SolarEdge surges despite posting steep fourth-quarter loss

SolarEdge shares surged more than 28% on Wednesday despite posting a steep fourth-quarter loss of $287 million.

Results were sharply down year over year, but “exceeded the Street’s very low expectations as well as our numbers,” Guggenheim Securities analyst Joseph Osha told clients in a Wednesday note.

“The company also managed to generate positive free cash flow as SEDG continued to draw down inventory and trade receivables,” Osha wrote.

After excluding impairment charges and write-offs, SolarEdge posted an adjusted loss of $3.52 per share compared with the predicted $1.65 per share loss, from Wall Street analysts surveyed by LSEG.

However, revenue of $196.2 million beat expectations of $189.1 million, even though it was down 17% from the year-ago quarter.

SolarEdge and stocks exposed to the residential solar sector have struggled in the face of high interest rates and a glut of product they have had trouble offloading. Investors are also worried that President Donald Trump’s focus on oil and gas and his threats to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act will hurt the solar and broader renewable sectors. Over the past 12 months, the stock is down more than 75%.