First Solar Authorizes $500 Million Buyback as Q3 EPS Rises to $5.30

First Solar (FSLR ) reported net sales of $1.23 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, a 23% decrease from the same period a year earlier, and announced that its board of directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $500 million. The company published the results and an updated full-year 2026 outlook on October 29, 2026, in its quarterly earnings release.

The company said the year-over-year sales decline was driven primarily by a decrease in the volume of modules sold to third parties. Net income for the quarter was $571 million, or $5.30 per diluted share, compared with $456 million, or $4.24 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2025; the per-share figure represents a 25% year-over-year increase. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure the company reconciles to net income, was $744 million compared with $671 million a year earlier, an increase of 11%.

Gross profit rose to $713.1 million from $610.7 million, as cost of sales fell to $517.9 million from $984.1 million. Operating income was $546.1 million compared with $466.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Total operating expenses were $167.0 million, up from $144.7 million, including $65.3 million of selling, general and administrative expense, $67.2 million of research and development expense, and $34.4 million of production start-up expense.

For the first nine months of 2026, net sales were $3.33 billion compared with $3.54 billion in the same period of 2025, while net income rose to $1.34 billion, or $12.45 per diluted share, from $1.01 billion, or $9.37 per diluted share.

First Solar’s net cash balance decreased to $1.5 billion as of September 30, 2026, from $2.4 billion as of December 31, 2025. The company attributed the decrease to working-capital needs and capital expenditures primarily for its U.S. facilities, partially offset by Section 45X cash receipts and IEEPA tariff refunds received. The gross cash balance was $1.6 billion at quarter end, and total assets stood at $14.02 billion. Long-term debt was zero, down from $282.6 million as of December 31, 2025, while the current portion of debt was $107.7 million.

Net cash used in operating activities was $402.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $815.2 million provided by operating activities a year earlier; changes in government grants receivable accounted for a $1.29 billion use of cash in the period. Purchases of property, plant and equipment totaled $434.7 million, down from $698.1 million, and the company repaid $732.1 million of debt against $340.0 million of proceeds from new borrowings.

$500 Million Share Repurchase Program

The board authorization, effective immediately, permits repurchases of up to $500 million of the company’s shares. The authorization has no expiration date, does not obligate First Solar to acquire any particular amount of shares, and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The timing and amount of any repurchases will be determined by the company based on its evaluation of market conditions and other factors. First Solar said the authorization reflects confidence in the long-term value of the business while preserving its disciplined approach to capital allocation and its ability to continue investing in technology development and growth.

Updated 2026 Guidance

First Solar lowered its full-year 2026 volume sold guidance to a range of 16.0 GW to 17.0 GW, from 17.0 GW to 18.2 GW previously, and reduced its net sales guidance to $4.6 billion to $4.9 billion, from $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion. Adjusted EBITDA guidance moved to $2.55 billion to $2.75 billion, from $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion, and capital expenditures guidance narrowed to $0.6 billion to $0.8 billion, from $0.8 billion to $1.0 billion. Guidance for gross profit of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion, operating expenses of $610 million to $635 million, and a net cash balance of $1.7 billion to $2.3 billion was unchanged.

The gross profit guidance assumes $2.07 billion to $2.19 billion of Section 45X tax credits and underutilization costs of $110 million to $120 million, while the operating expense guidance assumes $80 million to $90 million of production start-up expense, according to the guidance footnotes. The guided Adjusted EBITDA range reflects addbacks of approximately $201 million for share-based compensation, Section 45X tax credit discounts, underutilization, and production start-up expenses.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, the company expects module sales between 4.3 GW and 5.3 GW, including 3.4 GW to 4.3 GW from its U.S. manufacturing operations, and forecast Adjusted EBITDA between $643 million and $843 million.

The company reported a contracted sales backlog of 44.0 GW as of September 30, 2026. Its outlook assumes the current U.S. policy environment persists and that permitting processes and timelines remain consistent with historical levels, and it references the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025.

“Section 232 represents a structural change in how the United States approaches solar manufacturing,” said Chief Executive Officer Mark Widmar. He added that, as the only fully integrated utility-scale solar manufacturer without dependency on the Chinese crystalline silicon supply chain, the company believes it is structurally positioned to benefit from this environment.

First Solar said it is not providing forward-looking guidance for GAAP net income or a quantitative reconciliation of its Adjusted EBITDA guidance to GAAP net income because it cannot predict with reasonable certainty the occurrence, financial impact, or recognition period of significant items, including share-based compensation, Section 45X tax credit discounts, contingencies, and certain other gains or losses, without unreasonable effort.

The company scheduled a conference call for October 29, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results. A replay of the webcast will be available on the investors section of the company’s website approximately two hours after the call concludes and will remain available for 30 days.