Innovation will be the competitive advantage for Tesla Solar. Tesla launched a solar roof tile last month that’s more efficient and is easier to install.
First Solar stock has an EV-to-EBITDA valuation of 6.4x its estimated earnings for the next 12 months. The industry’s mean valuation is greater than 11x.
Almost all solar stocks fell sharply on September 26. First Solar (FSLR) fell about 7% yesterday while this year’s top gainer, Enphase Energy, fell 7.5%.
Almost all the solar stocks have had a fantastic run so far this year, and First Solar (FSLR) is no exception. FSLR stock is up more than 45% year-to-date.
First Solar (FSLR) stock fell more than 10% from its 52-week high early this month. In a strong solar environment, FSLR stock has gained more than 45% YTD.
Solar stocks started last week significantly lower due to increased trade war concerns. The solar energy space is one of the hottest sectors this year.
First Solar (FSLR) stock offers a potential upside of 9% for the next 12 months. The stock has a mean target price of $70.3—compared to its current market price of $61.8.
The Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie expect solar installations to increase 25% in 2019 compared to 2018. Previously, the group expected 14% growth in 2019.
Let’s look at the current valuations for the top solar stocks in this part of our series. First Solar (FSLR) stock is currently trading at a forward EV-to-EBITDA valuation of 7x.
2019 could be a lot better and a step in a different direction for the solar energy sector as a whole. Solar stocks have already performed well so far.
Air Products and Chemicals’ (APD) Industrial Gases–Asia segment accounted for 27.6% of APD’s total revenues in fiscal Q3 2018, expanding by 2.2 percentage points YoY from 25.4%.
Yingli Solar will announce its 3Q17 earnings results on December 6 before market hours. Since its 2Q17 earnings, its stock price has fallen nearly 13.1%.
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) reported its 3Q17 earnings results on November 9. CSIQ declared earnings per share of $0.22, slightly below the analyst consensus estimate of $0.26.
SunPower (SPWR) revised its quarterly guidance in its latest filings. The company raised its 4Q17 non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) revenue guidance from $320 million–$370 million to $800 million–$850 million.
SunPower (SPWR) retains certain assets on its balance sheet to optimize the economic value received at the time of sale. These assets are held under the company’s Holdco structure.
SunPower (SPWR) reports its revenue under the power plant, residential, and commercial segments. The latter two segments are together called the distributed generation segments.
SunPower (SPWR) announced its 3Q17 earnings before market hours on November 2. In this series, we’ll examine SunPower’s 3Q17 results in detail and compare the results with analysts’ estimates.
Stock performance so far Let’s compare First Solar’s (FSLR) and peers’ performance so far in 2017. Most solar energy stocks have performed well in 2017, except for Yingli Solar (YGE). As of September 26, 2017, FSLR stock had risen 44%. Performance in 2017 During the same period, Yingli Solar had lost 11.9%, and SunPower (SPWR) had […]
Relative valuation PE (price-to-earnings) and EV-to-EBITDA multiples are commonly used to determine relative valuation. The forward PE multiple considers a company’s equity based on earnings forecasts for the next 12 months. On September 29, 2017, First Solar’s forward PE multiple was reported to be 21.9x. This PE multiple was higher than JA Solar’s (JASO) 9.1x and Canadian Solar’s […]
Debt profile As of December 31, 2016, First Solar (FSLR) had total debt of $188.4 million, lower than its debt of $289 million at the end of 2015. The company’s debt is denominated in various currencies, including the US dollar, Malaysian ringgit, and euros. Credit metrics With a net worth of over $5 billion and $555.8 […]
Pre-tax loss First Solar’s (FSLR) pretax loss in 2016 was $471.7 million, compared with a profit of $519.8 million in 2015. The loss could be attributed to the huge $729 million restructuring pre-tax charges faced by the company in the fourth quarter of 2016. Net loss in 2016 First Solar reported a net loss of $358.0 […]
Cost of sales First Solar’s (FSLR) Components segment saw its cost of sales rise 6% to $1.1 billion in fiscal 2016, from $1.0 billion in fiscal 2015. On the other hand, despite higher volumes, the Systems segment’s cost of sales fell 29% to $1.1 billion in fiscal 2016 from $1.6 billion in fiscal 2015. Overall, the company’s cost […]
Revenue trend First Solar’s (FSLR) revenue is primarily from turn-key projects, project maintenance, project sales, PV (photovoltaic) module sales to third parties, and PPAs (power purchase agreements) for sale of electricity. In this part, we’ll examine First Solar’s financial performance. As we discussed previously, First Solar has two main business segments: Components and Systems. The design, […]
High customer concentration In 2016, First Solar (FSLR) sold solar modules to customers in the United States, India, and the United Arab Emirates. Approximately 23% of its total revenue was from third-party module sales. The majority of First Solar’s customer base is in the United States, which makes up to more than 80% of total […]
India’s rising electricity demand According to the EIA’s (U.S. Energy Information Administration) 2017 International Energy Outlook, India’s electricity generation is expected to increase by 3.2% per year through 2040, to meet increasing electricity demand in rural areas. Solar outlook Even though coal is the primary fuel used for electricity generation in India, the focus on renewable […]
The Americas The US PV (photovoltaic) market made up ~83% ($2.9 billion) of First Solar’s (FSLR) revenue. The United States has typically been First Solar’s largest market, and where many of its prominent projects and customers are located. First Solar has completed the construction of Del Sur, a 26 MW (megawatt) solar project in Honduras. It commenced […]
