Does First Solar Make Enough Profit?

Large-cap Semiconductors company First Solar is down -5.8% during this evening's trading session, while the S&P 500 moved 0.0%. With last year's reported gross margins at 2.7%, you might be wondering if today's drop is an opportunity to pick up shares of a profitable company at a discount.

Gross margins give insight into the basic economics of the company' product line and its pricing power in the target market, yet it's essential to balance this with a review of First Solar's operating margins. Operating margins take into account the company's fixed overhead costs, in addition to the cost of revenue used to calculate gross margins.

Is First Solar plagued with bloated overhead expenses that are eating away at an otherwise profitable business? Or is the company currently unprofitable because it is in a growth phase? A combined analysis of both gross and operating margins can help answer these questions, so that you understand what kind of business you are investing in.

Date Reported Revenue ($ k) Cost of Revenue ($ k) Gross Margins (%) YoY Growth (%)
2023-02-28 2,619,319 -2,549,461 3 -88.0
2022-03-01 2,923,377 -2,193,423 25 0.0
2021-02-26 2,711,332 -2,030,659 25 38.89
2020-02-21 3,063,117 -2,513,905 18 5.88
2019-02-22 2,244,044 -1,851,867 17 -10.53
2018-02-23 2,941,324 -2,392,377 19

First Solar's gross margins are currently in the green, but this might not be the case for long. Since its cost of revenue is growing at a rate of -0.0% compared to 0.0% for its revenues, its gross margins have been shrinking -1.9% on average each year.

Date Reported Total Revenue ($ k) Operating Expenses ($ k) Operating Margins (%) YoY Growth (%)
2023-02-28 2,619,319 -350,605 -11 -173.33
2022-03-01 2,923,377 -290,487 15 25.0
2021-02-26 2,711,332 -357,184 12 71.43
2020-02-21 3,063,117 -347,997 7 250.0
2019-02-22 2,244,044 -352,064 2 -66.67
2018-02-23 2,941,324 -371,096 6

Despite the negative operating margins in the last year, First Solar's average is still positive, indicating that the company is generally profitable. There's a red flag, however, indicating that the last year could be part of a negative trend. First Solar's operating expenses are growing at an average rate of 5.6%, whilst its revenues are growing at only 0.0%.

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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