Sunrun, the US residential solar and storage company, reported third-quarter 2026 results on 4 November with a record 75% storage attachment rate, up from 70% a year earlier. Its networked storage capacity reached 5.0 GWh at the end of September.
The record came in a quarter of lower volumes. Installed solar capacity fell 15% year on year to 204 MW, installed storage capacity fell 9% to 374 MWh, and subscriber additions fell 24% to 22,957.
"We hit a 75% attachment rate of storage assets, the highest in our history," chief executive Mary Powell said.
Revenue up, installations down
Total revenue rose 52% year on year to US$1,099.5 million, despite the lower installations. Powell pointed to the company's direct business as the sign of recovery. "Sunrun has returned its direct business to growth, with installations increasing 9% year-over-year," she said.
Compared with earlier in the year, volumes have recovered. Solar additions were 154.2 MW in the first quarter and 174.3 MW in the second, before reaching 204 MW in the third. Storage additions rose from 282.3 MWh to 332 MWh and then 374 MWh over the same period. The attachment rate was 74% in the second quarter.
Sunrun ended September with 8,936 MW of networked solar capacity, 1,229,709 customers and 1,057,695 subscribers.
Cash guidance lands at the low end
Net cash from operating activities was US$301 million in the quarter. Cash generation was US$6 million, or US$56 million excluding US$50 million of investment in equipment safe harbor.
Sunrun now expects cash generation of about US$200 million for 2026, excluding those safe harbor investments. That is the bottom of the US$200 million to US$375 million range it gave after the second quarter, and the February outlook was US$250 million to US$450 million.
Chief financial officer Danny Abajian called the quarter "an important inflection point" and said the company expects higher cash generation in the fourth quarter.
Home batteries as a grid resource
The operating news that stands out is the use of the fleet as a virtual power plant. In September, Sunrun contributed more than 320 MW, or 56%, of a 580 MW residential distributed power plant dispatch, which it called the largest in its history.
That mark was soon passed. On 5 October, Sunrun contributed more than 400 MW, or 61%, of a 669 MW event. On 6 October, it contributed more than 430 MW, or 58%, of a 745 MW event.
"The need for affordable, reliable power has never been more evident, and our storage-first offering is meeting it," Powell said. The company also named distributed power plant programs and "emerging data center and grid edge applications" as ways to earn more from its network.
What it means for the US home solar market
Sunrun's results show a company selling fewer systems but attaching batteries to more of them. Its dispatch figures show that those batteries can now deliver hundreds of megawatts at once, which gives home storage a role beyond backup.
The cash guidance is the caution. Revenue and record storage figures have not stopped the outlook from falling for the second time this year, so the fourth quarter will be the first real test of the inflection point Abajian described.
Source: Sunrun third-quarter 2026 results and PV Tech, 4–5 November 2026.
