FTC Solar, Inc. (FTCI) Q3 2026 Earnings Report, Transcript and Summary

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to FTC Solar's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Bill Michalek, VP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, and welcome, everyone, to FTC Solar's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Before today's call, you may have reviewed our earnings release and supplemental financial information, which is posted earlier today. If you haven't reviewed these documents, they are available on the Investor Relations section of our website at ftcsolar.com. I'm joined today by Anthony Carroll, the President and CEO; Cathy Behnen, the company's Chief Financial Officer; and Patrick Cook, the company's Head of Capital Markets and BD. Before we begin, I remind everyone that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements based on our assumptions and beliefs in the current environment and speaks only as of the current date. As such, these forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and actual results and events could differ materially from our current expectations. Please refer to our press release and other SEC filings for more information on the specific risk factors. We assume no obligation to update such information as required by law. As you'd expect, we'll discuss both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures today. Please note that the earnings release issued this morning includes a full reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest applicable GAAP measure. With that, I'll turn the call over to Anthony.

Thank you, Bill. It's really great to speak with you all again. I appreciate the opportunity to tell everyone about FTC's exciting progress, which I might summarize as more revenue, more margin, more awards and consistent improvement in a true trend towards profitability. So on to the numbers. Our third quarter revenue grew 25% sequentially, and our results were again in line or better than our target ranges. Revenue was also above the midpoint of our guidance and gross margin and adjusted EBITDA were better than the top end of our ranges. We continue to make substantial progress improving the business in terms of efficiency, productivity, product and customer positioning. Based on that progress, we expect to see accelerating revenue growth in the fourth quarter with the midpoint of our guidance range equating to 46% sequential growth and the highest absolute level in almost 5 years. And we expect 2027 to be an even stronger year with profitability in the first quarter. So let's jump into it. I recently passed the 6-month mark as CEO. While it's still early in my tenure, I'm very pleased with the progress we're making. We're strengthening the fundamentals of the business. We're positioning ourselves for continued growth, and we're accelerating the transition into profitability. Customers do love our product. Our factories are producing and delivering on time and on budget, and we're protecting our margins. We all know how challenging this industry can be. And because of this, I'm very proud of the great people in FTC that are achieving those results. If you remember, last quarter, I outlined several key areas of focus, expanding our customer base, driving immediate bookings, ramping second half revenue, optimizing cost and breakeven level and something you know I'm very passionate about, robotics and AI. Today, I wanted to keep that structure and ensure that I can share all the great progress in these areas. Okay. So let's talk about the progress with our customers first. We're making great moves in this area, both in the U.S. and globally. Let me start with North America. On the new customer front, I'm very pleased to share that we just recently received a 750-megawatt project award from a well-regarded developer with a high-profile backer for a project to start in 2027. This is a customer we have an installed base with, so it means continued business and trust that proves our business model. We also received another 175-megawatt project with a well-known U.S. customer. As you may have seen this past quarter, we also announced an agreement with Linxon and Hitachi Energy, a company that I hold very close to my heart, establishing a strategic collaboration framework to jointly pursue and deliver utility-scale solar projects across North America and other markets. They are outstanding partners, and we're excited about the opportunity to combine our strengths to pursue new projects and deliver true value for our customers. As part of that collaboration, we're actively working on multiple large-scale projects in the U.S. as well as a portfolio of at least 700 megawatts along with ETCM in Puerto Rico that we will be sharing more about soon. Our engineering support has been key in these promising projects. We also continue to make progress with the top 10 U.S. EPCs, and one of them has confirmed 5 more projects in their '27 and '28 pipeline are designed with our solution. Getting this repeat business is based on our successful execution and customer support. I also wanted to mention that, as you know, 232 tariffs have challenged some projects. And at FTC, we provide solutions, not problems. We were able to move one of these projects for a top developer to a 100% domestic supply during execution to add that advantage and keep the customer's ultimate time line on track. This type of service flexibility in U.S. manufacturing is part of what makes FTC unique. Now moving to Europe. We announced today a new multiyear MSA for 500 megawatts of projects in the U.K. This is with AGR, a really great developer that I know very well and I've worked with for more than 15 years. I'm looking forward to partnering with that team again and growing our relationship and our business together. Along with the signing of the MSA, we've received a contract for initially 30 megawatts. And we've also continued to hire great talent in Europe to support that growth. Over to Australia, where I was last week, at the All Energy Conference. We continue to successfully execute on the 400 megawatts of projects that we shared with you last quarter. And we've also dramatically expanded our project pipeline, adding multiple gigawatts, some of those expecting to close in the near future. Also, to further support the 100% local content requirement needed for some of these projects, we recently signed an MOU with 6 significant material suppliers in Australia to deliver that local content capabilities and put us in an even stronger position in this key market. And finally, India. As I announced last quarter, we have strategically expanded into the fast-growing renewable energy market. And I'm very pleased to share that we have recently secured new contracts with 2 premier blue-chip customers in the region. The first is a 118-megawatt project with Tata Power Solar, the solar subsidiary of India's largest power and energy company. Initial production for the project is already underway. The second is a 121-megawatt project with Evren, the Indian renewable development firm backed by Brookfield. Initial production for the project is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027. These are outstanding wins with high-quality customers and reflect the tremendous growth we're seeing in our pipeline across India. FTC has had presence in India since the earliest days of the company, and we have an impressive foundation in place, including global capability and training center, R&D facility and a software development hub supported by a talented team of almost 140 professionals. So overall, more