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SunPower shares fall amid financial misconduct allegations
(Bloomberg) — SunPower Corp. suffered its biggest drop in seven weeks after the struggling solar company’s accountant resigned amid allegations of misconduct by senior executives.
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The company’s shares fell as much as 18%, the biggest intraday drop since May 15, and were trading at $2.20 at 12:58 p.m. in New York. The company has fallen more than 50% this year amid a broader decline in the rooftop solar market.
Ernst & Young notified the company on June 27 that it was resigning as SunPower’s independent accountant because it was unwilling to be associated with financial statements prepared by management, according to a filing Wednesday night. The accountant cited allegations of misconduct involving senior members of management with roles that oversee financial reporting. SunPower is seeking to hire a new independent accountant, according to the filing.
SunPower also said in the filing that it received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February related to its revenue recognition practices. The company did not respond to questions on Friday.
The disclosures come amid a challenging year for SunPower. The company said in April it needs to restate nearly two years of financial results. It also replaced its CEO and COO, defaulted on a credit agreement due in late 2023 after a previous earnings review that delayed results, and is battling a drop in installations in California — its home state and the nation’s largest solar market.
(Updates with counter search in third paragraph.)
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