First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.02 EPS

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $1.02, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from First Solar’s conference call:

• Record quarterly performance: First Solar reported more than $1 billion in Q2 sales, approximately 57% gross margin, $423 million in net income, and $644 million in adjusted EBITDA, while cumulative module sales surpassed 100 gigawatts.
• Contracted backlog stood at 45.1 gigawatts worth $13.6 billion, with deliveries extending through 2030; the company also added approximately 1.9 gigawatts of U.S. bookings at about $0.36 per watt and cited strong demand from hyperscaler-related projects.
• First Solar reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance and said its South Carolina finishing facility remains on track to begin production in the second half of 2026. CuRe technology is outperforming expectations, with its broader deployment expected to support efficiency, customer value, and margins.
• Trade-policy uncertainty remains a key risk. The company is awaiting decisions on the Section 232 polysilicon and derivatives investigation, FEOC rules, and other tariffs before determining the long-term use of approximately 1.8 gigawatts of Southeast Asian capacity, which is currently generating about $30 million per quarter in underutilization costs.
• First Solar continues to face elevated input and logistics costs, including domestic freight that can approach international shipping economics; management described the commodity-cost environment as challenging despite ongoing efforts to improve throughput, automation, and product efficiency.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock traded up $5.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $211.03. The stock had a trading volume of 3,423,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,688,533. First Solar has a 52 week low of $171.99 and a 52 week high of $320.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.73.

First Solar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Profit and margins exceeded expectations. First Solar reported second-quarter EPS of $3.92, well above the $2.99 analyst consensus and up from $3.18 a year earlier. Gross margin expanded to approximately 57%, while adjusted EBITDA rose to $644 million from $560 million. First Solar’s Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Decrease Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Strong long-term demand visibility supported the bullish reaction. Management highlighted a record backlog, 45.1 gigawatts of contracted sales at quarter-end, domestic manufacturing expansion, technology investments and policy-driven opportunities extending through 2030. The company also cited a cumulative production milestone above 100 GW. FSLR Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Domestic Solar Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintained bullish ratings. Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $310 price target, while Needham maintained Buy with a $303 target, citing attractive valuation, demand momentum and potential support from Section 232 tariffs. First Solar: Strong Q2 Beat and Solid Demand Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year guidance was reaffirmed. First Solar maintained 2026 net sales guidance of $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion, broadly in line with expectations. However, the midpoint is slightly below consensus, limiting the upside from the earnings beat. First Solar Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined year over year. Sales fell about 4% to $1.06 billion, primarily because customer contract cancellations offset higher third-party module sales. The company is also navigating Section 232 tariff uncertainty and rising input costs. First Solar Sales Fall on Contract Cancellations
• Negative Sentiment: Securities litigation remains an overhang. Multiple law firms publicized a shareholder class action concerning alleged misrepresentations about tariffs and production challenges, with an August 24, 2026 lead-plaintiff deadline. These notices may pressure sentiment, although they do not represent a court finding of wrongdoing. Kaplan Fox First Solar Shareholder Notice

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $229.00 target price (down from $249.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.86.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $90,564.60. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 10,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,349,504.48. The trade was a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,893 shares of company stock worth $7,893,775. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $578,791,000 after buying an additional 189,626 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in First Solar by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,427,105 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $372,803,000 after buying an additional 100,908 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in First Solar by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,386,880 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $362,295,000 after acquiring an additional 37,349 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP grew its position in First Solar by 111.8% in the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 420,700 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $92,777,000 after acquiring an additional 222,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.