FIRST SOLAR, INC. (FSLR)

First Solar is the leading U.S.-headquartered PV solar manufacturer and the world's largest producer of thin film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar modules, offering an alternative to conventional Chinese-linked crystalline silicon supply chains. The company designs, manufactures, and sells CdTe solar modules using a proprietary, fully integrated, continuous manufacturing process across facilities in the United States, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India, with over 93 GW of modules sold to date. Its flagship products, the Series 6 Plus and larger-format Series 7 modules, offer performance advantages including superior temperature coefficients, better spectral response in humid climates, improved partial shading tolerance, and immunity to cell cracking, backed by warranties covering up to 30 years of power output.

The company has invested over $2 billion in R&D over the past 20 years, operating dedicated innovation centers in Ohio focused on thin film and emerging tandem/perovskite technologies, and holds world records for CdTe cell and module efficiency. First Solar is expanding U.S. manufacturing capacity, including new facilities in Ohio, Alabama, and Louisiana, plus a sixth U.S. plant expected online in the second half of 2026, supported by incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025), which provide advanced manufacturing production credits and investment/production tax credits tied to domestic content and foreign-entity restrictions. The U.S. accounted for 96% of 2025 net sales, driven by growing electricity demand (particularly from AI-related data centers), with India representing a key growth market due to its renewable energy targets and favorable climate for CdTe technology.

Major customers include system developers, utilities, independent power producers, and large corporate energy buyers, with Silicon Ranch Corporation and NextEra Energy each representing 10% or more of 2025 net sales. The company differentiates itself through responsible sourcing practices (excluding Xinjiang-linked suppliers), industry-leading lifecycle sustainability metrics (lowest carbon footprint and water use, fastest energy payback), and a pioneering module recycling program established in 2005 that recovers over 90% of module materials. Competition is intense, primarily from Chinese-linked crystalline silicon manufacturers benefiting from state support, with dynamics increasingly shaped by domestic content rules and foreign-entity-of-concern restrictions in both the U.S. and India.

The company employed approximately 7,900 associates as of December 31, 2025, primarily located in the U.S., Malaysia, India, and Vietnam.