....following was in my email: A SolarCity Star
Post# of 22456
A SolarCity Starts With A SolarRoof
Shares of SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY) fell slightly Wednesday, after the company reported better-than-expected earnings per share and revenue results, but provided revenue guidance for next quarter that came in below analysts' expectations. However, Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) underlying $2.6 billion bid for the company is likely keeping the stock from having a more volatile reaction - sort of like SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR), which fell some 30% on the day.
However, for those who tuned into the company's conference call, which was really more like listening a press release followed by a large Q&A
session, investors got a sense of the company's next big thing: a solar roof.
The call, which also had a surprisingly large amount of commentary from Chairman Elon Musk, basically detailed the new roof. Management basically said:
Many consumers will actively avoid putting solar panels on their roof if they know the roof will need to be replaced in the not-too-distant future. However, customers that are replacing their roofs can instead opt for a solar roof. The roofs will be custom made and address the 5 million people in the U.S. per year who have their roofs replaced. Musk argued that it will be more visually appealing and last longer than a "normal roof" as well.
There's the obvious solar benefit too, but given the unknown cost, it's hard to say when the customer would breakeven. Management also made the case that "the majority of the capital expenses in order for us to get going on module manufacturing have essentially being incurred."
Perhaps as they should be, considering how fast the company is burning through its capital. The company has lost more than $500 million in the first half of 2016 - almost as much as Tesla - but has a market cap much smaller, standing at approximately $2.5 billion to Tesla's $30 billion, respectively.
This of course, raises plenty of questions as to how Tesla will be able to juggle not only its own expenses and current losses, but also SolarCity's cash burn as well.
.....outlook sounds nice, but the burn rate may give one pause; but the man does have vision