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First Solar

FSLR
82
Solar · Energy
Also trades as: 0R06.L GBP 1.74 (-1.91%) · FSLR.SW CHF 153.40 (+144.00%)
Price
$172.64
-6.17 (-3.45%)
Market Cap
$18.55B
Exchange
NASDAQ
Winston Score
82
Winston is happy
A high-quality business with solid fundamentals.
Data as of Oct 18, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

§How the score breaks down

Quality
Strong
25/30
Growth
Exceptional
17/20
Cash Flow
Exceptional
10/10
Stability
Exceptional
10/10
Valuation
Strong
8/10
Ownership
Good
8/15
Dividends
Not counted
n/a

78 of 95 counted points = Winston Score 82. Pillars marked n/a do not apply to this company and are left out of the total.

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§Winston Score History

The full picture

First Solar makes solar panels and sells them to utility companies, power plant developers, and governments. Its main product is thin-film solar modules, which use a material called cadmium telluride instead of the silicon used by most competitors. First Solar is one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the United States and is the only major American company making thin-film panels at commercial scale.

First Solar earns money by selling its solar modules and by developing and selling large solar power projects. It operates manufacturing plants in the US, Malaysia, and Vietnam, giving it a global production footprint. Its American manufacturing base is a competitive advantage because US-made panels qualify for incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, which has boosted demand. The key risk is that those policy incentives could be reduced or repealed, which would make First Solar's panels more expensive relative to cheaper imports from overseas competitors, particularly Chinese manufacturers.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-3.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+23.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

R&D Spend

$233M/ year

↑ Rising (+22% vs prior year)

4.5% of revenue

4.5x the sector average (1%)

R&D investment increasing — building for the future

Insider Activity

5.4%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~17 months

$1.7B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Adequate runway but may need to raise capital within 2 years

Revenue declining

First Solar's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

+0.6% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 106.9M (2021) → 107.5M (2025)

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
57.3%
Premium pricing power — 57.3% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
42.6%
Excellent — 42.6% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
17.9%
Strong — 17.9% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+23.8%
Fast-growing sales (+23.8% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+38.5%
Earnings growing fast (+38.5% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
123%
Turns 123% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
27.9%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (27.9%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.00
Conservative — low debt load (0.00)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
67.52x
Comfortably covers interest (67.5x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
10.6x
Attractive valuation — P/E 10.6

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+4.6
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (10.6 → 6.0)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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