Head-To-Head Review: Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) versus CSLM Acquisition (NASDAQ:SPWR)

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

Profitability

This table compares CSLM Acquisition and Canadian 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%
Canadian Solar	0.27%	-5.28%	-1.44%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for CSLM Acquisition and Canadian Solar, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CSLM Acquisition	0	2	1	1	2.75
Canadian Solar	5	4	2	0	1.73

CSLM Acquisition currently has a consensus price target of $5.40, suggesting a potential upside of 241.77%. Canadian Solar has a consensus price target of $19.85, suggesting a potential downside of 4.80%. Given CSLM Acquisition’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CSLM Acquisition is more favorable than Canadian Solar.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CSLM Acquisition and Canadian 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	1.56	-$56.45 million	($0.47)	-3.36
Canadian Solar	$5.99 billion	0.23	$36.05 million	($0.36)	-57.92

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.4% of CSLM Acquisition shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 32.3% of CSLM Acquisition shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

CSLM Acquisition has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CSLM Acquisition beats Canadian Solar on 8 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 Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products. It offers standard solar modules and battery storage solutions; solar system kits, such as inverters, racking systems, and other accessories; power electronic products; and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, as well as operates battery energy storage projects. The Recurrent Energy segment engages in the development, construction, maintenance, and sale of solar power and battery storage projects; and operation of solar power plants; and sale of electricity. This segment provides operation and maintenance (O&M) services, including monitoring, inspections, repair, and replacement of plant equipment; and site management and administrative support services for solar projects, as well as asset management services. It has a fleet of solar and battery energy storage plants in operation with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,005 MWp and 600 MWh. It serves distributors, system integrators, project developers, and installers/EPC companies, as well as utility companies or grid operators, public utilities, licensed suppliers, corporate offtakers, and commercial, industrial or government end users. It sells its products primarily under its Canadian Solar brand name. Canadian Solar Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Guelph, Canada.