FSLR Outperforms Market Over the Past Month: How to Play the Stock?

Core Viewpoint - First Solar Inc. (FSLR) has shown strong stock performance, with a 3.6% increase over the past month, outperforming the S&P 500 and the broader Oil-Energy sector, but lagging behind the solar industry [1][9]. Financial Performance - FSLR reported second-quarter earnings of $3.18 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.68 by 18.7% [4]. - The company's net sales reached $1.10 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate by 6.6% and reflecting an 8.6% year-over-year improvement [4]. - FSLR has raised its sales guidance for 2025 to a range of $4.90-$5.70 billion, up from the previous range of $4.50-$5.50 billion, indicating management's confidence in future performance [5]. Production and Capacity Expansion - In Q2 2025, FSLR produced 4.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar modules and aims to exceed 25 GW of annual manufacturing capacity by the end of 2026 [6]. - The company plans to invest $1.0-$1.5 billion in 2025 for new plants, site expansions, and equipment upgrades, supporting expected module shipments of 16.7-19.3 GW by the end of 2025 [7]. Long-term Growth Prospects - As of June 30, 2025, FSLR has signed contracts for 61.9 GW of future module sales, projected to generate revenues of $18.5 billion through 2030 [10]. - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSLR's long-term earnings growth rate is 33.4%, outperforming the industry average of 22.9% [11]. Near-term Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Q3 2025 revenues and earnings indicates improvements of 74.2% and 47.4%, respectively, from the prior year [12]. - Current estimates for FSLR's sales and earnings show solid growth trends, with significant year-over-year growth expected [13][14]. Valuation Metrics - FSLR's forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 3.54X, which is a premium compared to the industry average of 1.23X, indicating that investors may be paying a higher price relative to expected sales growth [15]. Market Context - Other solar stocks, such as SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) and Array Technologies (ARRY), have also performed well, with one-month price gains of 32% and 50.1%, respectively [2].