When SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) raised second-quarter estimates on May 8, the stock jumped more than 12%. Shares bounced back down, then popped another 17.5% on June 16 with the announcement that the company had acquired module maker Silevo. Since then the shares have pushed up to around $75 again, still well below the 52-week high of $88.35, but good enough for a 71% share price gain in the past 12 months.
When the company reports earnings after markets close on Thursday, analysts are expecting an earnings per share loss of $0.99 on revenues of $63.24 million. The expected loss is more than double the $0.43 per share loss in the year-ago quarter, but revenues are forecast to rise by two-thirds.
SolarCity’s share price rise stalled again after the initial blush of the Silevo acquisition. Buying a module maker places the company into what is essentially commodity competition with other solar panel makers, and that is not where the profits are in the solar business. But like Chairman Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), SolarCity is playing the long game. Here’s what the company had to say about its acquisition of Silevo:
We absolutely believe that solar power can and will become the world’s predominant source of energy within our lifetimes, but there are obviously a lot of panels that have to be manufactured and installed in order for that to happen. The plans we are announcing today, while substantial compared to current industry, are small in that context.
Those “lifetimes” are measured in decades, not quarters. And like that other company run by Musk, SolarCity is not afraid to trade profits for growth, a strategy that typically drives investors away.
SolarCity’s shares were up more than 4% in the noon hour on Thursday to $75.87. The stock’s 52-week range is $28.31 to $88.35.
ALSO READ: J.P. Morgan Raises Targets on Top Solar Stocks Before Earnings
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks