What happened
Shares of solar installer Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE: VSLR) fell 13% in February, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence , as investors worried about the future of residential solar. In just the last two months, tariffs and raising interest rates have hit the industry and could make it harder to make money.
So what
Tariffs hit solar panel imports in January, so there may have been a hangover effect on Vivint Solar, but the bigger thing investors were looking at was continually rising interest rates. In just a little over two months of 2018, the 10-year Treasury rate has risen from under 2.5% to nearly 2.9%, which will lower the value of every contract Vivint Solar has on its balance sheet.
Another factor investors are looking at is the sale of solar assets like 8point3 Energy Partners (NASDAQ: CAFD) and NRG Yield (NYSE: NYLD) , which both fetched fairly low values on the market. If solar developers aren't able to get top dollar for the assets they have, it effectively lowers the value of the underlying projects and a company like Vivint Solar.
Now what
The good news for Vivint Solar is that it's moving away from the leasing model to more solar system sales, which will offload the interest rate risk to customers. But there's no denying that Vivint Solar's projects don't have the same value they did a few months ago when interest rates were lower. If the company can generate a profit from the sale of solar systems, it'll reduce risk, but for now, the lower value of assets on the balance sheet isn't pleasing investors.
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Travis Hoium owns shares of 8point3 Energy Partners. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
