Q1 2026 First Solar Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- First Solar Inc (FSLR) reported record first quarter revenue and sales in India, with meaningful margin expansion and adjusted EBITDA above expectations.
- The company secured gross bookings of 1.9 gigawatts, with 1.4 gigawatts booked in the US utility scale market at an average selling price of $0.35 per watt.
- The CuRe technology launch is complete in Perrysburg, with the first Series 6 line ramping as expected, and is anticipated to deliver up to 8% more lifetime specific energy yield than crystalline silicon Topcon.
- First Solar Inc (FSLR) produced 4.3 gigawatts of modules in the quarter, with US facilities operating at approximately 96% utilization.
- The company ended the quarter with $2.4 billion in cash and a net cash position of $2 billion, reflecting strong financial health.
- International facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam are operating at significantly reduced utilization due to current trade dynamics and lower ASP expectations.
- The company faces potential headwinds from trade remedy enforcement and intellectual property litigation actions in the US.
- Operating expenses for the quarter were $141 million, with R&D costs up $15 million year-over-year, primarily due to perovskite development and ongoing CuRe launch.
- The company is cautious about incremental US bookings due to pending policy and regulatory matters, including the 232 polysilicon derivatives tariff decision.
- There is uncertainty around the tariff environment post-July, which could impact the company's strategy and financial performance.
Good afternoon, and welcome to First Solar's first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. This call is being webcast live on the Investors section of First Solar's website at investor.firstsolar.com. (Operator Instructions) Please note that today's call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to First Solar Investor Relations.
Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. We're joined today by Mark Widmar, our Chief Executive Officer; and Alex Bradley, our Chief Financial Officer. Mark will provide an overview of our first quarter performance and an update on technology, manufacturing and market conditions. Alex will then cover our bookings, financials and our 2026 outlook. After our prepared remarks, we'll overline for questions.
Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties as described in our earnings press release, other SEC filings and the earnings
| Access to All Earning Calls and Stock Analysis | |
| 30-Year Financial on one screen | |
| All-in-one Stock Screener with unlimited filters | |
| Customizable Stock Dashboard | |
| Real Time Insider Trading Transactions | |
| 8,000+ Institutional investors’ 13F holdings | |
| Powerful Excel Add-in and Google sheets Add-on | |
| All data downloadable | |
| Quick customer support | |
| And much more... |
Trustpilot
We'd love to learn more about your experiences on GuruFocus.com and how we can improve!
Take Survey
