obtain capital sufficient for our corporate needs, we may be required to reduce or slow planned spending, reduce staffing, sell assets, seek alternative financing and take other measures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operations. ​

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