Fervo Energy stock jumps on Nvidia AI partnership despite wider-than-expected loss

Shares of Fervo Energy FRVO surged on Monday as investors looked past a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and instead focused on the geothermal company's new artificial intelligence partnership with Nvidia.

The Houston-based geothermal startup, backed by Bill Gates, was up about 15% after announcing an agreement with Nvidia and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop a next-generation digital platform aimed at improving geothermal drilling operations.

AI platform targets more efficient geothermal drilling

Under the partnership, Fervo, Nvidia, and PNNL will develop a platform called EGS-Twin that combines live field information, physics-based simulations, and AI-powered forecasting tools.

Researchers at PNNL will use operational data supplied by Fervo to train artificial intelligence models on Nvidia's computing infrastructure.

The models will then be integrated into Nvidia Omniverse libraries to support advanced geothermal analysis and simulation capabilities.

The initiative is intended to help geothermal operators drill more efficiently into the earth to access steam reservoirs used to generate electricity.

The collaboration marks another example of artificial intelligence being deployed in energy infrastructure, as companies increasingly seek to use advanced computing tools to improve efficiency and lower development costs.

Investors overlook weak quarterly results

The rally came despite a disappointing set of quarterly results.

Fervo reported a first-quarter loss of $3.72 per share, significantly wider than the loss of $1.02 per share recorded a year earlier and well below Wall Street's expectation for a loss of 5 cents per share.

Revenue totaled just $61,000, missing analysts' estimates of about $340,000, according to FactSet data.

Investors, however, appeared to place greater emphasis on the company's strategic initiatives and long-term growth opportunities than on near-term financial performance.

Fervo debuted on the Nasdaq on May 13.

Shares were offered at $27 apiece but opened at $36 and have continued to trade above the issue price.

The company raised $1.9 billion (approx. £1.4 billion) in an upsized initial public offering, selling 70 million shares.

Analysts remain bullish on geothermal prospects

Wall Street has also expressed optimism about Fervo's long-term outlook.

Earlier this month, Bernstein SocGen Group initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and a price target of $47, implying roughly 34% upside from Friday's closing price.

The brokerage highlighted Fervo's use of Enhanced Geothermal Systems technology, which adapts drilling and completion techniques originally developed for shale oil and gas production to access geothermal resources.

The technology cycles steam through an exchange system to produce baseload electricity, offering a clean and reliable energy source.

Bernstein also pointed to the company's strategy of constructing surface facilities in 50-megawatt geoblocks, a model that enables manufacturing efficiencies and provides redundancy for partnerships with hyperscale data-center operators.

The company expects to generate its first revenue later this year, while construction on Phase II of its Cape Station project is already underway.

Baird also initiated coverage on Fervo with an outperform rating and a $47 price target, citing the company's technology platform, project pipeline, and customer relationships as competitive strengths.

Analysts expect revenue to grow by 49% in fiscal 2026, although the company is not expected to turn profitable this year as it continues investing to scale its geothermal operations.