First Solar (FSLR)
On the sourced peer set the numbers look extremely cheap: forward P/E 8.14x against a peer median of 19.42x, a ratio of 0.42x, trailing P/E 10.58x and a PEG ratio of 0.48. That comparison is not economically clean, however — GICS classifies First Solar under Semiconductors, so the peer set is chip companies, while First Solar is economically a solar-module maker, and its own latest-quarter revenue fell -3.7% year over year (PRIMARY/EDGAR) while the semiconductor cluster median rose +36.5%. A very low forward P/E on earnings that may be at a high point, with revenue already shrinking, is the low-P/E trap rather than proof of undervaluation, so the label is capped at FAIRLY PRICED. Delivered demand check: the Semiconductors cluster's median revenue growth was +36.5% year over year — demand rising in that cluster, which First Solar is not currently matching.
What would change this label: Move to UNDERVALUED if revenue growth returns above +10% year over year while the forward P/E stays at or below about 8x, showing the low multiple is not being applied to fading earnings. Move to OVERVALUED if revenue declines deepen below -10% year over year while the forward P/E rises above about 12x, or if forward earnings estimates are cut enough to push the forward P/E above about 17.5x (0.90x the current peer median).
First Solar makes solar panels, even though it is officially grouped with computer-chip companies, which makes comparisons with its listed 'rivals' misleading. Its shares look very cheap — about 8 times expected profits — but its sales actually fell about 4% over the past year, so the low price may simply reflect profits that are at a high point and could fall. On the evidence available, the price looks about fair rather than a clear bargain.
Both lines start at 100 on 2020-09-01. Over the full window First Solar returned +124.24% and the S&P 500 +118.28% (price returns; dividends not reinvested). Worst peak-to-trough fall for First Solar: -60.0% (2024-06-12 to 2025-04-08). Source: Nasdaq official daily history.
What the label rests on
On the sourced peer set the numbers look extremely cheap: forward P/E 8.14x against a peer median of 19.42x, a ratio of 0.42x, trailing P/E 10.58x and a PEG ratio of 0.48. That comparison is not economically clean, however — GICS classifies First Solar under Semiconductors, so the peer set is chip companies, while First Solar is economically a solar-module maker, and its own latest-quarter revenue fell -3.7% year over year (PRIMARY/EDGAR) while the semiconductor cluster median rose +36.5%. A very low forward P/E on earnings that may be at a high point, with revenue already shrinking, is the low-P/E trap rather than proof of undervaluation, so the label is capped at FAIRLY PRICED. Delivered demand check: the Semiconductors cluster's median revenue growth was +36.5% year over year — demand rising in that cluster, which First Solar is not currently matching. The company’s forward P/E is 8.1× against a peer median of 19.4×. Its own history: UNVERIFIED — no sourced range available. Sector demand read: Delivered demand check: the Semiconductors group's median latest-quarter revenue growth was +36.5% year over year (SEC filings) — demand rising. Latest-quarter sales growth was -3.7% versus a year earlier (SEC filings).
| Company | Price (Oct 28, 2026) | Forward P/E | Trailing P/E |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Solar (FSLR) | $171.62 | 8.1× | 10.6× |
| SWKS | $86.38 | 15.6× | 44.6× |
| ON | $75.70 | 19.4× | 48.5× |
| MCHP | $78.48 | 20.1× | 115.7× |
| MPWR | $1,211.89 | 37.5× | 73.9× |
| NXPI | $253.50 | 14.4× | 19.9× |
| Peer median | 19.4× |
Multiples: stockanalysis.com (SECONDARY, S&P Global data), fetched Oct 28, 2026. Peer set chosen by sector; the median is the middle value of the set. The label and its numbers were recorded in the programme’s label registry on Oct 28, 2026 and will be scored at 6 and 12 months.
Sales, profit and cash
Gross margin = gross profit divided by sales, from SEC filings.
Free cash flow = cash from operations minus spending on plant and equipment, both from the company’s SEC cash-flow statement. Gaps are quarters where that spending line is not separately tagged in the filings — shown as gaps, never estimated.
