Plug Power (PLUN) Risk Analysis

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws, and Delaware corporate law contain provisions that could have an anti-takeover effect and make it harder for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our Board. These provisions may also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our stockholders to take some corporate actions, including the election of directors. These provisions include, but are not limited to: the ability of our Board to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to determine the terms of those shares, including preference and voting rights, without a stockholder vote; the exclusive right of our Board to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of our Board or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our Board; the inability of stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders; the prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders; advance notice informational and procedural requirements for nominations for election to our Board or for proposing business to be brought before a stockholder meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer's own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us; a prohibition against stockholders nominating a number of their own nominees at the annual meeting of the stockholders that exceeds the number of directors to be elected at such annual meeting; the ability of our Board, by majority vote and without stockholder approval, to amend the bylaws, which may allow our Board to take additional actions to prevent an unsolicited takeover and inhibit the ability of an acquirer to amend the bylaws to facilitate an unsolicited takeover attempt; and staggered terms for our directors, which effectively prevents stockholders from electing a majority of the directors at any one annual meeting of stockholders. In addition, as a Delaware corporation, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. These provisions may prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us for a certain period of time. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any state law claims for: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action asserting a claim of, or a claim based on, a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of the Company to the Company or the Company's stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or the Company's amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws, or (iv) any other action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The amended and restated bylaws further provide that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act and any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of capital stock of the Company will be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions. We believe these provisions may benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law and federal securities laws by chancellors and judges, as applicable, particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision that is contained in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. For example, Section 22 of the Securities Act provides that state and federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over claims to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a forum selection provision as written in connection with claims arising under the Securities Act. Because the choice of forum provisions in our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of severing certain causes of action between federal and state courts, stockholders seeking to assert claims against us or any of our current or former director, officer, other employee, agent, or stockholder, may be discouraged from bringing such claims due to a possibility of increased litigation expenses arising from litigating multiple related claims in two separate courts. The choice of forum provisions may therefore limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our current or former director, officer, other employee, agent, or stockholder. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provisions contained in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and may make it more difficult for you to sell your common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate. As of December 31, 2025, there were approximately (i) 143,749,986 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the 6.75% Convertible Senior Notes at a conversion price of $3.00 per share and (ii) 568,032 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the 7.00% Convertible Senior Notes at a conversion price of $4.25 per share. In addition, as of December 31, 2025, we had outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of 50,759,350 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $6.26 per share, of which 20,561,750 were exercisable, and 230,260,619 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants, of which 32,330,155 were exercisable as of December 31, 2025. Moreover, subject to market conditions and other factors, we may issue shares of common stock, or other equity or debt securities convertible into common stock, in connection with a financing, acquisition, employee arrangement or otherwise. Any such issuance, including pursuant to any at-the-market agreements, such as our at-the-market offering program entered into with B. Riley Securities, Inc. and Yorkville Securities, LLC (as may be amended and extended from time to time), or any line of equity, such as the standby equity purchase agreement that we entered with YA II PN, LTD, could result in substantial dilution to our existing stockholders. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. In addition, the conversion of the notes (and any other convertible or exchangeable securities we may issue) or the exercise of outstanding options and warrants and future equity issuances will result in dilution to investors. The market price of our common stock could fall as a result of resales of any of these shares of common stock due to an increased number of shares available for sale in the market. This risk may be exacerbated by periods of market volatility, reduced liquidity in our common stock, or if we access equity-linked financing or other capital-raising transactions at prices that are dilutive to existing stockholders.