First Solar vs GlobalFoundries
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The short version
- GlobalFoundries is the larger business, with $6.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $5.2B for First Solar.
- First Solar grew revenue faster (24.1%, against 0.6%).
- First Solar kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (30.6% operating margin, against 11.7%).
- First Solar turned more of its sales into free cash flow (22.8% FCF margin, against 14.9%).
- First Solar earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (22.7%, against 7.1%).
| Latest fiscal year | FSLR Β· FY25 | GFS Β· FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $18.5B | $24.8B |
| Revenue | $5.2B | $6.8B |
| Free cash flow | $1.2B | $1.0B |
| Net income | $1.5B | $885M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 24.1% | 0.6% |
| 5-year growth | 14.0% | 7.0% |
| Share count change | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 40.6% | 24.9% |
| Operating margin | 30.6% | 11.7% |
| Net margin | 29.3% | 13.0% |
| FCF margin | 22.8% | 14.9% |
| Return on capital | 22.7% | 7.1% |
| Return on equity | 17.5% | 7.8% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | β$2.5B | β$658M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | β1.2x | β0.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 10.6x | β |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 8 |
Revenue
FY16
FSLR $2.9B
GFS β
FY17
FSLR $2.9B
GFS β
FY18
FSLR $2.2B
GFS β
FY19
FSLR $3.1B
GFS $5.8B
FY20
FSLR $2.7B
GFS $4.9B
FY21
FSLR $2.9B
GFS $6.6B
FY22
FSLR $2.6B
GFS $8.1B
FY23
FSLR $3.3B
GFS $7.4B
FY24
FSLR $4.2B
GFS $6.8B
FY25
FSLR $5.2B
GFS $6.8B
FSLR
GFS
Operating margin
FY16
FSLR β19.6%
GFS β
FY17
FSLR 6.1%
GFS β
FY18
FSLR 1.8%
GFS β
FY19
FSLR β5.3%
GFS β28.0%
FY20
FSLR 11.7%
GFS β34.1%
FY21
FSLR 20.1%
GFS β0.9%
FY22
FSLR β1.0%
GFS 14.4%
FY23
FSLR 25.8%
GFS 15.3%
FY24
FSLR 33.2%
GFS β3.2%
FY25
FSLR 30.6%
GFS 11.7%
FSLR
GFS
Free cash flow
FY16
FSLR β$22.7M
GFS β
FY17
FSLR $826M
GFS β
FY18
FSLR β$1.1B
GFS β
FY19
FSLR β$495M
GFS β$91.1M
FY20
FSLR β$380M
GFS $412M
FY21
FSLR β$303M
GFS $1.1B
FY22
FSLR β$30.2M
GFS β$435M
FY23
FSLR β$785M
GFS $321M
FY24
FSLR β$308M
GFS $1.1B
FY25
FSLR $1.2B
GFS $1.0B
FSLR
GFS
Return on capital
FY16
FSLR β
GFS β
FY17
FSLR 2.7%
GFS β
FY18
FSLR 1.4%
GFS β
FY19
FSLR β3.9%
GFS β
FY20
FSLR 8.5%
GFS β
FY21
FSLR 11.4%
GFS β0.6%
FY22
FSLR β0.4%
GFS 12.8%
FY23
FSLR 18.8%
GFS 10.0%
FY24
FSLR 22.0%
GFS β1.6%
FY25
FSLR 22.7%
GFS 7.1%
FSLR
GFS
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.