By Kit Norton
Shares of Nextpower surged Wednesday after the company surpassed fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings expectations and raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook based on a backlog north of $5 billion amid strong demand for its solar energy products.
The stock jumped 13% to $141.53 following the earnings report. A number of analysts also raised price targets on the shares. Nextpower is on pace for a record closing high, poised to surpass the previous high-water mark of $130.42 from March 25, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Citi analyst Vikram Bagri on Wednesday raised the firm's price target on Nextpower to $145 from $114, keeping a Buy rating on the shares. Bagri noted that the Nextpower is ramping power conversion investment to capitalize on solar and data center projects.
However, on the flip side, Roth Capital analysts noted Wednesday that though shares were advancing, there is risk for the stock to trade lower as investors likely were looking for a more robust beat. The firm raised its Nextpower price target to $155 from $130 and kept a Buy rating on the shares.
Along with Nextpower, fellow solar stock Enphase Energy rose 1.3%. Sunrun and SolarEdge Technologies fell 2% and 0.6%, respectively.
Nextpower late Tuesday posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share, compared to $1.29 a year ago and above Wall Street's call for profit of 92 cents a share. Revenue declined 4.7% to $880.5 million but topped the analyst consensus prediction of $826.3 million, according to FactSet.
This was primarily due to a "very strong" U.S. solar energy market and Nextpower's "leadership position in the global solar tracker market," the company said.
Meanwhile, gross margins overachieved in the quarter, on the strength of tariff recovery. However, margins came under pressure from elevated freight and logistics costs, particularly related to disruptions in the Middle East.
The solar tracker and power conversion company ended the fiscal fourth-quarter with about $1.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents and no debt.
Along with the quarterly earnings beating estimates, Nextpower also hiked its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook after ending the fiscal year with a record backlog of more than $5.25 billion.
The company projects fiscal 2027 revenue of $3.8 billion to $4.1 billion, up from its previous $3.6 bill to $3.8 billion forecast and a midpoint matching Wall Street's expectation.
Nextpower also raised its adjusted Ebitda view to $825 million to $900 million compared to its earlier $800 million to $900 million outlook.
The solar tracking company forecasts fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings of $4.21 a share to $4.59 a share, with the midpoint of $4.40 a share coming in below the analyst consensus view before earnings of $4.72 a share. However, that guidance excludes about $1.02 a share for stock-based compensation, net tangible amortization, and acquisition related costs.
Overall, Nextpower expects more than 40% revenue growth in its non-solar tracker business, bringing total non-tracker revenue to approximately 15% of total revenue.
"Demand remains healthy and we continue to see strong bookings momentum supported by a flight to quality across our customer base," CEO Dan Shugar said on the conference call Tuesday.
Shugar added that Nextpower is leaning into data center applications with its solar energy offerings and that the company is looking to grow in more ways than one.
"We are intentionally leaning into investments to support this next phase of growth. While this will modestly impact near-term profitability, we expect these investments to drive accelerated growth beginning next year," he said.
Nextpower shares have surged 75% so far this year and have risen 177% over the past 12 months.
Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com
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May 13, 2026 09:49 ET (13:49 GMT)
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