projects, more new customers and more global presence, just what we said we would do when we last connected 3 months ago. Since the last call, we have received more than $100 million of new awards, essentially all of them with Tier 1 customers, and our commercial positioning in the market has never been better. So now let's talk about revenue. In terms of our revenue growth priority, our revenue ramp continues. We grew over 50% sequentially in the second quarter, 25% sequentially in the third quarter and at the midpoint of our target range in the fourth quarter, we will grow 46%, and it will be our highest quarterly revenue level in almost 5 years. The growth rate may be variable and project execution progress determines some of these movements, but the direction and the trend are clear. And we expect to continue to see significant revenue growth in 2027. Another key priority I highlighted last quarter is improving our cost structure and lowering our breakeven revenue, including through greater use of software and AI to automate workflows, boost productivity and identify savings while also transforming our contracting process and our integrated supply chain strategy. We have negotiated better contracts to provide greater stability to our customers amid volatile input and logistics markets. We have improved our terms with our key suppliers as they believe in us, and they see the growth, and we will continue to win together. We are now able to bid more projects faster, and we have been able to substantially increase our revenue without seeing an increase in our OpEx. We have also been able to further show the financial advantages of using our constructability to speed up install times, but also our terrain following solutions to save customers a great amount of cost. All of this helps us protect the margins. Let's not forget about our manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. that allow not just vertical integration and shorter lead times, but access to a pool of more profitable projects that require local content. We remain disciplined as we accelerate towards profitability. We have met our recent commitments and with our current customers and projects, I'm very confident in our continued growth and profitability in Q1. Last quarter, I promised to talk about numbers and savings when it comes to product installation and robotics. Before that, I want to share a thought, something that has really resonated from my now hundreds of meetings since I joined FTC. Across the globe, the energy revolution is not just about electrons. It's about construction and dirt. Yes, dirt. Easy square flat sites are rare nowadays. Sites for PV plants or data centers are now often in challenging terrain with complex soils, hard weather conditions and in areas where labor is usually a challenge. Hyperscalers and developers and investors are coming to us to ask, can we even build on this site? This is why I think FTC's value proposition really resonates. If you give superior engineering support long before the contract, faster install times, less training required, superior terrain following solutions and advanced readiness for automation, combined with great software to analyze land, construction and performance, you will win. This is why I believe in this company and this team. Going back to my promise to deliver numbers, DNV, a leading global technical adviser and assurance firm, recently validated the installation performance of our Pioneer 1P tracker, just over 5 hours per tracker or approximately 81 labor hours per megawatt. That's 30% to 50% less installation labor than reported in competing product trials. This isn't just a model or a simulation. It's real-world performance independently validated and demonstrated in the field. How do we achieve it? It's our DNA. Our teams have always developed the product as if we were the installers and owners. Engineering always focuses on constructability, simpler connections, bolt-free rail attachments, slide and glide module placement, color-coded components, better packaging, better sequencing and delivery, optional preassembly, all of that really matters. Every feature is designed to make installations faster, simpler and more efficient, and customers do care. Developers and hyperscalers need speed without sacrificing quality or reliability. As one of the largest global developers recently said to me, if we can build solar projects in half the time, we can deploy twice the gigawatts. Another customer also recently selected us after testing showed our solution could reduce daily labor requirements by 400 people compared with competing alternatives. In a market increasingly constrained by labor availability, that's a powerful differentiator, helping customers improve productivity, reduce costs and build more projects with the same resources. That's why FTC exists. That's the power of constructability. Better engineering translated into measurable customer value. It drives project wins, repeat business and stronger customer partnerships. And now on to robotics, a natural extension of our leadership in constructability and a key priority I highlighted last quarter. We believe robotics will be a major driver of productivity in solar, and FTC intends to help lead that transition. Our strategy is to partner with leading companies to develop open platform-agnostic solutions to make installations faster, safer and more automated, reducing costs and enabling the industry to scale more efficiently. We reinforced that commitment at RoboDay, bringing together more than 100 industry leaders and sharing promising results from our tests and pilots. We've run hundreds of these tests, and we've signed multiple agreements with companies that automatically install modules, execute robotic pile installation, automatically install our Cinch clip and especially we've connected those companies to the top EPCs that are using us as their testing platform to validate that data to later incorporate these companies into their innovation plans. That's the secret. It's not just about saying we believe in robotics. It's about designing the product that is best for automation, investing in the people that are driving that innovation, spending thousands of hours in our Austin lab with our solar PV field and hundreds of trackers installed that we keep testing again and again and again with all types of robots. The biggest advantage starts with product design. Unlike systems that require robotics to be retrofitted onto manually oriented installation processes, our tracker is inherently automation-friendly. Modules hang automatically when placed, reducing manual handling and alignment. Our Python and Cinch clips have also been adapted for robotic installation, eliminating the need to align bolts and turn nuts. In other words, we're not adapting our tracker for the future of automation. We're advancing one that already supports it. The opportunity is significant for everyone. Combine smarter engineering with automation to reduce labor, improve safety and consistency and lower installed cost. Constructability is delivering value today. Robotics will allow us to extend that value tomorrow. So overall, we continue to make solid progress across the business. We do have a great product and great customers. We committed to increasing our global expansion, growing our revenue, transforming our supply chain and our contracts, protecting our margins and improving our EBITDA. And we are delivering to that commitment. I could not be prouder to continue to lead this company and drive our path to a very successful future. And with that, I'll turn it over to Cathy.

