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First Solar (First Solar) Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) %

: 17.61% (As of Dec. 2023)
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Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation. First Solar's forward rate of return for was 17.61%.

The historical rank and industry rank for First Solar's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % or its related term are showing as below:

FSLR' s Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 0.59   Med: 2.67   Max: 18.27
Current: 17.63

During the past 13 years, First Solar's highest Forward Rate of Return was 18.27. The lowest was 0.59. And the median was 2.67.

FSLR's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is ranked better than
61.31% of 535 companies
in the Semiconductors industry
Industry Median: 13.07 vs FSLR: 17.63

Unlike the Earnings Yield %, the Forward Rate of Return uses the normalized Free Cash Flow of the past seven years, and considers growth. The forward rate of return can be thought of as the return that investors buying the stock today can expect from it in the future.


First Solar Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % Historical Data

The historical data trend for First Solar's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

First Solar Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) %
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only - - - 17.56 17.61

First Solar Quarterly Data
Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23
Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 17.56 17.79 17.24 16.70 17.61

Competitive Comparison

For the Solar subindustry, First Solar's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) %, along with its competitors' market caps and Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


First Solar Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % Distribution

For the Semiconductors industry and Technology sector, First Solar's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where First Solar's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % falls into.



First Solar Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % Calculation

Forward Rate of Return is a concept that Don Yacktman uses in his investment approach. Yacktman explained the forward rate of return concept in detail in his interview with GuruFocus. Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation. He said in the interview (March 2012, when the S&P 500 was at about 1400):

If the business is stable, this calculation is fairly straightforward. For instance, on the S&P 500 we would normalize earnings. We would then calculate what percentage of those earnings are not reinvested in the underlying businesses and are therefore free. Historically, for the S&P 500, this has been just under 50% of earnings. Currently, we expect the S&P to earn about 70 on a normalized basis, a number which is far below reported earnings due to our adjusting for record high profit margins. $70 X ½ / 1400 gives you a normalized free cash flow yield of approximately 2.5%.

The historical real growth rate of the S&P 500 (companies) is about 1.5%. Assuming an inflation rate of 2.5%, the forward rate of return on an investment in the S&P 500 is about 6.5% today (2.5% free cash flow yield plus 1.5% real growth plus 2.5% inflation).

First Solar's Forward Rate of Return of Dec. 2023 is

Forward Rate of Return=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=-4.1247619/172.28+0.2
=17.61 %

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


First Solar  (NAS:FSLR) Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % Explanation

Unlike the Earnings Yield, the Forward Rate of Return uses the normalized Free Cash Flow of the past five years, and considers growth. The forward rate of return can be thought of as the return that investors buying the stock today can expect from it in the future.

For the growth part of the Forward Rate of Return calculation, GuruFocus uses the 5-year average growth rate of EBITDA per share as the growth rate, and the growth rate is always capped at 20%. For the Free Cash Flow we use per share data averaged over five years. The reason we use five years is to make it comparable to the growth rate.


Be Aware

In the Forward Rate of Return calculation, the growth rate is added directly to today's free cash flow yield. Therefore the calculation is reliable only if the company can grow at the same rate in the future as it did in the past. Investors should pay close attention to this when researching growth stocks. A more accurate measurement for return is Return on Capital.


First Solar Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of First Solar's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


First Solar (First Solar) Business Description

Industry
Address
350 West Washington Street, Suite 600, Tempe, AZ, USA, 85281
First Solar designs and manufactures solar photovoltaic panels, modules, and systems for use in utility-scale development projects. The company's solar modules use cadmium telluride to convert sunlight into electricity. This is commonly called thin-film technology. First Solar is the world's largest thin-film solar module manufacturer. It has production lines in Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States, and India.
Executives
Georges Antoun officer: Chief Operating Officer C/O FIRST SOLAR, INC., 350 WEST WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 600, TEMPE AZ 85281
Kuntal Kumar Verma officer: Chief Mfg. Engineering Officer 28101 CEDAR PARK BLVD., PERRYSBURG OH 43551
Alexander R. Bradley officer: Chief Financial Officer 77 RIO ROBLES, SAN JOSE CA 95134
Markus Gloeckler officer: Co-Chief Technology Officer 28101 CEDAR PARK BLVD., PERRYSBURG OH 43551
R Craig Kennedy director 1844 "R" STREET, NW, WASHINGTON DC 20009
Mark R Widmar officer: Chief Financial Officer C/O GRAFTECH INTERNATIONAL LTD, 12900 SNOW ROAD, PARMA OH 44130
Michael T Sweeney director GOLDNER HAWN, 3700 WELLS FARGO CENTER, 90 SOUTH 7TH ST, MINNEAPOLIS MN 55402
William J Post director 400 NORTH FIFTH STREET, ., PHOENIX AZ 85004
Paul H Stebbins director C/O WORLD FUEL SERVICES CORP, 9800 N.W. 41ST STREET, SUITE 400, MIAMI FL 33178
Byron Michael Jeffers officer: CAO, Interim 350 WEST WASHINGTON ST., TEMPE AZ 85281
Richard D Chapman director 350 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, SUITE 600, TEMPE AZ 85281
Jason E. Dymbort officer: General Counsel, Interim 77 RIO ROBLES, SAN JOSE CA 95134
Norman L. Wright director 26335 N. 104TH WAY, SCOTTSDALE AZ 85255
Patrick James Buehler officer: Chief Quality and Rel. Officer 28101 CEDAR PARK BLVD., PERRYSBURG OH 43551
Michael Koralewski officer: Chief Mfg. Operations Officer 28101 CEDAR PARK BLVD., PERRYSBURG OH 43551

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