Contrasting CSLM Acquisition (NASDAQ:SPWR) & FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI)

CSLM Acquisition (NASDAQ:SPWR) and FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

47.4% of CSLM Acquisition shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.4% of FTC Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.3% of CSLM Acquisition shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.0% of FTC Solar shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares CSLM Acquisition and FTC Solar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CSLM Acquisition	5.11%	-16.64%	10.18%
FTC Solar	-69.25%	-549.96%	-44.59%

Risk & Volatility

CSLM Acquisition has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FTC Solar has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for CSLM Acquisition and FTC Solar, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CSLM Acquisition	0	2	1	1	2.75
FTC Solar	1	3	3	0	2.29

CSLM Acquisition currently has a consensus price target of $5.40, indicating a potential upside of 233.33%. FTC Solar has a consensus price target of $9.20, indicating a potential downside of 22.95%. Given CSLM Acquisition’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe CSLM Acquisition is more favorable than FTC Solar.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CSLM Acquisition and FTC Solar”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CSLM Acquisition	$108.74 million	1.24	-$56.45 million	($0.47)	-3.45
FTC Solar	$47.35 million	3.77	-$48.61 million	($4.33)	-2.76

FTC Solar has lower revenue, but higher earnings than CSLM Acquisition. CSLM Acquisition is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FTC Solar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

CSLM Acquisition beats FTC Solar on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CSLM Acquisition

Complete Solaria, Inc. engages in the provision of solar services. It offers sales enablement, project management, partner coordination, and customer communication. The company is headquartered in San Ramon, CA and does business as SunPower Corporation.

About FTC Solar

FTC Solar, Inc. engages in the provision of solar tracker systems, software, and engineering services in the United States, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, and Australia. The company offers a self-powered, two-panel in-portrait, and single-axis tracker solution under the Voyager brand name; and a one module-in-portrait solar tracker solution under the Pioneer brand name. Its customers include project developers and solar asset owners, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction contractors that design and build solar energy projects. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.