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FSLR — First Solar

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1. Industry Fundamentals

1.1 Cyclicality

The company operates in a cyclical industry sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. Revenue and earnings tend to correlate with broader economic cycles, with periods of expansion driving growth and contractions creating headwinds. The latest verified market price is shown in the return section below.78B.

1.2 Competition

The industry is highly competitive with low barriers to entry and significant rivalry among existing players. Beta of 1.69 reflects elevated volatility from competitive dynamics. Companies compete on pricing, innovation, and scale.

1.3 Technology

Key technology drivers include digital transformation, operational efficiency, automation. Companies that invest in R&D and adopt new technologies tend to gain market share. The pace of technological change creates both opportunities for innovation and risks of disruption.


2. Company Fundamentals

2.1 Competitiveness

MetricValue
Operating Margins33.07%
Profit Margins30.73%
Return on Equity18.44%
Return on Assets8.45%
Free Float0.1B
Short Int % Utilisation10.39%

2.2 Growth

MetricValue
Revenue Growth23.6%
Free Cash Flow1.15B
EBITDA10.98 (Ratio)
Enterprise Value24.95B
EV/Revenue4.6
EV/EBITDA10.98

Revenue growth of 23.6% places the company in a high-growth category.

2.3 Management

RoleMetric
Consensus RatingN/A

2.4 Return

MetricValue
Expected Return (Ann.)*30.88%
Risk / Std Dev (Ann.)*54.49%
1-Year Price Return*12.81%

Latest Market Data (as of 2026-08-14, US Eastern time):

MetricValue
Last Price$225.56
52-Week Range$179.06 – $320.95
Observation Count251 trading days

The return and risk statistics use daily adjusted closes from the retrieved one-year series and annualise daily moments using 252 trading days. The last price is the latest regular-market price reported for the stated date. Source: Yahoo Finance market data.

DuPont Model Analysis

The DuPont model decomposes return on equity (ROE) into three operating and capital-structure drivers:

ROE = Net Margin × Asset Turnover × Equity Multiplier

The comparison uses the latest two comparable annual periods available for the issuer, with reported statement amounts shown in US$. Revenue and net income are income-statement flows; total assets and shareholders’ equity are year-end balance-sheet figures. This is a simplified year-end-balance DuPont comparison rather than an average-balance ROE calculation.

DuPont componentCalculationFY2025FY2024
RevenueReported revenue$5.22B$4.21B
Net incomeReported net income$1.53B$1.29B
Total assetsYear-end reported balance$13.32B$12.12B
Shareholders’ equityYear-end reported balance$9.54B$7.98B
Net marginNet income ÷ revenue29.28%30.72%
Asset turnoverRevenue ÷ total assets0.3918x0.3469x
Equity multiplierTotal assets ÷ shareholders’ equity1.3967x1.5198x
ROENet margin × asset turnover × equity multiplier16.02%16.20%

Source: Yahoo Finance annual statements. Values are based on the two latest comparable annual periods returned by the source; fiscal period labels use the statement period-end year.

2.5 FCFF DCF Valuation

Valuation basis: This research model follows a five-year, unlevered FCFF DCF. It starts from reported annual operating inputs, forecasts revenue and operating cash conversion under an explicit mechanical policy, discounts FCFF at WACC, applies a Gordon-growth terminal value, and bridges enterprise value to an indicative common-equity value per share. It is an analytical estimate rather than a recommendation or personalised target price.

Step 1 — Forecast Operating Profit and NOPAT

Reported operating inputValue
Revenue$5.22B
Prior annual revenue$4.21B
EBIT$1.63B
Tax rate3.30%
NOPAT = EBIT × (1 − tax rate)$1.57B
Forecast start-growth basis15.00%
Forecast policylatest reported annual revenue growth, bounded to -10.00% / 15.00%

Step 2 — Calculate FCFF

Current FCFF building blockValue
NOPAT$1.57B
Add: depreciation & amortisation$529.22M
Less: capital expenditure-$869.88M
Less/(add): working-capital cash-flow movement-$89.41M
Current unlevered FCFF$1.14B

Explicit FCFF forecast

Forecast yearRevenue growthNOPATD&ACapexChange in NWCFCFFPresent value
115.00%$1.81B$608.60M-$1.00B-$102.82M$1.31B$1.23B
211.88%$2.02B$680.87M-$1.01B-$115.03M$1.58B$1.29B
38.75%$2.20B$740.45M-$978.76M-$125.09M$1.84B$1.32B
45.62%$2.32B$782.10M-$907.96M-$132.13M$2.06B$1.30B
52.50%$2.38B$801.65M-$801.65M-$135.43M$2.24B$1.24B

