On August 22, Maheep Mandloi, Mizuho Americas Director of Clean Energy Equity Research, joined Worldwide Exchange on CNBC to discuss tariffs and US solar manufacturing growth. In the recent past, President Trump has been seen referring to solar and wind energy as the scam of the century. Despite this strong stance and the Trump administration’s cutting of federal funding for projects, Mandloi remains rather optimistic about this sector. This is because he clarified that less than 5% of projects are subject to federal funding or approval. The vast majority are built on private land and instead rely on federal tax credits. He pointed out that Congress has already approved these tax credits and that good news for the industry was just announced: the tax credits will be available through the end of 2030. From this perspective, Mandloi believes the sector seems less risky. He acknowledged the risk from tariffs, but also believes that higher demand will be a greater catalyst.
However, the sector has faced tariffs since 2012. These tariffs could shake up investors and question their impact, especially on solar, which is a sector known for its thin margins. This suggests that tariffs on components would increase costs for an industry that already operates on thin margins. But Mandloi stated that the new tariffs on wind are a new development, and the outcome remains to be seen. On the solar side, Mandloi explained that solar models are already three times more expensive in the US than in the rest of the world due to existing tariffs. This has led to a lot of manufacturing moving to the US. He expressed a preference for investing in stocks of companies with a domestic manufacturing footprint in the solar industry.
That being said, we’re here with a list of the 7 best performing solar stocks to buy now.
Our Methodology
We used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of the 7 best-performing S&P 500 stocks with the highest year-to-date performance (more than 10%), as of September 3. We narrowed down our selection to stocks with the most hedge fund ownership. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their year-to-date performance. We’ve also added the hedge fund sentiment for each stock, as of Q2 2025.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
7 Best Performing Solar Stocks To Buy Now
7. FTC Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FTCI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 1
Year-to-Date Performance as of September 3: 11.43%
FTC Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FTCI) is one of the best performing solar stocks to buy now. On August 26, FTC Solar announced a new agreement with Levona Renewables to supply trackers and software for a one-gigawatt portfolio of solar projects. Shipments are set to begin in early 2026. The partnership will use FTC Solar’s Pioneer 1P trackers and its SunPath software to optimize energy yield through terrain-based backtracking and diffuse light optimization.
The first project under this agreement is “CT Solar One,” which is a 140-megawatt utility-scale solar facility in Snyder, Texas. The project is being developed on 478 acres within a much larger 27,000-acre site. Construction for this initial phase is scheduled to begin in early 2026. Following this, two more projects, “CT Solar Two” and “CT Solar Three,” will add another 650 megawatts to the overall site development. The flagship development for Levona Renewables is this 1.6 GW site in Snyder, Texas.
Levona Renewables is a consulting and engineering firm with headquarters in Plano, Texas, and a branch in Brazil. According to Fernando Queiroz, Levona’s CEO, the FTC team has provided significant value by optimizing the site for location, layout, row efficiency, and energy yield, which has also helped to avoid civil costs.
FTC Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FTCI) engages in the manufacture and service of solar tracker systems in the US, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, and Australia.
6. Shoals Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SHLS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Year-to-Date Performance as of September 3: 21.52%
Shoals Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SHLS) is one of the best performing solar stocks to buy now. On August 21, Shoals Technologies Group announced the appointment of Aaron Zadeh as its new Country Manager for the Pacific region. In this role, he will be responsible for Shoals Technologies Group’s business in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands to accelerate solar growth.
Aaron Zadeh brings over 2 decades of experience in the energy sector, specifically in solar and energy storage. He has a background in driving strategic growth and managing large-scale projects across various global markets, including Australia, Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific.
Before joining Shoals, Zadeh held senior positions at companies such as Array Technologies, FIMER, ABB, and AGL. His prior work includes establishing local manufacturing for Array trackers and developing FIMER & ABB’s inverter & medium-voltage skid integration center. Aaron holds an engineering degree in Materials Science and Solar Power, along with a Master of Business Management from the University of New South Wales.
Shoals Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SHLS) provides electrical balance of system/EBOS solutions and components in the US and internationally.