Thanks, Anthony, and good morning, everyone. I'll provide some additional color on our third quarter performance and our outlook. Overall, third quarter results reflected continued execution of our growth strategy with strong sequential growth, improved gross margins and better-than-expected adjusted EBITDA. Revenue came in at $32.8 million, just above the midpoint of our target range for the quarter. This revenue level represents an increase of 25.4% compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 26.1% compared to the year earlier quarter. GAAP gross profit was $1.9 million or 5.8% of revenue, compared to gross loss of $2.2 million or 8.5% of revenue in the prior quarter. Non-GAAP gross profit was $2.8 million or 8.4% of revenue, representing an improvement over non-GAAP gross loss of $1.3 million or 5.1% of revenue in the prior quarter and a gross profit of $2 million in the year ago quarter. GAAP operating expenses were $10.4 million. On a non-GAAP basis, operating expenses were $8.1 million at about the midpoint of our target range. This compares to non-GAAP operating expenses of $8.5 million in the prior quarter and $8 million in the year ago quarter. GAAP net income, which, as a reminder, includes a noncash accounting adjustment each quarter to adjust warrants to the fair value based on the change in our stock price was $6.7 million or a loss of $0.54 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $27.1 million or a loss of $1.69 per diluted share in the prior quarter and a net loss of $23.9 million or $1.61 per diluted share in the year ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $5.2 million, which was better than our target range. Adjusted EBITDA excludes approximately $11.9 million net for the change in fair value of the warrant liability, certain transition costs and other noncash items. This quarter's results compared to adjusted EBITDA loss of $9.8 million in the prior quarter and $4 million in the year ago quarter. With that, let us turn our focus to the outlook. We have indicated over the past couple of quarters that we expected to see sequential growth for the remainder of the year, and that continues to be our expectation. While full year revenue growth will be shy of our prior 40% target, it will still represent a strong 25% growth for the year with accelerating revenue growth of 46% in the fourth quarter. Specifically, our targets for the fourth quarter call for the following: revenue between $44 million and $52 million; non-GAAP gross profit between $5 million and $8.3 million or between 11.4% and 15.9% of revenue; non-GAAP operating expenses between $8.8 million and $8.2 million; and finally, adjusted EBITDA between a loss of $3.9 million and breakeven. Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2027, we expect to see continued revenue growth and to achieve profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis. And while we're not providing specific guidance for 2027, we currently expect to see significant revenue growth and profitability for the full year. With that, we conclude our prepared remarks, and I'll turn it over to the operator for any questions. Operator?

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Sameer Joshi from H.C. Wainwright.

