Sometimes, it's not about what you just did, but what you say you're going to do next. That's the lesson for Array Technologies, Inc. (ARRY) investors after the solar tracker maker's stock took a 24% nosedive in extended trading Wednesday.

The company reported its fourth-quarter numbers, and on the surface, they were... fine? The company posted a loss of one cent per share, which was exactly what analysts expected. Revenue came in at $226.04 million, which actually beat the Street's estimate of $212.02 million.

So why the panic? Two reasons. First, that revenue number, while a beat, was down from $275.23 million in the same quarter last year. Beating a low bar is one thing; growing is another.

Second, and more importantly, the guidance. For the full fiscal year 2026, Array expects adjusted earnings per share between 65 and 75 cents. Analysts were looking for 86 cents. On revenue, the company guided to a range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion, versus an estimate of $1.46 billion. So the high end of their revenue range just meets the average estimate, while their profit outlook falls meaningfully short.

In the earnings release, CEO Kevin Hostetler struck an optimistic tone. "ARRAY closed out an exceptional year in which we further demonstrated the resilience and agility of our business," he said. "Our $2.2 billion record orderbook reflects the focused investment we have made in strengthening our commercial organization, enhancing customer engagement, and advancing our product portfolio and technical sales capabilities."

That's a CEO pointing to a strong backlog as evidence the future is bright. The market, looking at the guidance numbers, seems to be saying, "Prove it."

By the end of after-hours trading, the stock had fallen 24.18% to $8.34. It's a classic case of the market punishing not the past, but the promised future that doesn't look quite as good as hoped.