Is Sunrun Owned By Costco?

Sunrun is one of the largest residential solar, battery storage, and energy services companies in the United States, focused on providing solar panel systems to homeowners. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, Sunrun has installed residential solar systems for more than 500,000 customers across the country.

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only warehouse clubs. As of 2022, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, Costco has hundreds of locations worldwide serving millions of members.

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About Sunrun

Sunrun is a leading provider of residential solar, storage and energy services in the United States (Sunrun: Why Sunrun). The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Sunrun pioneered the residential solar service model, creating a solar as a service offering that allows homeowners to go solar with no upfront cost and at a lower cost than owning a system (Sunrun).

As a leading solar company, Sunrun operates in 22 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. They have over 550,000 customers and have deployed over 4.6 gigawatts of solar energy. Sunrun offers solar lease and solar power purchase agreements, as well as solar loan options and solar outright purchase. The company also provides home battery storage solutions like Brightbox. In addition to homeowners, Sunrun partners with over 100 local solar companies to offer their solar services (About Sunrun).

About Costco

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only warehouse clubs. Costco provides a wide selection of merchandise, often in bulk quantities, at heavily discounted prices. The company is currently the fifth largest retailer in the world (https://www.forbes.com/companies/costco-wholesale/).

Costco was founded in 1976 in San Diego by James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman. They initially started the company with a single location but soon expanded to open additional warehouses under the Price Club name. In 1993, Costco merged with Price Club to form the company we know today. As of 2023, Costco has over 840 warehouse club locations worldwide, with most of them located in the United States (https://www.costco.com/about.html).

Some key facts about Costco:

Founded in 1976
Headquartered in Issaquah, Washington

Operates membership warehouse clubs
Provides members access to low prices on groceries, household goods, appliances, electronics, and more
Has over 840 warehouse locations globally

Employs over 350,000 people worldwide
Generates over $200 billion in annual sales revenue

Sunrun and Costco Partnership

In April 2018, Sunrun and Costco announced a partnership to offer Costco members special pricing on residential solar panels and battery backup systems from Sunrun. The partnership allows Costco customers to receive exclusive offers and benefits when purchasing a solar system from Sunrun through Costco’s website.

Under the agreement, Costco shoppers who purchase a qualifying Sunrun solar system can receive a 10% Costco Shop Card on solar panels, inverters, racking, and battery storage. This Costco card can be used for future Costco purchases. Additionally, Costco members get premium service from Sunrun, including extended warranties on equipment.

According to Sunrun’s website, the partnership represents “a new way of allowing the two trusted brands, Costco and Sunrun, to further accelerate the adoption of home solar and batteries.” The goal for both companies is to make going solar more affordable and accessible for homeowners.

While Sunrun handles the consultation, custom design, permitting, installation and maintenance of the solar systems, Costco acts as a lead generation source thanks to its vast membership base. Costco pre-screens customers to find those most likely to go solar, and then connects them to Sunrun. This benefits both companies and Costco members.

The partnership capitalizes on the fact that Solar has a high satisfaction rate, and that Costco members are looking for ways to save money. Together, Sunrun and Costco can offer solar at reduced prices compared to typical solar quotes.

As of 2022, the partnership remains active and popular with Costco members looking to add solar power and energy storage to their homes. The two companies continue growing the agreement across many states.

Misconception Explained

A common misconception is that Sunrun is owned by Costco. Despite the partnership between the two companies, Sunrun is not actually owned by Costco.

In 2019, Costco announced a partnership with Sunrun to provide exclusive solar panel and battery storage offerings to Costco members in the US. As part of this agreement, Costco customers can purchase solar energy systems from Sunrun at a discount. However, the partnership is limited to being a sales channel – Costco does not have any ownership stake in Sunrun.

As stated in the WattLogic article, “Costco has a partnership with Sunrun but does not own the company in any way.” The partnership allows Costco to offer its members access to Sunrun’s solar services, while Sunrun gains a new sales channel, but the two companies remain completely independently owned and operated.

While the Costco-Sunrun partnership provides mutual benefits, it does not represent any acquisition or ownership stake by Costco in Sunrun. Sunrun continues to exist as a completely separate, publicly traded company not owned by Costco or any other retailer.

