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First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

This company has been moved to the archive! The financial data has not been updated since October 29, 2024.

Common-Size Income Statement
Quarterly Data

First Solar Inc., common-size consolidated income statement (quarterly data)

Microsoft Excel
3 months ended: Sep 30, 2024 Jun 30, 2024 Mar 31, 2024 Dec 31, 2023 Sep 30, 2023 Jun 30, 2023 Mar 31, 2023 Dec 31, 2022 Sep 30, 2022 Jun 30, 2022 Mar 31, 2022 Dec 31, 2021 Sep 30, 2021 Jun 30, 2021 Mar 31, 2021 Dec 31, 2020 Sep 30, 2020 Jun 30, 2020 Mar 31, 2020 Dec 31, 2019 Sep 30, 2019 Jun 30, 2019 Mar 31, 2019
Net sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Cost of sales -49.83 -50.63 -56.43 -56.67 -53.04 -61.71 -79.56 -93.95 -96.66 -103.74 -96.88 -72.83 -78.65 -72.33 -77.00 -73.76 -68.41 -78.60 -83.02 -76.16 -74.70 -86.81 -99.98
Gross profit (loss) 50.17% 49.37% 43.57% 43.33% 46.96% 38.29% 20.44% 6.05% 3.34% -3.74% 3.12% 27.17% 21.35% 27.67% 23.00% 26.24% 31.59% 21.40% 16.98% 23.84% 25.30% 13.19% 0.02%
Selling, general and administrative -5.22 -4.61 -5.77 -4.93 -6.26 -5.71 -8.03 -4.26 -7.37 -6.26 -10.01 -4.23 -7.45 -5.78 -6.48 -10.29 -5.38 -8.06 -11.01 -3.98 -9.79 -8.71 -8.53
Research and development -5.65 -5.14 -5.38 -3.79 -5.14 -4.53 -5.56 -3.12 -4.64 -4.06 -7.39 -3.29 -4.36 -3.80 -2.47 -3.72 -2.48 -3.50 -4.81 -1.82 -4.56 -4.17 -4.11
Production start-up -3.02 -2.72 -1.94 -0.85 -1.51 -2.88 -3.56 -3.27 -3.14 -2.13 -2.00 -0.56 -0.50 -0.27 -1.41 -2.74 -1.40 -0.98 -0.84 -0.53 -3.40 -1.78 -1.79
Litigation loss 0.00 -0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4.39 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.93 0.00 -25.94 0.00 0.00 0.00
Operating expenses -13.89% -12.51% -13.09% -9.56% -12.91% -17.52% -17.15% -10.65% -15.16% -12.46% -19.39% -8.08% -12.31% -9.85% -10.37% -16.76% -9.26% -13.47% -16.67% -32.26% -17.75% -14.66% -14.43%
Gain (loss) on sales of businesses, net 0.00 0.00 0.14 0.57 0.03 0.02 0.00 0.02 0.95 39.52 0.52 0.00 -0.32 -0.28 18.78 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Operating income (loss) 36.27% 36.86% 30.62% 34.33% 34.07% 20.79% 3.28% -4.58% -10.87% 23.32% -15.75% 19.08% 8.72% 17.54% 31.41% 9.48% 22.33% 7.92% 0.31% -8.42% 7.55% -1.47% -14.41%
Foreign currency income (loss), net -0.58 -0.95 -0.36 -0.86 -0.12 -0.57 -1.08 -0.44 -0.77 -0.48 -1.14 -0.37 -0.17 -0.16 -0.32 -0.22 -0.20 -0.20 -0.07 -0.06 0.22 0.30 0.03
Interest income 2.54 2.43 3.43 2.03 2.90 3.09 4.71 1.83 1.55 0.46 0.63 0.24 0.30 0.20 0.12 0.24 0.23 0.57 1.75 0.69 2.09 2.31 2.68
Interest expense, net -1.01 -0.97 -1.16 -0.61 -0.47 -0.17 -0.14 -0.31 -0.48 -0.52 -0.78 -0.28 -0.51 -0.73 -0.37 -0.50 -1.18 -0.51 -1.28 -0.22 -0.91 -1.53 -1.90
Other income (expense), net -0.35 -0.06 -0.35 -2.39 -0.13 0.12 -0.27 2.84 0.76 -0.30 -0.06 -0.25 -0.45 -0.52 1.05 -0.54 -0.35 -0.50 -0.42 1.56 -0.62 -0.76 0.66
Income (loss) before taxes and equity in earnings (losses) 36.88% 37.32% 32.18% 32.51% 36.26% 23.25% 6.51% -0.66% -9.81% 22.48% -17.10% 18.42% 7.89% 16.34% 31.89% 8.47% 20.83% 7.29% 0.30% -6.45% 8.34% -1.15% -12.94%
Income tax (expense) benefit -1.62 -2.75 -2.38 -2.37 -2.75 -2.21 1.26 -0.10 1.99 -13.50 5.31 -3.95 -0.14 -3.23 -5.79 10.90 -4.11 -1.59 16.77 2.21 -2.75 -2.01 0.26
Equity in earnings (losses), net of tax 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.37 -0.01 0.05 -0.02 -0.01 0.01 -0.02 -0.03
Net income (loss) 35.26% 34.57% 29.80% 30.14% 33.50% 21.04% 7.76% -0.75% -7.82% 8.99% -11.78% 14.48% 7.75% 13.10% 26.10% 18.99% 16.71% 5.75% 17.05% -4.25% 5.60% -3.17% -12.71%

Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-03-31).

The financial trajectory over the analyzed period is characterized by a transition from high cost volatility and inconsistent profitability to a period of sustained margin expansion and operational stability. Significant improvements in the cost structure have led to a substantial increase in both operating and net margins since early 2023.

Gross Margin Evolution
A volatile pattern is evident in the cost of sales, which fluctuated between 68% and 104% of net sales from 2019 through 2022. A notable period of gross profit contraction occurred in the first half of 2022, with gross profit dipping to -3.74% in June 2022. However, a strong recovery trend began in March 2023, with gross profit margins expanding consistently from 20.44% to 50.17% by September 2024, indicating a substantial and sustained reduction in the cost of sales relative to revenue.
Operating Expense Management
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses have generally trended downward as a percentage of net sales, moving from double-digit figures in 2019 and 2020 to a more stable range of 4.6% to 5.8% in 2024. Research and development (R&D) spending has remained relatively consistent, typically fluctuating between 3% and 6% of sales. While operating expenses were periodically impacted by litigation losses—most notably in December 2019 and June 2023—the overall trend reflects an increase in operating leverage as revenue growth outpaces the growth of fixed expenses.
Operating and Net Income Trends
Operating income experienced extreme swings, including significant losses throughout 2022, but has stabilized at a high level since 2023, consistently remaining above 30% of net sales in the most recent quarters. Net income follows a similar upward trajectory; after fluctuating between deep losses and moderate gains, it has climbed steadily from 7.76% in March 2023 to 35.26% in September 2024. This suggests that recent profitability is driven by core operational efficiencies rather than the non-recurring gains from the sale of businesses that were more prominent in 2021 and 2022.
Other Income and Tax Impact
Interest income has seen a marked increase since March 2023, rising from 4.71% to 2.54% of sales in the final quarter, contributing positively to the pre-tax income. Conversely, the impact of income tax benefits and expenses has been volatile, though the net income margin has remained resilient, indicating that the growth in operating income is the primary driver of bottom-line performance.

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