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Employees of Sunrun, nation's largest rooftop solar installer lift panels onto a roof
Sunrun employees carry panels into position (Brian van der Brug/Getty Images)

Sunrun shares shine after big Q2 earnings beat and record energy storage demand

The energy storage and solar panel provider crushed Wall Street’s estimates as new installations soared.

Sunrun soared 30% Thursday after the solar company reported a surprise second-quarter profit and record customer demand for its energy storage systems.

Earnings per share hit $1.07, a sharp beat compared to Wall Street’s expected $0.06 loss. Revenue also topped forecasts, coming in at $569.3 million versus the $559.4 million consensus. 

Storage was the star: Sunrun hit a new high for storage attachment, with 70% of new customers adding batteries — up from 54% a year ago. Overall, customer additions with storage grew 50% annually. Last year, Sunrun accounted for one in every five US rooftop solar systems.

Sunrun’s blowout results follow a similarly sunny report last week from rival First Solar, which also beat Q2 estimates and raised its full-year outlook despite a looming timeline for US clean energy tax credits. 

Wall Street thinks the road ahead could be even brighter: JPMorgan reiterated its “overweight” (buy) rating on the stock and raised its price target to $20 from $16, citing strong Q2 results, record storage attachment, and lower costs. It also added that Sunrun could sustain profits post-2028, even without tax credits, thanks to cost cuts, grid revenue, and rising utility prices.

Sunrun shares are now positive on the year, up about 17% year to date.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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