DALLAS, TX -- August 12, 2026 -- SES AI Corp. (NYSE: SES): Stonegate Capital Partners Updates Coverage on SES AI Corp. (NYSE: SES). SES’ 2Q26 update improves the commercialization setup despite lower sequential revenue, as the quarter provided clearer evidence that the company’s broader commercial strategy is beginning to take hold. The headline miss was modest, but the underlying read-through was better: all four product lines contributed, Sol-Ark certification expands UZ Energy’s U.S. ESS opportunity, and the NDAA drone pipeline suggests capacity - not just qualification - could become a constraint as customers convert to orders. FY26 guidance was unchanged, leaving a sizable 2H ramp to execute, but the path is becoming clearer over coming quarters across ESS, drones, materials, and Molecular Universe.
Quarterly Results: Revenue was $5.1M, down 24% q/q but up 44% y/y, versus $5.39M consensus. ESS, drone cells, materials, and Molecular Universe each contributed revenue. GAAP gross margin improved to 22.6% from 18.1% in 1Q26, driven by ESS international mix and pricing discipline. GAAP OpEx increased to $20.3M from $19.1M, primarily reflecting a $0.9M bad-debt provision tied to a legacy EV service contract, though OpEx remained down 21% y/y. Non-GAAP net loss was $13.1M, or $(0.04)/share, in line with consensus, while adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $14.6M from $12.8M.
ESS / Edge Box: ESS remains the largest revenue contributor, while Sol-Ark certification materially improves UZ Energy’s U.S. residential opportunity. Management indicated certification narrows the competitive field and expects U.S. activity to begin inflecting later this year, with a larger contribution in 2027. Three UZ low-voltage residential batteries were Sol-Ark certified, while US Energy Distributors, under its $20M three-year agreement, serves as master distributor and primary U.S. contact. Edge Box improves sourcing flexibility by allowing SES to procure cells across multiple vendors and production lines, supporting lower input costs and better ESS margins over time.
Drone Cells / Materials / Molecular Universe: Drone visibility was the clearest positive. Chungju capacity should scale from 200K to 1M NDAA-compliant cells annually in September, reaching full-rate Q4 production, with meaningful Q4 revenue accelerating in 1H27. The NDAA pipeline exceeds 50 prospects, including ~five large customers representing ~1.5M potential annual cells versus ~700K–800K deliverable capacity. SES agreed to develop Doroni Aerospace’s H1-X eVTOL battery pack under a framework worth up to $1.09M across 2026 2027, with options for expanded testing and serial production, extending into unmanned/mobility applications. Materials contributed $1.2M. MU recorded first Search-in-a-Box revenue, has three major battery companies in M-Labs discussions plus additional module/workflow evaluations, and launched MU-3.0, an agentic lithium/sodium workflow with secure on-premise autonomous-lab integration. MU-4.0 is expected later this year with molecule-generation and deeper lab integration, while SES targets its first materials supply agreement in 2H26.
Guidance: SES reaffirmed FY26 revenue of $30M–$35M and ~15% consolidated gross margin. With $11.8M generated in 1H26, guidance implies $18.2M-$23.2M in 2H26, with ESS expected to represent more than half of revenue as drones and materials scale. Management remains confident in sustaining an OpEx reduction of more than 20% y/y and expects net losses to narrow in 2H. Liquidity ended 2Q at ~$163M.
