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Is a Beat in Store for SunPower Corp's (SPWR) Q1 Earnings?

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SunPower Corporation (SPWR - Free Report) is set to report first-quarter 2020 results on May 7, after market close.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 76.92%. Moreover, it surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed in the remaining two, the average positive surprise being 182.50%.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to get reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors to Consider

Consistent ramp up in production for both its Maxeon 5 and P-Series technologies, followed by strong shipments are likely to have boosted SunPower’s revenues in the first quarter. Strong demand for the company’s A-series solar panel, leading to solid installation volumes, is also projected to have bolstered the top line.

Further, given the strong demand for its products in Latin America, the company has increased focus on the expansion of its global DG channel alongside shooting up sales resources in associated territories. On the fourth-quarter earnings call, SunPower announced its anticipation to witness strong demand growth in its commercial business and continued booking strength in the first quarter of 2020. Such developments, in turn, are likely to have boosted its first-quarter top line.

In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter sales is pegged at $442 million, which indicates a 7.4% rise from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. However, the estimate is below the midpoint of the company-guided range of $435-$470 million.

SunPower has been facing certain challenges from the viewpoint of its project execution, which caused delays thereby pushing up fixed costs and margins. This is likely to have impacted its first-quarter bottom-line performance. Nevertheless, solid shipment growth might have been able to offset these impacts on earnings.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter loss is pegged at 21 cents per share, narrower than the year-ago quarter’s reported loss of 41 cents.

SunPower Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for SunPower this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is +56.10%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: SunPower currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Upcoming Solar Releases

First Solar (FSLR - Free Report) carries a Zacks Rank #3 and is set to release first-quarter results on May 7.

Vivint Solar carries a Zacks Rank #3 and is scheduled to post first-quarter 2020 results on May 7.

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ - Free Report) carries a Zacks Rank #2 and is scheduled to post first-quarter 2020 on May 28.

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