First Solar, Inc. (FSLR): a potential bargain?

Buy — the crash is driven by rising interest rates hitting the whole solar sector, not by any First Solar-specific business failure.

🔥 HOT Fundamentals87/100

Fell 10% in 1 trading day(s) — now $172.16

$321$117 peak $307 2023202420252026

Why FSLR dropped

The stock fell 10.3% because shares of U.S. solar manufacturer First Solar are down as elevated borrowing costs weigh heavily on solar stocks, with other solar names also dropping that day. A direct company-specific reason for the drop has not been established; rising interest rates are likely the main culprit because many customers develop large utility-scale solar projects that require a lot of money upfront before generating revenue. There was also a secondary, smaller company-specific factor days earlier: on September 15, 2026, First Solar said it would voluntarily withdraw its Section 337 complaint at the USITC without prejudice and continue pursuing existing TOPCon patent lawsuits in U.S. District Court, which is a procedural shift in a patent fight, not a lost case.

Fwd P/E 7.4Op margin 42.6%Rev growth -3.7%Debt/equity 1.9%Analyst upside 58.1%
How this scored 87/100
✅ Passes all 4 hard checks — profitable, cash-generative, and financially survivable.
✅ Makes money Net profit margin 32.5%
✅ Generates cash Free cash flow $1.6B
✅ Not drowning in debt Debt/equity 1.9% (limit 200%)
✅ Can pay its bills Current ratio 2.5 (needs 1+)

Bar length shows how much each metric is worth — a 10-point metric is twice as wide as a 5-point one. Hover any row for what it means.

Profitability Does it actually make money? 22/25
Operating margin 42.6% 9/9
Net profit margin 32.5% 8/8
Return on equity 18.5% 5/8
Growth Is it getting bigger, or dying? 15/25
Revenue growth -3.7% 0/9
Earnings growth 23.3% 7/8
Expected profit change 43.3% 8/8
Value Is it cheap right now? 25/25
Forward P/E 7.4 10/10
PEG ratio 0.4 8/8
Analyst target upside 58.1% 7/7
Balance sheet Will it survive? 25/25
Debt / equity 1.9% 10/10
Current ratio 2.5 8/8
Free cash flow $1.6B 7/7

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Analysis generated by SmartStonks's AI from public fundamentals and news, first flagged 2026-09-25. Research only — not financial advice.