Fact based stock research
First Solar (NasdaqGS:FSLR)

US3364331070

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

First Solar stock research in summary

firstsolar.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 92 (better than 92% compared with investment alternatives), First Solar (Semiconductors, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of First Solar are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 65 (better than 65% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 93, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 45). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 92, is a strong buy recommendation based on First Solar's financial characteristics. As the company First Solar's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 65) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 45) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 93), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 65% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	65
Growth Rank	45
Safety Rank	93
Combined Rank	92

Country	USA
Industry	Semiconductors
Index	Energy Efficient, Human Rights, Low Waste, Recycling, Solar Tech, NASDAQ, S&P MIDCAP
Size class	Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

31-Jul-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: First Solar

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	51	61	69	65
GROWTH
GROWTH	7	81	75	45
SAFETY
SAFETY	88	43	82	93
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	1	67	76	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	11	77	92	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 31-Jul-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Mar-2025. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better First Solar is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	51	61	69	65
GROWTH
GROWTH	7	81	75	45
SAFETY
SAFETY	88	43	82	93
COMBINED
COMBINED	46	74	95	92

Last update of combined financial performance: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of First Solar the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 65 (better than 65% compared with alternatives), First Solar shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for First Solar. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 95 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 95% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning First Solar's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 75, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 75% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than for 60% of alternatives (only 40% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than for 99% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 65, is a buy recommendation based on First Solar's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high concerning expected revenues, the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting Group or BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than distribute it to shareholders through dividends, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	61	45	42	40
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	25	90	100	95
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	85	66	60	75
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	1	1	1
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	51	61	69	65

Last update of Value Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of First Solar; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 45 (better than 45% compared with alternatives), First Solar shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for First Solar. Sales Growth has a rank of 80, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 80% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a rank of 53 is also above average. But Capital Growth has only a rank of 16, and Stock Returns with 49 are also below-average. Stock returns for First Solar have recently been below 51% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 45, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Are investors forecasting troubles based on the lack of operating investment activity at the company? This could be one explanation as to why stock returns are low. But stock returns can also be the result of correcting an error in the past, in this case, an overly optimistic outlook on the future, which is now more realistic. The Value Ranks may confirm such a picture. The more important growth indicators are revenues and profits, which are both above average for First Solar. This is a positive sign from the company's operational side and may give investors courage, despite the poor recent stock price performance. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with the Obermatt Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	1	84	92	80
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	19	100	82	53
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	48	49	11	16
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	29	43	69	49
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	7	81	75	45

Last update of Growth Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of First Solar.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 93 (better than 93% compared with alternatives) for 2025, the company First Solar has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of First Solar is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for First Solar. Leverage is at a rank of 66, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 66% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 93, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 93% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 45, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 55% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 93 (better than 93% compared with alternatives), First Solar has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for First Solar. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with First Solar and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	74	76	68	66
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	77	47	43	45
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	67	9	90	93
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	88	43	82	93

Last update of Safety Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of First Solar and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	84	91	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	30	64	49	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	50	83	100	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	4	8	13	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	1	67	76	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for First Solar.
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