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Research · S&P 500 · Information Technology

FSLR · First Solar

The numbers, the scorecard and what analysts say, with the source for each. Information, not advice.

Price · last 3 months · daily close

FSLR price

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Daily closing prices via yfinance. Quotes are delayed. Past prices are not a guarantee of future results.

Value Scorecard · run 2026-10-18

13 value checks: 12 scored 1 to 5, plus moat evidence

52/60
high value score

Earnings & returns

EPS Trend

5/5

Diluted EPS: -$0.41 (2022), $7.74 (2023), $12.02 (2024), $14.21 (2025). It rose every year; the framework scores that as 5.

ROE Trend

3/5

ROE (net income / common equity): -0.8% (2022), 12.4% (2023), 16.2% (2024), 16.0% (2025). Median 14.2%, lowest -0.8%; the framework scores a median 10-15% as 3.

ROIC

3/5

ROIC of 14.4%: operating income of $1.60B divided by $11.07B of capital (total assets $13.32B minus current liabilities $2.25B), fiscal year to Dec 31, 2025, as filed in the 10-K (SEC EDGAR). The framework scores 10-15% as 3.

Profit Margins

5/5

Net margin of 32.5%; the framework scores above 20% as 5; gross margin 44.0%, operating margin 42.6%.

Balance sheet & cash

Debt-to-Equity

5/5

Net cash: total debt $194.01M, total cash $1.73B. The framework scores a net cash position as 5.

Free Cash Flow

4/5

Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditure): -$30.24M (2022), -$784.51M (2023), -$308.08M (2024), $1.19B (2025). It rose every year but one and ended above 2022; the framework scores that as 4.

Retained Earnings

5/5

Retained earnings, as filed in the 10-Ks (SEC EDGAR): $3.14B (2022), $3.97B (2023), $5.26B (2024), $6.79B (2025). It rose every year; the framework scores that as 5.

Valuation models

Graham IV

5/5

IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y) = $16.22 x (8.5 + 2 x 20.0) x (4.4 / 4.5) = $769.19 (EPS CAGR 35.5% capped at 20%). Current price $172.64; price is 77.6% below the model value.

DCF Value

5/5

FCF/share = $14.876, stage 1 growth = 20.0% (revenue CAGR 25.4% capped at 20%) for 5 years, terminal growth = 3%, discount rate = 10%. Stage 1 PV = $97.30, PV of terminal value = $338.19, DCF value = $435.48. Current price $172.64; price is 60.4% below the model value.

Margin of Safety

5/5

Graham value $769.19 (price is 77.6% below the model value); DCF value $435.48 (price is 60.4% below the model value).

Price-to-Book

3/5

P/B of 1.80; the framework scores 1.5-3.0 as 3.

Business quality

Moat Evidence

Not scored

A moat (a brand, a network, switching costs, patents, scale, a licence) is not a number in the filings, so Valerius doesn’t score it. Below are the figures and the words moat analysis starts from, from the company’s own 10-K filings. The conclusion is yours.

Return on capital, each year

Above 15% in 0 of 10 years (2016-2025); lowest -9.6%, highest 14.4%.

2016: -9.6%, 2017: 2.9%, 2018: 0.6%, 2019: -2.6%, 2020: 5.1%, 2021: 8.8%, 2022: -0.4%, 2023: 9.5%, 2024: 13.9%, 2025: 14.4%

Gross margin, each year

Between 2.7% and 44.2% over 10 years (a range of 41.5 points).

2016: 22.0%, 2017: 18.7%, 2018: 17.5%, 2019: 17.9%, 2020: 25.1%, 2021: 25.0%, 2022: 2.7%, 2023: 39.2%, 2024: 44.2%, 2025: 40.6%

Competition, in the company’s own words · 10-K filed Feb 24, 2026

The solar energy and renewable energy sectors are highly competitive and continually evolving as participants in these sectors strive to distinguish themselves within their markets and compete within the larger electric power industry. Among PV solar module manufacturers, the principal method of competition is sales price per watt, which may be influenced by several module value attributes, including wattage

The opening of the company’s “Competition” section in its 10-K, quoted word for word, not summarized or edited. It is the company’s own description, not Valerius’s view, and may include the company’s expectations. Open the filing.

Return on capital = operating income / (total assets − current liabilities), the ROIC row’s definition; 15% is the framework’s return threshold. Gross margin = gross profit / revenue. Both from each year’s 10-K via SEC EDGAR. Moat analysis commonly looks at whether returns and margins held up over many years. These figures don’t say whether the company has an advantage, what it is, or whether it will last.

Capital Allocation

4/5

Capital allocation, 2022-2025: dividends or buybacks paid in 0 of 4 years (fail); $0 paid out against $64.40M of free cash flow (pass); total debt $234.13M to $655.34M, up 179.9%, 0.3x EBITDA (pass: at most 2x EBITDA); shares outstanding 0.11B to 0.11B, up 0.7% (pass). 3 of 4 tests passed; the framework scores that as 4.

Filings

Company notices to the SEC

Not scored

Three kinds of event the company reported to the SEC in the last 5 years, from its filings on SEC EDGAR.

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These are events the company reported to the SEC. An auditor change or a late filing can have many causes; each date links to the filing, where the company explains it. Valerius does not score these.

How the Graham and DCF values were calculated
  Graham Formula:
    IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y)
    EPS = $16.22, g = 20.0%, Y = 4.5
    g capped at 20.0% (3-year EPS CAGR was 35.5%)
    IV = $769.19
    Current price $172.64 vs Graham value $769.19 — price is 77.6% below the model value.

  DCF:
    FCF/share = $14.876
    Stage 1 growth = 20.0% for 5 years | terminal growth = 3.0% | discount rate = 10.0%
    Stage 1 g capped at 20.0% (3-year revenue CAGR was 25.4%)
      Y1: $17.851 → PV $16.228
      Y2: $21.421 → PV $17.703
      Y3: $25.705 → PV $19.313
      Y4: $30.846 → PV $21.068
      Y5: $37.015 → PV $22.984
    Stage 1 PV sum = $97.30
    Terminal value at end of Y5 = $544.66
    PV of terminal value = $338.19
    DCF value = $435.48
    Current price $172.64 vs DCF value $435.48 — price is 60.4% below the model value.

Data from yfinance summary figures and financial statements, and from the company’s 10-K filings via SEC EDGAR; computed at a price of $172.64. Every score is calculated from the figures by the framework’s fixed rules, and the explanation beside it is generated from the same figures: Graham value, DCF value, margin of safety, ROIC, profit margins, debt-to-equity, price-to-book, EPS trend, ROE trend, free cash flow, retained earnings and capital allocation. No AI is involved in this scorecard. The moat is shown as evidence, without a score. Read each score with the figures beside it. Intrinsic value calculations are model outputs based on stated assumptions, not predictions.

Recent headlines · third-party publishers · not investment advice

In the news

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The 8 newest headlines whose title names the company, shown automatically and never chosen by Valerius. From third-party publishers via Yahoo Finance, linked to the source. Valerius doesn't write or endorse them. Not investment advice.