First Solar Approves Buyback of Up to $500 Million and Cuts 2026 Sales Outlook
Key Facts
First Solar approved a share repurchase program of up to $500 million as it reported third-quarter results and lowered its annual sales and volume outlook. The company said the program is effective immediately, with no end date specified, and that it is not obligated to spend the full amount allocated. Sales were $1.23 billion in the three months ended September 30, down 23% from the same period last year. The company attributed the decline mainly to lower third-party module sales volume. The announcement thus combines a potential capital allocation to shareholders with lower operating expectations for the current year.
On the other side of the results, net income rose to $571 million, or $5.30 per diluted share, compared with $456 million and $4.24 per share in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization also climbed to $744 million, from $671 million a year earlier. Gross margin rose to 57.9% from 38.3%, an increase of 19.6 percentage points. The company attributed the margin improvement mainly to more modules qualifying for manufacturing credits under Section 45X and a higher selling price per watt. Against estimates, earnings per share of $5.30 topped the $4.67 estimate, while sales of $1.23 billion came in below the $1.28 billion estimate.
The company lowered its 2026 net sales outlook to between $4.6 billion and $4.9 billion, from a previous range of $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion. It also cut its sales volume outlook to 16–17 gigawatts from 17–18.2 gigawatts previously. For the fourth quarter, it forecast module sales volume of 4.3–5.3 gigawatts, including 3.4–4.3 gigawatts from U.S. manufacturing operations. It estimated fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at $643–843 million. The contracted sales backlog stood at 44.0 gigawatts on September 30, while the company’s annual outlook assumed manufacturing credits of $2.07–2.19 billion and production underutilization costs of $110–120 million.
In India, the company expects final product production of 2.2–2.6 gigawatts during 2027, with the facility’s conversion to Series 7 set to begin in the first quarter of that year. Chief Executive Mark Widmar said nearly 80% of the company’s global module manufacturing footprint would be in the United States by 2027. The company also expects the second phase of its finishing facility in South Carolina to launch commercially in mid-2027, with combined production from the two phases of 2.2–2.5 gigawatts during the year. The India range does not represent cumulative production targeted by 2027, but an estimate of final production during that year. The company also said its pilot line in Ohio for perovskite module production is targeting operational readiness in the first half of 2027.
Widmar said Section 232 represents "a structural change in how the United States deals with solar manufacturing." The company said net cash was $1.5 billion on September 30, down from $2.4 billion at the end of 2025, with working capital needs and capital spending on U.S. facilities contributing to the decline. The stock closed at $176.89 on October 29, compared with a close of $176.30 in the previous session. Markets are watching the company’s fourth-quarter delivery against its quarterly outlook, as well as the start of the India facility conversion in the first quarter of 2027. The launch of the second phase in South Carolina and the targeted readiness of the Ohio line also remain among the milestones the company set for 2027.