CoVolt Power IPO Preview: Solar and Substation EPC Contractor Files for NYSE Listing
Noble Solar + Storage project in Denton County, Texas. Project photograph: CoVolt Power. Cover design: GSR.
CoVolt Power, Inc. has filed to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed ticker KVLT. Its operating business, known as Signal Energy before the offering-related rebrand, was founded in 2005 and builds utility-scale solar plants, battery energy storage systems and high-voltage transmission and distribution infrastructure.
At June 30, 2026, backlog was USD 3.6 billion, up 410% from a year earlier. At that date, only USD 565 million was Signed Backlog; the filing classified USD 3 billion as Awarded Backlog supported by written awards or LNTP work but not full EPC contracts. H1 2026 revenue fell 31.7% to USD 308.3 million as project mobilizations slowed and some customers delayed starts amid tax-credit and tariff uncertainty. The preliminary prospectus does not yet disclose the share count or price range.1
Key Points
- CoVolt Power’s operating business, formerly known as Signal Energy, builds utility-scale solar, battery storage and high-voltage substations. Since 2005, the operating business has built more than 7.3 GWac of generation.
- FY2025 revenue rose 67% to USD 739.4 million and net income reached USD 60.6 million, reversing a USD 9.0 million loss in FY2024. First-half 2026 revenue fell 32% on delayed project starts.
- Backlog stood at USD 3.6 billion at June 30, 2026, up 410% year on year. At that date, only USD 565 million was signed contract value; USD 3 billion was awarded work awaiting definitive EPC agreements.
- The preliminary prospectus identifies four greater-than-5% beneficial-owner groups affiliated with Davidson Kempner, Man Group’s Bardin Hill funds, Avenue Capital and Eyre Street Capital, but leaves their stakes blank. Continuing Equity Owners collectively are expected to retain a majority of the vote after the offering.
- Proposed NYSE listing under KVLT, led by J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, RBC Capital Markets and UBS. Price range and share count are not yet disclosed.
Company overview
The operating business was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The IPO registrant, CoVolt Power, Inc., was incorporated in Texas on April 22, 2026. After the offering it will hold an interest in CoVolt Holdings Group, LLC, which conducts operations through two material subsidiaries: Signal Energy, LLC for solar and battery-storage EPC work, and Applied High Voltage, LLC for high-voltage T&D work.
Solar Power World ranks the operating business among the top ten utility-scale solar builders by installations from 2015 to 2025. Its record covers more than 7.3 GWac of generation and nearly 1.7 GWh of battery storage, and since 2021 it has completed projects for 14 of the 20 largest solar independent power producers in the United States. The workforce at June 30, 2026 was about 345 professional staff and 757 trade and craft employees.
Business model
Projects typically run for 12 to 18 months. Customers fund early engineering, site investigation and long-lead equipment through limited notice to proceed (LNTP) agreements before a lump-sum EPC contract is signed, followed by monthly progress payments during construction. Management says this payment structure is designed to reduce working-capital requirements, although the risk section warns that timing gaps between project spending and customer payments can still create significant funding needs. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2026, operating cash flow was USD 91.8 million and capital expenditure was USD 0.9 million.
Customers are project developers, independent power producers, utilities, industrial facilities and data center operators, and the revenue base is narrow. The top ten customers produced about 96% of FY2025 revenue, and in the first half of 2026 the largest single customer accounted for roughly 45%. Contracts are awarded project by project. Many EPC contracts contain termination-for-convenience clauses allowing customers to terminate on three to ten business days’ notice.
Backlog at June 30, 2026 was 85% generation, 13% T&D and 2% standalone battery storage. At that date, about USD 225 million, or 6% of the total, was substation work for data center customers. Named competitors include Kiewit, MasTec, Primoris Services, Quanta Services and SOLV Energy.
| Backlog component | June 30, 2026 | December 31, 2025 | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signed backlog | USD 565 million | USD 590 million | Executed EPC contracts plus authorized LNTP scope with enforceable rights to payment |
| Awarded backlog | USD 3.0 billion | USD 1.0 billion | Written award letters or LNTP projects where the full EPC contract is not yet executed; customers are not obligated to proceed |
| Total backlog | USD 3,614 million | USD 1,684 million | Non-GAAP measure; up 410% from USD 709 million at June 30, 2025. The S-1 rounds awarded backlog to the nearest billion, so the components above do not sum to these totals |
Financial performance
FY2025 revenue grew 67% to USD 739.4 million. In FY2025, gross margin increased to 13.8% from 7.1%, which the company attributes to improved field productivity and project execution, and net income of USD 60.6 million replaced a USD 9.0 million loss.
