What happened
Shares of solar panel producer SunPower Corp (SPWR -3.09%) are on the upswing today, rising 12.5% through 1 p.m. EDT trading -- and SunPower probably has SolarEdge (SEDG -2.16%) to thank for that.
Earlier today, solar power "inverter" maker SolarEdge reported blowout earnings for its fiscal second quarter, more than 40% ahead of what Wall Street had expected it to earn. But ... what does that have to do with SunPower?
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
SunPower really has no news to report today, and yet the gains the stock is racking up rival those SolarEdge received in response to its stellar earnings. The reason, I suspect, is this: Just about 27 hours from now, it will be SunPower's turn to report earnings -- and investors are betting on a big win.
SunPower is due to report Q2 2020 earnings after close of trading on Wednesday, Aug. 5.
Now what
Analysts are forecasting some pretty bleak numbers for SunPower's Q2 report -- a widened, $0.39 per-share loss and a 36% decline in sales to just $310 million. That may sound like bad news. But then again, analysts forecast weak profits and falling sales for SolarEdge, too -- and were surprised when the company reported strong profits and even modest growth in sales despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Will better-than-expected news for one "solar stock" today translate into better-than-expected news for a completely different solar stock tomorrow, though, and enable SunPower to "beat earnings"? Investors seem to think so. Tomorrow, we'll find out if they were right.
