Sunrun Stock

Sunrun Inc. (Sunrun) engages in the design, development, installation, sale, ownership and maintenance of residential solar energy systems (Projects) in the United States.

Sunrun is the nation’s leading provider of clean energy as a subscription service, offering residential solar and storage. Sunrun’s innovative products and solutions can connect homes to the cleanest energy on earth, providing them with energy security, predictability, and peace of mind. Sunrun also manages energy services that benefit communities, utilities, and the electric grid while enhancing customer value.

The company provides clean, solar energy typically at savings compared to traditional utility energy. The company’s primary customers are residential homeowners. The company also offers battery storage along with solar energy systems to its customers in select markets and sell its services to certain commercial developers through its multi-family and new homes offerings. The company’s scalable operating platform provides it with a number of unique advantages. First, the company is able to drive distribution by marketing its solar service offerings through multiple channels, including its diverse partner network and direct-to-consumer operations.

The company’s core solar service offerings are provided through its lease and power purchase agreements, which refers to as Customer Agreements, and which provide customers with simple, predictable pricing for solar energy that is insulated from rising retail electricity prices.

While customers have the option to purchase a solar energy system outright from the company, most of its customers choose to buy solar as a service from it through its Customer Agreements without the significant upfront investment of purchasing a solar energy system. With its solar service offerings, the company installs solar energy systems on its customers’ homes and provide them with the solar power produced by those systems for typically a 20- or 25-year initial term. In addition, the company monitors, maintains and insures the system during the term of the contract. In exchange, the company receives predictable cash flows from high credit quality customers and qualify for tax and other benefits. The company develops valuable customer relationships that can extend beyond this initial contract term and provide it an opportunity over time to integrate additional solar, battery storage, electrification and distributed power plant offerings into a smart solution for each home and community. The company’s platform provides the support for its multi-channel model, which drives broad customer reach and capital-efficient growth.

The company has experienced substantial growth in its business, as well as through its acquisition of Vivint Solar. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated the largest fleet of residential solar energy systems in the United States. The company has a Networked Solar Energy Capacity of 6,689 megawatts as of December 31, 2023, which represents the aggregate megawatt production capacity of its solar energy systems that have been recognized as deployments.

Multi-Channel Capabilities

The company’s unique, multi-channel capabilities offer consumers a compelling solar service through scalable, cost-effective and consumer-friendly channels. Customers can access the company’s products through three channels: direct-to-consumer, solar partnerships and strategic partnerships.

Direct-to-Consumer

The company sells solar service offerings and install solar energy systems for customers through its direct-to-consumer channel. These solar energy systems are offered to customers either under a Customer Agreement or for purchase. This channel consists of an online lead generation function, a telesales and field sales team, a direct-to-home sales force, a retail sales team and an industry-leading installation organization.

Solar Partnerships

The company contracts with diverse solar organizations that act as either exclusive or non-exclusive (depending on the terms of their contract with it) distributors of its solar service offerings and subcontractors for the installation of the related solar energy systems. The company’s solar partners include:

Solar Integrators: Trained and trusted partners who originate customers for the company’s solar service offerings and procure and install the solar energy systems on its customers’ homes on its behalf as its subcontractors. Partnerships with solar integrators allow the company to expand its brand, quickly enter new markets and drive capital-efficient growth. The company compensates its solar integrators on a per solar energy system basis for generating Customer Agreements and the installation work they perform for the company.

Sales Partners: The company typically compensates its sales partners on a per customer basis for the sales and lead generation services they perform for it.

Installation Partners: The company compensates its installation partners on a per solar energy system basis for the procurement of materials and installation work they perform for it. The company’s ability to connect specialized sales and installation firms on a single platform, which it licenses to its solar partners.

Sales and Marketing

The company sells its solar energy offerings through a scalable sales organization using both a direct-to-consumer approach across online, retail, mass media, digital media, canvassing, field marketing and referral channels, as well as its diverse partner network. The company sells to customers over the phone, online, in the field through canvassing and in-home sales and through its strategic retail sales partnerships. The company also partners with sales-only organizations that focus on direct-to-consumer marketing and sales on its behalf, typically with a Sunrun-branded offering at point of sale, which further increases its brand and reach. The company also generates sales volume through customer referrals. Customer referrals increase in relation to the company’s penetration in a market and shortly after market entry become an increasingly effective way to market its solar energy systems.

Intellectual Property

As of December 31, 2023, the company had 54 issued patents and 16 filed patent applications in the United States relating to a variety of aspects of its solar solutions. The company’s issued U.S. patents will expire 20 years from their respective filing dates, with the earliest expiring in 2029. The company intends to file additional patent applications as it continues to innovate through its research and development efforts.

Government Regulation

The company’s operations are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local laws, including regulations governing the occupational health and safety of its employees and wage regulations. For example, the company is subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, as amended (OSHA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and comparable state laws that protect and regulate employee health and safety. The company endeavors to maintain compliance with applicable DOT, OSHA and other comparable government regulations. In Puerto Rico, the company is subject to regulation as an electric power company by the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau and are required to comply with certain filing, certification, reporting and annual fee requirements.

History

Sunrun Inc. was founded in 2007 as a California limited liability company and was converted into a Delaware corporation in 2008.