Sunrun’s Ownership Structure

According to Sunrun’s company profile on MarketScreener, Sunrun is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol RUN. As a public company, Sunrun has many shareholders from institutional investors to insiders to retail investors.

An analysis by Wall Street Zen shows that the majority of Sunrun’s shares are owned by institutional shareholders, holding 97.25% of shares. The largest institutional shareholders include Tiger Global Management LLC, BlackRock Inc., SailingStone Capital Partners LLC, and Invesco Ltd. Meanwhile, insiders own 73.06% of shares, which includes executives and board members. Only a very small portion, 0.00%, is owned by retail investors.

Overall, while Sunrun has a diverse shareholder base as a public company, the substantial majority of its ownership lies with large institutional shareholders and insiders. The general public and everyday retail investors hold a very small fraction of the company’s total shares.

Costco’s Ownership Structure

Costco is a publicly traded company whose ownership is distributed primarily among institutional investors. According to Investopedia, the top 5 shareholders of Costco as of March 2022 were Vanguard Group (8.43%), BlackRock Inc. (4.62%), State Street Corp (4.35%), Price T Rowe Associates (3.95%), and FMR LLC (3.73%). These major institutional shareholders own over 25% of Costco’s shares.

While institutional investors own a significant portion, Costco’s ownership structure is still relatively diverse. No single entity owns more than 10% of the company. Costco executives and board members also hold shares, with CEO Craig Jelinek being one of the largest individual shareholders according to Investopedia.

In summary, Costco is primarily owned by institutional shareholders like Vanguard and BlackRock, with no single majority owner. Top executives like Craig Jelinek also hold significant stakes. But overall, Costco’s ownership base is broad and distributed among many investors.

Differences Between Sunrun and Costco

Sunrun and Costco have fundamentally different business models, offerings, and priorities. Sunrun is a residential solar, battery storage, and energy services company, while Costco is a membership-based warehouse club that sells a wide variety of goods and services to customers.

While Costco resells Sunrun’s solar energy systems and installation services in some regions, Sunrun is the actual solar provider. Costco acts as a sales channel for Sunrun but does not manufacture or install the solar products themselves. Sunrun is a solar company first and foremost, while selling solar is just a small part of Costco’s much broader retail business.

In terms of offerings, Sunrun provides complete solar energy systems including panels, inverters, racking, etc. They also offer battery storage options and energy monitoring services. Costco does not provide its own solar equipment or energy services – it simply refers customers to Sunrun. The core focus for Costco is selling bulk goods at discount prices, not renewable energy.

The priorities between the companies are also quite different. Sunrun aims to accelerate mass adoption of solar energy and provide customers with affordable clean power. Costco seeks to drive membership sign-ups and offer savings on everything from gas to groceries. Costco promotes Sunrun as one of many money-saving services for members, while Sunrun sees the Costco partnership as a sales channel for spreading renewable energy.

Future Outlook

The partnership between Sunrun and Costco is still relatively new, having launched in late 2021. However, early indications suggest it will be a fruitful long-term relationship.

Many analysts predict the partnership will continue to grow and expand in the coming years. Costco’s nationwide reach provides Sunrun access to an entirely new sales channel and customer base. Meanwhile, Costco benefits by being able to offer its members access to solar power and energy savings through a trusted national provider like Sunrun (Source).

Some key developments to watch for include a potential expansion into more Costco locations across the country, new financing options or discounts for Costco members, and the addition of battery storage and electric vehicle charging through Sunrun (Source).

Overall, the Sunrun-Costco partnership has all the markings of a successful long-term relationship that will continue benefiting both companies and Costco members for years to come through expanded solar offerings.

Conclusion

In summary, Sunrun and Costco have an established partnership where Costco promotes Sunrun’s solar panel installation services. However, despite this alliance, Sunrun is not actually owned by Costco. Sunrun has been a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq since 2015, while Costco remains a separate publicly traded company as well. Though they collaborate, the two companies have distinct ownership structures, business models, and management teams. Their affiliation is strategic rather than an acquisition. While Sunrun and Costco will likely continue working together, Sunrun maintains independence as a leading home solar company.