Trying to decide between two solar stocks

I am looking at 2 solar stocks and struggling to find a clear choice between them. They are **SHLS**, and **NXT**,. Solar panel production is heavily commoditized, fragmented, and there's only one decent choice that's publicly tradable imo (FSLR) so we won't discuss them here. Firstly lets go over some facts on why I think solar is a good investment. I don't need to tell you that electricity usage is increasing, but in addition the United States is [forecasted to continue to increase natural gas exports ](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67224)which means American power plants will be increasingly competing with international buyers for their largest fuel source. [Solar is the fastest growing electricity source by far ](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67005)with utility scale solar [beating small scale "rooftop" solar both in growth and size](https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/BTL/2023/09-smallscalesolar/article.php). Now lets compare the two companies. **Shoals Technologies** is a company that makes solar eBOS (electrical balance of system) solutions and combiner boxes for large scale solar projects. These are like the "nervous system" of the plant as they connect solar panels together and link them to the inverters. Their parts are pre-fabricated and plug and play which limits the amount of work and re-work that needs to be done by specialized technicians on-site. Their solutions eliminate 75% of wire-runs and the need for trenching and mean that most install labor can be done by general laborers rather than electricians. As for their numbers. They are doing alright ([Finviz link](https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=SHLS&p=d)). Gross margin and profit margin are 33% and 7% respectively. They have a low forward PE and pretty high expected growth, but what worries me is their low ROIC. They are also planning on using their products for data center installs as well, although their success in that is yet to be seen. |P/E|**34.37**| |:-|:-| |Forward P/E|**13.42**| |PEG|**0.63**| |ROA|**3.89%**| |:-|:-| |ROE|**5.80%**| |ROIC|**4.33%**| |Gross Margin|**33.01%**| |Oper. Margin|**11.86%**| |Profit Margin|**7.06%**| The second company I am looking at is **NXT**. **Nextpower**; formerly Nextracker is a company that focuses on solar trackers. While trackers used to be economically troublesome, they are [now featured in over 99% of new utility scale solar projects](https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/99-of-new-us-solar-projects-use-single-axis-trackers-report-10589804). Nextpower is [the world leader ](https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/06/11/global-shipments-of-solar-trackers-rise-20-u-s-slips-in-market-share/)in solar trackers. Their numbers are excellent however their valuation unfortunately reflects that. The company has high margins, high ROIC, high historical growth and next to zero debt. Their expected growth represented in their PEG and EPS growth predictions is low, but I honestly can't see why that would be the case. They have also moved beyond just making trackers and started to dip their toes into making eBOS systems, panel frames, and basically everything, but the panels themselves which was the purpose of their name change. I am not an electrical engineer so I don't know how the eBOS solutions of these two companies compare, but it is concerning for Shoals. They are also very close to the valuation that would make them considered for S&P500 inclusion which is also a potential catalyst. |P/E|**29.77**| |:-|:-| |Forward P/E|**24.77**| |PEG|**2.85**| |ROA|**17.46%**| |:-|:-| |ROE|**33.29%**| |ROIC|**26.97%**| |Gross Margin|**32.23%**| |Oper. Margin|**20.62%**| |Profit Margin|**16.43%**| ([finviz link](https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=NXT&ty=c&ta=1&p=d)) So what do you guys think? Do I look at the stronger, more diversified player, but somehow lower projected growth (which I know I can't take as gospel), or the smaller company focusing on their specialty with a more reasonable valuation?