| Quarter | Sales | Gross margin | Net income | EPS (GAAP, diluted) | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q/E Jun 2026 2026-06-30 | $1.1B | 57.3% | $423M | 3.92 | $-306M |
| Q/E Mar 2026 2026-03-31 | $1.0B | 46.5% | $347M | 3.22 | $-333M |
| Q/E Dec 2025 2025-12-31 | $1.7B | 39.5% | $521M | — | $1.1B |
| Q/E Sep 2025 2025-09-30 | $1.6B | 38.3% | $456M | 4.24 | $1.1B |
| Q/E Jun 2025 2025-06-30 | $1.1B | 45.6% | $342M | 3.18 | $-139M |
| Q/E Mar 2025 2025-03-31 | $845M | 40.8% | $210M | 1.95 | $-814M |
| Q/E Dec 2024 2024-12-31 | $1.5B | 37.5% | $393M | — | $497M |
| Q/E Sep 2024 2024-09-30 | $888M | 50.2% | $313M | 2.91 | $-488M |
| Q/E Jun 2024 2024-06-30 | $1.0B | 49.4% | $349M | 3.25 | $-172M |
| Q/E Mar 2024 2024-03-31 | $794M | 43.6% | $237M | 2.20 | $-146M |
| Q/E Dec 2023 2023-12-31 | $1.2B | 43.3% | $349M | — | $214M |
| Q/E Sep 2023 2023-09-30 | $801M | 47.0% | $268M | 2.50 | $-121M |
The last twelve reported quarters. Full 24-quarter history sits in the data pack behind this page. A dash means the figure is not tagged as a standalone quarter in the company’s SEC facts (the usual case is the fourth quarter, which many companies only report inside the full-year filing) — it is missing, not zero.
Earnings: getting better or worse?
Each box is one quarter’s earnings per share (EPS). Green means EPS was higher than the same quarter a year earlier; red means lower; a dash means the figure is not tagged in the filings.
Basis: GAAP diluted EPS from SEC company facts, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
Key facts
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Company (legal name in filings) | FIRST SOLAR, INC. |
| Chief executive | Mark Widmar (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Solar) |
| Sector | Technology — Semiconductors — sells thin-film solar modules for large-scale power generation (GICS classifies it with semiconductors) |
| Share price (Oct 28, 2026) | $171.62 |
| Market value (market cap) | $18.9B — share price times shares outstanding of 107,469,788 (SEC filings; SEC EDGAR dei EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding (latest)) |
| Sales, last twelve months | $5.4B |
| Net income, last twelve months | $1.7B |
| Free cash flow, last twelve months | $1.5B |
| Latest reported quarter | Q/E Jun 2026 (of 24 quarters in the data pack) |
| Six-year price return vs S&P 500 | +124.24% vs +118.28% |
| Worst peak-to-trough fall | -60.0% (2024-06-12 to 2025-04-08) |
What we could not verify
- TTM GAAP diluted EPS could not be summed from company facts because at least one of the last four quarters (typically Q4) has no standalone tagged EPS; trailing P/E is therefore taken from the labelled secondary source in valuation_label.md.
- Own-history P/E range not yet compiled for this company in the Phase 1 batch run; the label rests on peer-median, growth and PEG evidence.
- Peer mismatch: GICS classifies First Solar under Semiconductors, so the brief's peer set (SWKS, ON, MCHP, MPWR, NXPI) is chip companies; economically First Solar is a solar-module maker, so the peer median of 19.42x is the sourced classification benchmark, not a like-for-like solar benchmark, and no solar peer multiples are in the brief.
- Guidance record (each quarter scored against the guidance the company gave the quarter before) is not yet compiled for this company — it is a Phase 2 layer. The earnings strip below therefore uses reported EPS versus a year earlier, which is fully sourced from filings.
The IT factor — the most exciting thing the market is overlooking — is not assessed on an X-Ray page. It belongs to the Deep Dive (Phase 2), where it gets the evidence standard it needs. Leadership-era scoring (the six years split by chief executive) is likewise a Phase 2 layer; this page names the current chief executive only, from a sourced profile.
Sources
- SEC EDGAR submissions — Filing index; company legal name.
https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0001274494.json - SEC EDGAR company facts — Quarterly financial spine: revenue, gross profit, net income, GAAP diluted EPS, operating cash flow, PP&E capex, buybacks, dividends, diluted shares.
https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001274494.json - Nasdaq official daily history — Daily closes for the company; SPY (assetclass=etf) saved as raw/nasdaq_spy_raw.json over identical dates.
https://api.nasdaq.com/api/quote/FSLR/historical?assetclass=stocks - Valuation multiples and peer figures — stockanalysis.com (SECONDARY, S&P Global data), fetched Oct 28, 2026; see valuation_label.md in the data pack.
Conventions: earliest-filed value per period, as first reported; cash-flow years-to-date differenced quarter by quarter; EPS never differenced; free cash flow = operating cash flow minus plant-and-equipment spending. This page is a dated snapshot — updates are new versions, never silent edits.