ORA - Ormat Technologies, Inc.

Ormat Technologies designs, builds, and operates geothermal and recovered energy power plants, selling electricity under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) to utility companies and grid operators. The business model is B2B infrastructure with contracted recurring revenue, primarily from utilities in regulated markets. Annual revenue is approximately $800M–$900M, with operations concentrated in the United States but also spanning Kenya, Guatemala, Honduras, and other geothermal-rich regions. Ormat also manufactures geothermal power equipment sold to third-party developers globally, providing a secondary product revenue stream alongside its core energy generation business.

Past Year Trends

• Ormat's Energy Storage segment revenues grew 108.1% year-over-year in Q3 2025, and the segment doubled on a full-year basis, reflecting rapid buildout of battery storage facilities including Arrowleaf (35 MW/140 MWh), Bottleneck, Montague, and Lower Rio facilities coming online. (Bullish)
• Gross margin expanded dramatically from 13.4% in FY2023 to 18.4% in FY2024, then accelerated further to 27.7% in Q2 2025 versus 13.7% in Q2 2024, driven by higher-priced PPA renewals replacing legacy contracts and improved electricity segment mix. (Bullish)
• Product segment backlog reached $314 million as of May 2025 with Q3 2025 revenues up 66.6% year-over-year, reflecting strong international demand for Ormat's geothermal power unit (GPU) equipment sales and services. (Bullish)

Next Year Trends

• Ormat signed a long-term PPA in February 2026 with Google via NV Energy for up to 150 MW of new geothermal capacity to power Google data centers in Nevada, with projects targeted online 2028–2030 under 15-year contract terms, providing significant long-dated revenue backlog. (Bullish)
• The Calpine Energy Solutions 10-year PPA for up to 15 MW at Mammoth 2 replaces a lower-priced SCE contract effective Q1 2027, creating a near-term revenue step-up from repricing a legacy below-market agreement at current rates. (Bullish)
• Ormat was awarded the Telaga Ranu 40 MW geothermal concession in Halmahera, Indonesia in January 2026, adding to an existing ~200 MW exploration pipeline plus 59 MW operating asset in-country, but Indonesian BOT projects carry multi-year development risk and permitting timelines that could delay capacity and revenue realization. (Neutral)

Red Flags

(a) Short seller report — Hindenburg Research, March 2021: Published 'Ormat: Dirty Dealings in Clean Energy,' alleging widespread and systematic international corruption including bribery of government officials in Guatemala and Kenya linked to Ormat employees and contractors.

(b) SEC/DOJ investigation — Law360/DOJ, March 2021 onward: Federal investigators opened probes into bribery and corruption allegations following the Hindenburg report; DOJ reached a $5.5 million settlement with an Ormat-affiliated geothermal operator (Cyrq Energy/Ormat Nevada) over fraudulent misrepresentations to obtain DOE clean energy grants (approx. 2021). Securities fraud class action lawsuits filed by multiple plaintiff firms (Block & Leviton, Pomerantz, Glancy Prongay) in March 2021 alleging securities fraud tied to the same corruption disclosures.

(c) Financial restatement — SEC filings, May 2018: Ormat restated Q2–Q4 2017 and full-year 2017 financial statements due to errors in income tax provisions and improper netting of deferred tax assets/liabilities across jurisdictions.

(d) Fraud charges against named executives — Israeli authorities, 2021: Ormat's General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer and at least one Ormat board director faced pre-indictment proceedings in Israel for alleged bribery, fraud, and money laundering in connection with overseas project awards.

(e) Exchange delisting warning — NYSE, May 2018: NYSE warned it could commence delisting proceedings against ORA due to the delayed filing caused by the 2017 financial restatement; the company received an extension and was not ultimately delisted.