First Solar (FSLR)} — A Defensive Stock According to the Graham Method?

First Solar does not have the profile of a defensive investment based on the requirements of Ben Graham. The Semiconductors firm may nonetheless be of interest to more risk-oriented investors who have a solid thesis on the company's future growth. At Market Inference, we remain agnostic as to such further developments, and prefer to use a company's past track record as the bellwether for future potential gains.

First Solar Is Probably Overvalued

Graham devised the below equation to give investors a quick way of determining whether a stock is trading at a fair multiple of its earnings and its assets:

√(22.5 * 4 year average earnings per share (1.85) * 4 year average book value per share (56.535) = $48.51

After an impressive 82.0% performance over the 12 months, First Solar is now trading well over its price because its Graham number is 329.8% above today's share price of $208.51. Even though the stock does not trade at an attractive multiple, it might still meet some of the other criteria for quality stocks that Graham listed in Chapter 14 of The Intelligent Investor.

Positive Retained Earnings From 2008 To 2022, No Dividend Record, and Decreasing Earnings Per Share

Ben Graham wrote that an investment in a company with a record of positive retained earnings could contribute significantly to the margin of safety. First Solar had positive retained earnings from 2008 to 2022 with an average of $2.11 Billion over this period.

Another one of Graham's requirements is for a 30% or more cumulative growth rate of the company's earnings per share over the last ten years.We are going to compare First Solar's earnings per share averages from the two 'bookends' of the 16 year period for which we have data. The first bookend comprises the years 2007, 2008, and 2009, whose EPS values of $2.03, $4.24, and $7.53 average out to $4.60. Next we look at the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, whose values of $3.73, $4.38, and $-0.41 average out to $2.57. The growth rate between the two averages does not meet Graham's standard since it is -44.13%.

We have no record of First Solar offering a regular dividend.

Too Much Debt and an Excellent Current Ratio

Graham sought companies with extremely low debt levels compared to their assets. For one, he expected their current ratio to be over 2 and their long term debt to net current asset ratio to be near, or ideally under, under 1. First Solar fails succeeds on the first count with a current ratio of 3.6 but fails on the second with a debt to net current asset ratio of 0.1.

Conclusion

According to Graham's analysis, First Solar is likely a company of average quality, which does not offer a significant enough margin of safety for a risk averse investor.

2020-02-21 2021-02-26 2022-03-01 2023-02-28
Revenue (MM) $3,063 $2,711 $2,923 $2,619
Gross Margins 17.9% 25.1% 25.0% 2.7%
Operating Margins 6.6% 11.9% 15.0% -10.7%
Net Margins -3.75% 14.69% 16.03% -1.69%
Net Income (MM) -$115 $398 $469 -$44
Net Interest Expense (MM) $22 -$7 -$7 $21
Depreciation & Amort. (MM) -$205 -$233 -$260 -$270
Earnings Per Share -$1.09 $3.73 $4.38 $0.39
EPS Growth n/a 442.2% 17.43% -91.1%
Diluted Shares (MM) 105 107 107 107
Free Cash Flow (MM) $843 $454 $778 $1,777
Capital Expenditures (MM) -$669 -$417 -$540 -$904
Net Current Assets (MM) $1,181 $1,427 $1,737 $1,376
Current Ratio 2.73 3.56 4.39 3.65
Long Term Debt (MM) $454 $238 $236 $184
Net Debt / EBITDA -7.48 -1.27 -1.92 n/a
The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.

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