--- the subscriber area has no ads and those above are not selected or endorsed by this site ---


CUI Global 1Q18 results and distributed solar -1

07:48 07-May-18


CUI Global has reported results for its first quarter:

Management is touting record backlog of $43.8M, but as noted when this call was scheduled, very little has changed with the company since the last call.  However, the impasse in Italy may finally be coming to a head, with either a new election or a compromise imminent. 

Shares of any company at this stage of development are risky, and that risk is enhanced by the developments in the following paragraph.  Nonetheless, I see a case for buying the current and further dips in CUI, which is already discounted 14% from the top I called preceding the Ides of March, 35% lower than it was just 7 months ago, before my coverage began, and over 70% below the 2016 highs.  I'm not sure how relevant that last figure is at this point, but a break in Italy would merit a substantial turnaround in the stock.  I will listen to the conference call at 8:30, of course, but there may not be anything further to report.

Instead I'll be looking into distributed solar in the coming days.  A May 9 ruling by the California Energy Commission could mandate rooftop solar on all appropriate new homes of 3 stories or less that obtain building permits after Jan. 1, 2020 could serve as a catalyst for VSLR, which reports earnings tomorrow evening, or RUN, which reports earnings about 24 hours later.  I also find myself wondering if Fluence might extend into residential solar.  That seems unlikely, and I think the risk here is more about solar doing to natural gas, what natural gas did to coal than it is about centralized versus distributed solar.  With either setup, we are likely to see increased battery usage, which would receive compliance credits under the new proposal.