First Solar's Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Decrease Y/Y
First Solar, Inc. FSLR reported third-quarter 2026 earnings of $5.30 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.64 by 14.2%. The bottom line increased 25% from $4.24 in the year-ago quarter, aided by higher gross profit and improved operating performance.
FSLR’s Sales Update
Net sales of $1.23 billion missed the consensus estimate of $1.313 billion by 6.2% and declined 23% year over year.
Contracted sales backlog stood at 44.0 gigawatts as of Sept. 30, 2026.
First Solar, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
First Solar, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | First Solar, Inc. Quote
Operational Highlights of FSLR
In the third quarter, the company’s gross profit was $713 million, which rose 16.8% from $610.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
Total operating expenses jumped 15.4% year over year to $167 million.
FSLR reported an operating income of $546.1 million compared with $466.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
Financial Performance of First Solar
First Solar had $1.58 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Sept. 30, 2026, down from $2.80 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.
The company had no long-term debt as of the same date compared with $282.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Net cash used in operating activities amounted to $402.7 million during the first nine months of 2026 against net cash provided by operating activities of $815.2 million in the year-ago period.
First Solar’s 2026 Guidance
FSLR now expects its sales to be in the range of $4.60-$4.90 billion, down from its previous guidance of $4.90-$5.20 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $5.07 billion, which lies above the company's guided range.
First Solar still expects gross profit to be in the band of $2.40-$2.60 billion. Its operating expenses are anticipated to remain in the $610-$635 million range.
First Solar projects module shipments to be in the band of 16-17 gigawatts, down from its previous projection of 17-18.2 gigawatts. The company now expects its 2026 capital expenditure to be in the range of $0.60-$0.80 billion compared with its earlier expectation of $0.80-$1.00 billion.
FSLR’s Zacks Rank
First Solar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Recent Solar Release
Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents by 12.8%. The bottom line declined 54.4% from 90 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Enphase Energy's third-quarter revenues of $293.3 million lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $304 million by 3.4%. The top line also dropped 28.5% from the prior-year quarter's reported figure of $410.4 million.
Upcoming Solar Releases
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. SEDG is slated to report third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 4, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SEDG’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at two cents per share.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SEDG’s third-quarter sales is pegged at $329.1 million.
Array Technologies ARRY is slated to report third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 5, after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARRY’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at 10 cents per share.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARRY’s third-quarter sales is pegged at $322.2 million.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
