First Solar Q3 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y

First Solar, Inc. FSLR reported third-quarter 2025 earnings of $4.24 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.32 by 1.9%. However, the bottom line increased 45.7% from the prior-year quarter’s figure of $2.91.

FSLR’s Sales Update

First Solar’s third-quarter net sales were $1.59 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%. However, the top line improved 79.7% from the year-ago quarter’s $0.89 billion.

Operational Highlights of FSLR

In the third quarter, the company’s gross profit was $610.7 million, which rose 37.1% from $445.3 million in the year-ago quarter.

Total operating expenses rose 17.3% year over year to $144.7 million.

FSLR reported an operating income of $466.1 million compared with $322 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company recorded 2.7 gigawatt (GW) gross bookings since its second-quarter earnings with an average selling price of 30.9 cents per watt, excluding contract pricing adjusters.

Financial Performance of First Solar

First Solar had $1.99 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Sept. 30, 2025, up from $1.62 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

The long-term debt totaled $282.6 million as of the same date compared with $373.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2024.

The net cash provided in operating activities amounted to $815.2 million during the first nine months of 2025 compared with $407 million in the year-ago quarter.

First Solar’s 2025 Guidance

First Solar has updated its 2025 guidance. FSLR now expects to generate earnings in the range of $14-$15 per share compared with the earlier guided range of $13.50-$16.50. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $15.04 per share, which lies above the company’s new guided range.

FSLR now expects to record sales in the range of $4.95-$5.20 billion compared with its earlier guidance of $4.90-$5.70 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $5.32 billion, which lies above the company’s new guided range.

First Solar now expects gross profit to be in the band of $2.10-$2.20 billion compared with the previous guided range of $2.05-$2.35 billion. Its operating income is now anticipated to be in the $1.56-$1.68 billion range compared with the earlier guidance of $1.53-$1.87 billion.

The company currently expects module shipments to be in the band of 16.7-17.4 GW compared with the prior guidance of 16.7-19.3 GW.

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 Releases

Nextracker Inc. NXT reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Oct. 23, 2025. Its quarterly earnings of $1.19 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.2% and came in higher than the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 97 cents. 

Its revenues worth $905 million also surpassed the consensus estimate by 9.4% and improved 42.3% from the prior-year quarter’s reported revenues.

Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of 90 cents per share, which increased 38.5% from the prior-year quarter’s level. The bottom line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 62 cents by 45.2%.

Its revenues of $410.4 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $362 million by 13.4%. The top line also increased 7.8% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure of $380.8 million.

Upcoming Solar Release

SolarEdge Technologies SEDG is slated to report third-quarter 2025 results on Nov. 5, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SEDG’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 38 cents per share.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SEDG’s third-quarter sales is pegged at $333.5 million, implying a year-over-year improvement of 27.8%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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