Step 3 — Determine the Discount Rate (WACC)

WACC inputValue
Risk-free rate4.71%
Equity risk premium assumption5.50%
Beta1.75
Cost of equity14.31%
Pre-tax cost of debt6.42%
WACC14.10%
WACC validationwithin standard range

Step 4 — Estimate Terminal Value

Terminal-value inputValue
Perpetuity growth rate2.50%
Terminal value$19.84B
Implied terminal EV / EBITDA6.08x
Terminal value as % of enterprise value61.65%

Step 5 — Discount Cash Flows to Enterprise Value

Enterprise-value componentValue
Present value of explicit FCFF$6.38B
Present value of terminal value$10.26B
Indicated enterprise value$16.65B
Discounting conventionmid-year for explicit FCFF; terminal value discounted at year-end five

Step 6 — Convert Enterprise Value to Equity Value

Equity bridgeValue
Indicated enterprise value$16.65B
Less: gross interest-bearing debt$655.34M
Add: cash and equivalents$2.86B
Add: affiliate investments$0.00
Less: minority interests$0.00
Indicated common equity value$18.85B

Step 7 — Calculate Indicative Value Per Share

Per-share outputValue
Shares used107,537,000.00
Share-count basisreported diluted weighted-average shares
Current market price$219.16
DCF indicative value per share$175.27
Indicative value vs. market price-20.03%

Model Integrity Checks

CheckResult
Perpetuity growth is below the risk-free ratepass
Perpetuity growth is below WACCpass
WACC is within the configured operating-company rangepass
Terminal-year FCFF is positivepass
Terminal capex converges to D&Apass
Terminal-value concentrationwithin review band
Implied price differs from spot by more than 30%within review band

2.6 Investor-Style Research Screen

Educational screenResult
Buffett-inspired cash-quality checks4/4 evidenced checks
Lynch-inspired balance-and-growth checks4/4 evidenced checks

Data lineage: Yahoo Finance public market and reported-statement data; retrieval timestamp: 2026-08-18 17:34:18.069071 UTC; latest reported fiscal period: 2025-12-31 00:00:00. Default assumptions: five-year forecast, mid-year discounting for explicit FCFF, a maximum 2.50% perpetuity-growth rate below both WACC and the risk-free rate, historical operating-ratio persistence, and capex convergence to D&A by year five. No sell-side consensus or management guidance is substituted for reported inputs. This is research and analysis only, not personalized financial advice.

2.7 Quantitative Factor Diagnostics

Model basis: Daily issuer USD excess returns are regressed in-sample using ordinary least squares on matching regional Fama–French factors. FF3 estimates market, size, and value loadings; FF5 adds profitability and investment. Coefficients are descriptive historical exposures, not predictions.

Estimation inputValue
Regional factor setUS
Factor-return currencyUSD
Issuer-return basisUSD adjusted total return
Estimation window2025-08-19 to 2026-06-30
Aligned daily observations217
Minimum observation requirement120
Currency conversion for HK listingsnot required

Fama–French Three-Factor and Five-Factor Results

DiagnosticFF3FF5
Annualised alpha-6.99%-20.30%
Adjusted R²0.150.20
Annualised residual volatility49.50%47.76%
Factor loading (t-statistic)FF3FF5
Market excess return (Mkt-RF)1.70 (5.82)1.45 (4.47)
Size (SMB)-0.23 (-0.58)-0.79 (-1.93)
Value (HML)0.09 (0.27)-0.32 (-0.79)
Profitability (RMW)NM-1.16 (-3.37)
Investment (CMA)NM1.64 (2.76)

Definitions: Mkt-RF is the market return less the risk-free rate; SMB is small minus big; HML is high minus low book-to-market; RMW is robust minus weak profitability; CMA is conservative minus aggressive investment. Factor returns are sourced from the Kenneth R. French Data Library; issuer adjusted-return history is sourced from Yahoo Finance. For Hong Kong listings, adjusted HKD prices are converted into USD with daily USD/HKD closes before return calculation to match the USD regional factor basis. This is an in-sample historical regression; coefficients and t-statistics do not establish causation or predict future returns. This is research and analysis only, not personalized financial advice.

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