First Solar booked $1.34 billion of profit and negative $837 million of free cash flow in nine months

First Solar▼−1.62% — First Solar, down 1.62 percent today, the only U.S.-headquartered company among the world's biggest solar manufacturers, fell 14.8% over the five sessions to November 13 while the S&P 500 gained 2.5%, erasing about $3.2 billion of market value ¹. It closed at $171.39, 46.1% below its 52-week high of $318.25 ¹. No company news came in between, and nothing is due until the February 2027 report ². A holder posting on Reddit's▼−2.11% — Reddit, down 2.11 percent today ValueInvesting forum lists the bull case, 9.75 times trailing earnings and a 37% net margin, and asks why the stock keeps falling ³. Both answers are in the October 29 filing↗ ³.

The income statement shows a record margin

Third-quarter net sales fell 23% from a year earlier to $1.23 billion, yet diluted earnings rose 25% to $5.30 and the board added a $500 million buyback ⁴. Trailing operating margin reached 37.7%, the best since fiscal Q4 2016 ².

The order book still holds 44.0 gigawatts, $13.5 billion of contracted revenue through 2030, though it excludes Indian contracts whose payment is not fully secured ⁵. Even so, 2026 sales guidance came down to $4.6 billion to $4.9 billion, from $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion, on roughly 0.7 gigawatts less sold from India into India, and management says customers are deferring orders for later-decade projects ⁴².

The cash flow statement shows where the money went

Nine-month net income was $1.34 billion ⁵². Operating cash flow was minus $402.7 million, against plus $815.2 million a year earlier, and after capital spending free cash flow ran $837 million negative, with a burn in every quarter of 2026 ⁵².

One line did most of the damage: government grants receivable consumed $1.29 billion, almost exactly the period's profit ⁵. The margin leans on Section 45X manufacturing credits, up to 17 cents per watt, which cut cost of sales by $1.50 billion against $1.80 billion of gross profit ⁵. The 2024 and 2025 credits were sold at about 95 cents on the dollar; the 10-Q discloses no sale of 2026 credits, while finished-goods inventory rose $286 million ⁵. The margin is real; the money, so far, is a receivable.

What February has to answer

Goldman Sachs▼−0.23% — Goldman Sachs, down 0.23 percent today kept its buy rating and $272 target ⁶, and Mirova US, a $13.6 billion fund, raised its stake 37% to 897,172 shares in the third quarter ⁷. The Street's average target is $254, but the lowest of 37, at $169, sits below the last close, and TIKR↗'s desk wants the backlog, 44.0 gigawatts against 47.9 in March, to stop shrinking before calling the stock cheap ⁷.

Three dates will settle it: whether the fourth quarter repeats last year's $1.07 billion of free cash flow ², the $0.38-per-watt import floor landing December 4, and the run-or-close decision on the 1.8 gigawatt Malaysia plant due in the first half of 2027 ².