Why Sunrun Inc.'s Shares Plunged 19.5% in May

Image source: SolarCity.

What: Shares of solar installer Sunrun Inc. plunged 19.5% in May as the company faced a lot of problems from slowing growth.

So what: Like SolarCity, Sunrun reported first-quarter 2016 results that showed a big slowdown in bookings growth and a sharp rise in costs, which isn't a good sign for the rooftop solar business. There's little urgency for customers to go solar after the solar investment tax credit was extended and now there's an emerging threat from loans that are helping smaller, regional installers. No one also quite knows how these negative trends will play out throughout 2016.

Now what: Rooftop solar faces a lot of challenges from a variety of larger energy trends right now. Loans threaten Sunrun's business model, slowing growth means higher costs for sales and operations, and borrowing costs are climbing as well. That doesn't bode well for Sunrun, and with little technical differentiation to offer customers, higher costs than competitors, and a reliance on leases and power purchase agreements, which are losing market share, I don't see a bright future.

The article Why Sunrun Inc.'s Shares Plunged 19.5% in May originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends SolarCity. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.