On Friday, July 19th Eastern Time, the stock price of SunPower (SPWR. US), a leading US photovoltaic company, plummeted by over 50%, hitting a historic low. Its stock price has plummeted by nearly 99% in the past three years. US investment bank Roche Securities stated that SunpPower told distributors on July 17th that the company no longer supports new leasing and power purchase agreement sales, cannot provide installation services, and will stop shipping.
In the eyes of analysts, this means that this well-established photovoltaic manufacturer, founded in 1985, is coming to an end and is likely to enter bankruptcy liquidation proceedings; Some institutions directly lowered the target price of the stock to $0.
SunPower stated in the letter that the company is no longer able to provide installation services for transported and delivered goods. “SunPower is aware of the ‘seriousness’ of this decision and is seeking alternative suppliers to transfer the sold projects
Bloomberg analyst Pol Lezkano said that this is actually saying ‘the company can no longer continue to operate’.
After the exposure of this letter, Wall Street analysts generally believe that SunPower is on the brink of bankruptcy.
Guggenheim Securities has lowered its target price for SunPower from $1 to $0, analysts Joseph Osha and Hilary Cauley wrote in Friday’s report, “This actually marks the end of SPWR as an operating company
Guggenheim analysts said that SunPower is likely to “enter into (bankruptcy) liquidation proceedings” and ultimately sell its remaining assets and delist its stocks. “Considering the company’s accumulated debt, we believe that SPWR’s equity no longer holds any value
Earlier this week, JPMorgan analysts also told clients that SunPower’s suspension of operations is “indefinite”. The bank explained that this decision was mainly due to the weakening of its cash flow and balance sheet.
Analysis suggests that there are two very important catalytic factors for the growth of rooftop solar business in the United States: low interest rates, which enable consumers to afford the cost of such installations, and state-level policies, where households installing equipment can receive generous rewards for selling excess solar power to the grid.
At present, the two catalytic factors mentioned above do not exist. Among them, the Federal Reserve has maintained ultra-high interest rates for a long time; California, the largest solar energy market in the United States and the headquarters of SunPower, has reduced the compensation for households and businesses for delivering excess solar power to the grid, causing a significant blow to the industry.
It is worth mentioning that Sunpower is one of the largest photovoltaic companies in the United States, with over 5000 employees and offices in China, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Greece, Israel, and the Philippines.
This year, SunPower has replaced its CEO and COO. Due to operational difficulties, SunPower announced in April that it would lay off approximately 1000 jobs, accounting for about 26% of its total workforce.
This is the third American photovoltaic company to collapse in the past month.
A few days ago, American photovoltaic manufacturer Toledo Solar announced that it will immediately terminate all research and development work and gradually cease operations, and the company is about to go bankrupt. Toledo Solar focuses on the household market and specializes in the cadmium telluride thin film solar cell technology route.
On June 28th, Titan Solar Power, a household photovoltaic installer, also announced a permanent closure. As one of the largest household photovoltaic manufacturers in the United States, Titan Solar has an 11 year history. Last year, it achieved sixth place in the country’s household photovoltaic market.
Titan Solar, SunPower, and many other American photovoltaic companies have also fallen into the tide of the times.
In addition to the three companies mentioned above, several photovoltaic companies in the United States have gone bankrupt this year, including Infinity Energy, Solcius, and Kayo Energy.
Roche Securities stated that in 2023 alone, over 100 household photovoltaic companies and distributors in the United States will go bankrupt, which is six times the total number in the previous three years; More than 100 companies are expected to face bankruptcy.
Taking California, which is most affected by NEM 3.0, as an example, the local demand for photovoltaics has plummeted and the installation of rooftop photovoltaics has decreased by 80%. The California Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Association reported that thousands of projects have been put on hold, over 17000 employees have been laid off, and a wave of well-known companies have declared bankruptcy.
If initially only smaller companies collapsed in the cold wave of household photovoltaics in the United States, now with the collapse of Titan Solar, the situation is further severe.
In the US household photovoltaic industry, leading companies such as Sunrun and Sunnova are also deeply mired in difficulties: poor management, dismal performance, and stock prices have fallen by 80% from their historical highs in 2021.
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