New York, May 12, 2026, 18:06 (ET)
- Nextpower dropped 0.70% to finish at $125.37, but shares jumped to roughly $138 after hours as Q4 results topped consensus estimates.
- Guidance and backlog drove the move, not just the quarter: management lifted FY2027 revenue guidance to $3.8 billion–$4.1 billion and said backlog topped $5.25 billion.
- Pushback hasn’t let up. Both Q4 revenue and adjusted EBITDA slipped year over year, with persistent higher rates continuing to weigh on project finance for solar buyers.
Tuesday split into two acts for Nextpower shares. They slipped 0.70% to close at $125.37 in the regular session. But after the company posted its results, the thinner after-hours crowd sent the stock soaring to just above $138—a gain of about 10%.
The answer’s straightforward, though hardly minor. Nextpower topped Q4 estimates for revenue and adjusted EPS, and hiked its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance. With shares trading as if the pivot from tracker maker to full-scale power-plant tech platform were already a done deal, investors were looking for tangible validation. Tonight’s results gave them that.
Revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter landed at $881 million, slipping from $924 million last year, but still topping expectations. Adjusted diluted EPS hit $1.05, better than MarketBeat’s consensus at $0.89. That beat was notable—a down quarter was the assumption, not a sharp drop in demand.
The big action was in the forward book. Nextpower reported a 20% jump in fiscal 2026 revenue, hitting a record $3.56 billion, with backlog topping $5.25 billion. That backlog—contracted work still waiting to show up as revenue—offers investors a glimpse of potential sales down the line.
Management bumped up its fiscal 2027 revenue target, now looking for $3.8 billion to $4.1 billion, compared with the prior $3.6 billion to $3.8 billion range. Adjusted EBITDA guidance lands between $825 million and $900 million. Adjusted diluted EPS is projected at $4.21 to $4.59. The company flagged about $50 million in additional costs, citing expansion into power conversion.
Founder and CEO Dan Shugar didn’t mince words, telling investors fiscal 2026 marks a “defining inflection point,” while stressing the “core tracker business remains very strong.” That message comes as Nextpower—known until recently as Nextracker—looks to stretch beyond solar trackers and push further into foundations, electrical balance-of-system gear, robotics, software, and power electronics. Nextracker
That same-day buyout made it clear. Nextpower is set to pick up power conversion product assets, including Apex Power, laying out about $50 million in extra investment to get into the market faster. Since power conversion is a step closer to inverters and electrical controls, this move edges Nextpower into parts of the supply chain where SolarEdge and Enphase have already carved out reputations.
For bulls, there’s a clearer pitch here versus much of the solar sector: a solid backlog, raised revenue targets, more bundled offerings, plus proof that buyers want more than just the basic steel tracker. Bears, though, have numbers on their side: Q4 revenue slipped year on year, adjusted EBITDA fell to $202 million from $242 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin compressed to 22.9% from 26.2%.
The EPS outlook is sparking debate. Nextpower’s adjusted EPS target for fiscal 2027—$4.21 to $4.59—lands shy of the $4.76 analysts had penciled in, Benzinga pointed out, despite a bump in the company’s revenue forecast. Investors get top-line growth, but a chunk of those gains gets poured back into the business before profits hit the bottom line.
The tape tells the story—this wasn’t a sector move. Array Technologies dropped roughly 6.5%, Shoals Technologies slid 7.4%, and SolarEdge shed 3.3%. Enphase barely budged. Not every solar name caught a bid. Nextpower’s earnings were the magnet for buyers.
Macro headwinds are still dogging solar. Fresh reporting from Reuters noted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended in the red after inflation came in hotter and U.S.-Iran tensions rattled nerves, reigniting worries over rates. Prediction markets are feeling the pressure, too: Polymarket’s odds for zero Fed cuts in 2026 sat near 63%, while its June Fed decision contract was pricing a 98% chance of no move. That’s a problem for solar developers, since pricier financing hits their big project budgets.
Tonight’s rally isn’t a sweeping endorsement of clean energy stocks. Investors are making a specific wager: that Nextpower keeps turning its tracker dominance into something bigger—and does it without letting margins slip, justifying that premium valuation. The real proof won’t come from another round of “integrated platform” talk. It’s going to show in the numbers: cash earnings driven by bookings, power conversion, and bundled solar-plant sales—before rising rates or execution risks threaten to dull the gains.
