Sunrun Inc. (RUN)


November 6, 2024

We Believe Donald Trump’s New IRS Commissioner Will Reduce SunRun’s Ability, Via Section 1603, to Inflate the Value of its Systems 78.8%-to-213.0% for US Tax Credit Purposes; Downgrade to SELL; 2024E PT $7.78/shr

By Gordon L. Johnson II

We Downgrade SunRun to SELL on Donald Trump’s U.S. Presidential Victory. With a new IRS Commissioner imminent, we move our rating on SunRun to SELL and re-introduce our 2024E year-end price target of $7.78/shr, or…

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October 31, 2024

Our Trading Call on Sunnova Falls Flat – NOVA Reports “Nightmarish” 3Q24 Figures

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Cash Incinerating “Science Project” Company Sunnova Exhibits What it Does Best… Burn a Heap Load of Free-Cash-Flow (“FCF”). Yesterday, after the close, cash-incinerating third-party solar EPC/financing science-project company NOVA reported 3Q24 rev/adj.-EPS/FCF of $235mn/-$0.98/-$559.0mn vs….

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October 28, 2024

Upgrade to HOLD on Risk Into Earnings; Long-Term Stance on Core Business Being a Cash-Incinerator Unchanged

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Sunrun Reports Earnings Next Week on Thursday. Ahead of RUN’s 3Q24E results next Thursday, in this note, we detail why we believe being short the stock (into earnings) carries with it quite a bit of…

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September 6, 2024

Is The State of California “Brewing” Up a Threat that Could Prove Existential for the Residential Rooftop Solar Industry… Unbeknownst to Solar Stock/ABS Investors?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

California is Considering Retroactively Cutting NEM 1.0 and 2.0 Benefits… But Why? As seen here, California is currently considering shifting NEM 1.0 and 2.0 customers, who pay ~2c/kWh for power, to the less advantageous NEM…

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August 8, 2024

The “Unveiling” of the Sunrun & Sunnova O&M Fraud & Why Sunpower’s Bankruptcy (Potentially) Poses an Existential Threat the Resi Solar Space

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Does the Recent Sale of Resi Solar Loans Suggest NOVA is “Hiding” an Imminent ~$1.6bn Impairment Charge, Does SPWR’s Bankruptcy Pose an Existential Threat to RUN/NOVA, & Why Have 3 U.S. Gov’t Agencies Opened an…

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February 29, 2024

If We Told You Sunrun’s Recent Convertible Bond Cost ~15.4% (or 8.14% for the Debt Portion Alone), Funds Which it is Investing into “Assets” that Generate ~3.7% Returns… Would that Make it More Compelling as a Short?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

The Cost of Sunrun’s Recent $475mn Convertible Bond Issue May Surprise You (link). As a reminder to those who don’t have a doctorate in “bond math”, when an investor buys a convertible bond they are…

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February 1, 2024

Are Residential Solar Companies Targeting “Low-Income”/Poor Folks w/ Predatory Loans, Actually Increasing the Financial Burden on America’s Most Vulnerable?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

We Have Constructed a Model Based on a 7.5kW and 3.5kW Residential Rooftop Solar Home System Financed via a Loan in Greenwich, CT, Using NREL’s PVWatts Calculator; Our Findings were Rather Surprising Given the US…

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December 19, 2023

Has the Cost of Capital for RUN/NOVA/SPWR Actually Come Down as Goldman/Piper Sandler Claimed in their Recent Upgrades, or Did they Ignore the Recent “Blowout” in Solar ABS Spreads in Their “Analysis”?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Is the Sell-Side Right in Their Recent Claims that the Cost-of-Capital for the Solar Residential Rooftop “Mortgage Companies” (i.e., RUN/NOVA/SPWR/etc.) Has Dropped Given US Treasury Yields are Down, or Does Their Analysis Ignore the Recent…

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November 2, 2023

Do Sunrun’s Q3 Results Suggest, Similar to the Mortgage Lenders in 2Q08, the “Solar Lenders” Could be Entering the “Beginning Innings” of the End-Game?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

So, How did Sunrun Fare in Q3? In this note, we provide our quick thoughts on Sunrun’s 3Q23 results reported last night, where the company: (a) saw -$804.7mn in free-cash-flow burn, despite cutting its staff…

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June 30, 2023

Conn. Utility Eversource Cuts Electricity Prices -43% Effective 7/1 as SoCal Edison/PG&E See their Nat Gas Costs Fall -74%/-63% 2H22-to-6/28; Are the Risks to RUN’s/NOVA’s/SPWR’s “Subscriber Values” Grossly Misunderstood?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

We See Outsized Risk to the “Cockamamie” 20yr DCF Calculations, Known to Many as “Net Subscriber Value”, Sunrun, Sunnova, & Sunpower (as well as our Sell-Side Peers) Use to Justify Their Valuations. First off, why…

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June 8, 2023

Did You Know Sunrun’s Head of Project Finance Left the Company (Prior to the Recent Unexpected Departure of the Company’s Founder)? Also, Below, we Detail a Fireside Chat we had Today w/ an Industry Veteran That Suggests Bulls May be Underestimating NEM 3.0 Impact on California

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Did Sunrun Lose its Head of Project Financing Unbeknownst to Many (Followed by the Recent Sudden Departure of its co-Founder)? In this note, we look to address that question, while also providing a Q&A we…

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April 27, 2023

Is There an “Existential Threat” to Owning the Solar Resi Names (RUN/NOVA/SPWR) & is it Being Ignored, Similar to the Fate that Befell SunEdison Shortly Before Bankruptcy?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Are Investors Currently Unaware/Ignoring the “Existential” Risks Facing the Subprime Solar Lending Industry? As detailed in Ex. 1 below, according to bond rating agency Kroll, default rates on solar loans are currently on the upswing….

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March 21, 2023

We Have Confirmed that a Large Publicly-Traded Solar Resi Rooftop Player Who Has a $575mn Warehouse Line w/ Credit Suisse Has Not Transferred this Facility to Apollo; Uh Oh!

By Gordon L. Johnson II

So, Is Apollo the Current Administration Agent/Lender for RUN’s $1.8bn Warehouse Facility? While many – including two heads of structured product groups at Tier 1 investment banks – tell us they “believe” Apollo did indeed…

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March 14, 2023

Fireside Chat with Executive Director of Bulge-Bracket Solar ABS Desk Sheds Light on the Many “Hidden” Risks Facing the Resi Rooftop Solar Vendors (Q&A Below)

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Are the Risks to Sunrun and Other ABS Solar Issuers Much More “Pronounced” Than Investors Currently Appreciate? Today, we had the opportunity to chat with the head of a major investment bank’s solar ABS desk….

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February 27, 2023

We Believe we May Know the Reason Sunrun’s Co-Founder is “Suddenly” Stepping Down – i.e., he does not want to be associated w/ this “thing” when it comes tumbling down (i.e., Sunrun is guiding a 1% change in discount rate = a 40% fall in its subscriber value)

By Gordon L. Johnson II

WHAT’S UP? So… Sunrun reports the value it sells systems in the open market as “purchase customer ASP”, and the value it shows the IRS for tax collection purposes (where it uses a cockamamie 25-30yr…

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