My first question is just about the actual results for this quarter. The service revenues are relatively low compared to the product revenues and also over the last several quarters when you compare those. Is there something unique that happened this quarter on the service side?

Thanks, Sameer. Appreciate your question. No, it's seasonal. It depends on different services related to different projects and different warranty and non-warranty-related interventions, but we do expect to continue to grow our services and our software as part of the strategic plan.

Understood. And then on the outlook, meaning, yes, you talk about a global progress in Australia, Europe, India. If we get at your midpoint, we will be at around $50 million or $45 million to $50 million in the December quarter. Should we expect that run rate through 2027? Because I think you also -- I also heard that 1Q 2027 is going to be sequentially higher than 4Q 2026. Should we expect this quarter-over-quarter growth or maybe compare year-over-year growth into 2027?

Yes, absolutely. We did guide to a stronger Q1, you are correct. And we are guiding to a strong 2027 with significant revenue growth. So you should see those numbers continue to increase.

And it is being driven by global increase or North America?

I would say it's a combination of things, Sameer. One, our current customers in the U.S. continue to give us business. So we continue to ramp up with our top-tier customers that already trust us. Two, as you saw, we have incremental projects now. So we're also counting in the growth in Australia and hoping to announce new projects there soon, and we're diversifying into Europe. So it's a combination of U.S. strengthening with current customers and new customers, definitely some of that growth happening also in Australia and then opportunistic markets like the U.K. and other ones like Mexico.

Got it. Just moving to operations. I'm happy that you have consistently talked about robotics and AI and are showing improvements in efficiency. Is there more room for efficiency going forward on this front? Or have you achieved all the cost improvements and efficiencies for installation? I think -- yes, go ahead.

No, finish, Sameer, please.

Yes. I was wondering if you are seeing this across all projects? Or is it unique to certain geographies or certain localities?

Great question. So I'll break it down into 3 different parts. One, we are definitely using AI, automation and efficiency to improve our supply chain and to improve our costing. If we're able to maintain or increase pricing of projects, thanks to constructability, and we're able to continue implementing those efficiencies on the cost side, on the supply chain side, that's why you see protection and increase of margin. The other lever is the one around automation for bidding and just leanness across the organization, right? We see all over the world, companies utilizing AI to create automated systems inside of the company. So we're not just using AI and robotics for the trackers. We're using AI in the finance department, in the supply chain department. We use it to track the cost of steel better. We're using it to be able to bid more projects faster, bid better because you know that if you have a better design on the engineering of a tracker project, you're actually able to maximize margin while you keep the same quality to the customer. So that's another area where we're definitely seeing that advantage. And then on the constructability, absolutely. When customers ask us to bid a project, what they're looking at is cost and also time and efficiency because if they're able to build faster, that cost of the project is going to reduce. So using our software tools, especially PathFinder, to give them an analysis of that site very quickly for them to see the savings, not just in the CapEx, but also in the installation time is one of the reasons why we're winning projects. And we see it across the board, not just in one region. However, regions that have challenging situations with labor, or challenging terrains that I mentioned in my remarks, the terrain following solutions, we're seeing more and more implementation because of difficult land where people are trying to install solar. That's definitely a way to maximize upside and protect our margin.

Congrats on the good progress.

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Sameer Joshi again from H.C. Wainwright.

I just wanted to touch on one more aspect, and that is liquidity versus growth expectations. How should we see this incredible growth in 2027 vis-a-vis the liquidity that you have?

We're aiming and we have a plan to increase our liquidity while we increase our volume. And there's a few different ways of doing that, Sameer. One, obviously, are the typical capital raise and financing options that are available to all public companies. But mostly, we're going to focus on the better payment terms and the better contracts and the better cash flow on our projects. There is room to continue to improve that because with volume, you have better negotiation leverage. It's an automatic factor where you have more volume and more projects. Obviously, your vendors continue to trust you and continue to want your business. With this growth, we're going to be able to not just improve payment terms with customers, but also with vendors, improve the cash flow of projects, which will automatically result in better liquidity. And also as you improve the margin of your projects, something that we showed today, that's going to improve our liquidity position. So we expect that improvement to continue along with the growth.

It seems in addition to operational efficiencies, we are also having working capital improvements. So that's good to see. Once again, congrats on the project.

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn it back to CEO, Anthony Carroll, for closing remarks.

I appreciate that. It was a pleasure to share those exciting updates on the FTC business based on growth, path to profitability and continued trust by our customers and our product. And thank you, everyone, for joining. Have a great day.

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program, and you may now disconnect.