ENPH vs RUN: How Enphase Energy and Sunrun Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: RUN is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ENPH and RUN share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ENPH and RUN exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Enphase Energy is a leading provider of solar microinverters and home-energy systems. Its core product is the microinverter, a small device attached to each individual solar panel that converts the panel's direct current into the alternating current used in homes and on the grid. This panel-level approach differs from traditional string inverters that handle many panels at once, offering advantages in reliability, safety, monitoring, and performance when panels are shaded or fail. Enphase has expanded from microinverters into a broader home-energy platform, including its IQ Battery storage systems, EV chargers, and software that lets homeowners monitor and manage solar production, battery storage, and consumption through an app. The company sells primarily to installers and distributors who deploy its products in residential rooftop solar projects, mostly in the United States and Europe. Enphase earns revenue from hardware sales of microinverters and batteries, with a growing contribution from storage and software. It is headquartered in Fremont, California, and has been one of the most recognizable names in residential solar technology.

Full ENPH guide

Sunrun (RUN) is the largest residential solar company in the United States. It designs, installs, finances, and services rooftop solar panel systems and home battery storage for homeowners. Its core model is not selling panels outright but offering solar as a service: customers sign long-term leases or power purchase agreements (PPAs) and pay little or nothing upfront, while Sunrun owns the system and collects recurring payments over 20-plus years. This builds a large, contracted base of future cash flows.

Full RUN guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ENPH drivers: Microinverter leadership; Battery storage expansion.
• RUN drivers: Storage attach rates; Recurring subscriber base.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Enphase's business is highly sensitive to interest rates, since most residential solar is financed; higher rates raise monthly costs and depress demand, as recent demand weakness showed. For RUN, sunrun is highly sensitive to interest rates because its model depends on financing long-term contracts; higher rates raise its cost of capital and compress the value of future cash flows.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ENPH if you believe its drivers more; RUN if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ENPH and RUN guides.

ENPH. Enphase is a growth-and-cycle solar stock whose valuation swings sharply with interest rates, solar demand, and policy. The market values it on long-term residential-solar and storage growth and high gross margins, but earnings and the multiple are highly cyclical. It has traded at premium valuations in upcycles and compressed materially during demand downturns.

RUN. Sunrun is valued on the long-term contracted value of its subscriber base and its storage and grid-services optionality rather than current GAAP earnings, which are often negative. The valuation is unusually rate- and policy-sensitive: it benefits from lower rates and supportive incentives, and compresses sharply when rates rise or tax-credit and net-metering policy turns less favorable.

Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): ENPH shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.3-1.5 billion, recovering from a downturn, gross margin ~40%+, supported by US manufacturing credits, operating margin Recovering, historically strong in upcycles, revenue growth Cyclical, tied to rates and solar demand; RUN shows revenue (ttm) ~$2 billion, subscriber base Roughly 1 million-plus customers, storage attach rate Rising (large share of new installs), operating margin Volatile; often negative GAAP.

ENPH and RUN are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ENPH and RUN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.