H1 2026 revenue fell 31.7% to USD 308.3 million as fewer projects mobilized than a year earlier. The filing says OBBBA tax-credit uncertainty and tariff uncertainty caused some customers to delay project starts. In H1 2026, gross margin increased to 17.6% from 13.6%, primarily because of favorable execution on projects nearing completion, while net income declined 18.2% to USD 35.4 million. At June 30, 2026, cash was USD 119.2 million, no revolving borrowings were outstanding, USD 4.7 million of letters of credit were outstanding and USD 55.3 million remained available under the revolver.
| Metric (USD) | FY2025 | FY2024 | Change | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 739.4m | 442.7m | +67.0% | 308.3m | 451.4m | -31.7% |
| Gross profit | 102.3m | 31.6m | +223.9% | 54.1m | 61.5m | -12.0% |
| Gross margin | 13.8% | 7.1% | +6.7 pts | 17.6% | 13.6% | +4.0 pts |
| Operating income (loss) | 59.7m | (6.9m) | n/m | 34.9m | 42.7m | -18.3% |
| Net income (loss) | 60.6m | (9.0m) | n/m | 35.4m | 43.2m | -18.2% |
| Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) | 80.5m | 17.0m | +373.5% | 42.3m | 53.2m | -20.5% |
| Free cash flow (non-GAAP) | 77.8m | 72.0m | +8.0% | 5.5m | (7.6m) | n/m |
IPO details
Share count, price range and the split between company and selling-shareholder stock are blank in the preliminary prospectus. CoVolt Power plans to use part of the net proceeds to buy Common Units from certain Continuing Equity Owners and the remainder to buy newly issued Common Units from CoVolt Holdings. CoVolt Holdings plans to use its proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditure.
The listing uses an umbrella partnership C-corporation (Up-C) structure. CoVolt Power, Inc. will be a holding company whose only material asset is its stake in CoVolt Holdings Group, LLC. Existing owners keep partnership units and vote through non-economic Class B shares. The Tax Receivable Agreement will require payments to the TRA Holders based on an as-yet-undisclosed percentage of qualifying tax benefits. The company will be a controlled company under NYSE rules and an emerging growth company, and says it has no current plans to pay dividends.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Expected ticker | KVLT |
| Exchange | NYSE |
| Security | Class A common stock, one vote per share |
| Shares offered | Not yet disclosed (company and selling shareholders) |
| Price range | Not yet disclosed |
| Structure | Up-C; controlled company; emerging growth company |
| Use of proceeds | Purchase of Common Units from certain Continuing Equity Owners; remaining proceeds purchase newly issued Common Units from CoVolt Holdings, which plans to use its proceeds for general corporate purposes |
| Lead underwriters | J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, RBC Capital Markets, UBS Investment Bank |
| Co-managers | KeyBanc Capital Markets, Wolfe | Nomura Alliance, Baird, Needham & Company, Roth Capital Partners |
| S-1 filed | August 21, 2026 |
Ownership and funding
The preliminary prospectus identifies four greater-than-5% beneficial-owner groups: entities affiliated with Davidson Kempner Capital Management; Bardin Hill funds managed by Man Group; ASSF Holdings, managed through Eyre Street Capital; and Avenue MIC Power Opportunities Master Fund, an Avenue Capital affiliate. The share and percentage columns are blank.
Directors include Matthew Kimble of Avenue Capital, Louis Littman of Davidson Kempner and Sean Coleman of Eyre Street Capital. Chief executive Robert Tabb joined as CFO in 2021 and became CEO in October 2024. After the offering, Continuing Equity Owners collectively are expected to hold all Class B shares and a majority of the vote. The transaction provides liquidity to certain Continuing Equity Owners through unit purchases and to selling shareholders through direct share sales.
Key risks
Tax credit sunset. The OBBBA, signed July 4, 2025, put the Section 45Y and 48E credits for solar and wind on an accelerated termination schedule. Projects must begin construction by July 4, 2026 or be placed in service by December 31, 2027 to qualify. For most utility-scale projects, IRS Notice 2025-42 removed the five-percent-cost route for establishing the start of construction and instead requires physical work of a significant nature. The filing says these changes could reduce investment in US utility-scale solar projects and demand for CoVolt’s EPC services.
Awarded backlog is not contracted revenue. At June 30, 2026, USD 3 billion of the USD 3.6 billion backlog rested on award letters or LNTP agreements without an executed full EPC contract, and customers were under no obligation to proceed. Even executed contracts can be terminated for convenience on a few days’ notice, generally with no recovery of lost profit on the unperformed work.
Customer concentration. One customer generated about 45% of H1 2026 revenue and the top ten accounted for 96% of FY2025 sales. There are no long-term volume commitments.
Lump-sum execution. Fixed-price contracts expose the contractor to weather, site conditions, cost overruns and liquidated damages. The model also depends on retaining the craft workforce that self-performs most scopes; part of that workforce is unionized under project labor agreements including the National Tri-Trade Solar Agreement.