First Solar Inc
.
FSLR
reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.27 by 15%.
Including one-time litigation losses, the company reported GAAP earnings of $1.09 per share against the GAAP loss of 56 cents recorded in the prior-year quarter.
For 2020, the company reported adjusted earnings of $3.73 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.94.
Sales
First Solar’s sales of $609.2 million in the reported quarter missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $720 million by 15.4%. Moreover, the top line plunged a massive 56.5% from the year-ago quarter’s $1,399.4 million.
For 2020, the company recorded revenues of $2.71 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.83 billion by 4.2%. Moreover, the full-year top line declined 11.4% from the year-ago quarter figure of $3.06 billion.
Operational Highlights
In the fourth quarter, gross profit totaled $159.9 million compared with $333.6 million in the year-ago quarter.
Total operating expenses declined a massive 77.4% to $102.1 million primarily due to the absence of any litigation losses.
Consequently, the company reported an operating income of $57.8 million at the end of fourth-quarter 2020 against the operating loss of $117.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
First Solar, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Financial Performance
First Solar had $1.23 billion of cash and cash equivalents as of Dec 31, 2020, down from $1.35 billion as of Dec 31, 2019.
Long-term debt totaled $237.7 million at the end of 2020 compared with $454.2 million as of Dec 31, 2019.
2021 Guidance
The company currently expects to report earnings of $4.05-$4.75 per share on sales of $2.85-$3.0 billion in 2021.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 earnings, pegged at $3.57 per share, lies below the company’s projected range. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 sales, pegged at $3.08 billion, lies above the guided range.
Moreover, the company expects to incur operating expenses of $285-$300 million.
Meanwhile, First Solar forecasts shipments of 7.8-8.0 gigawatts.
Zacks Rank
First Solar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Recent Solar Releases
Enphase Energy
ENPH
reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 51 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents by 27.5%.
SolarEdge Technologies
SEDG
reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 98 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 87 cents by 12.6%.
SunRun Inc
.
RUN
incurred fourth-quarter 2020 loss of 6 cents per share against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 7 cents.
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