First Solar net sales in Q3 2025 rose to $1.6 billion, driven by higher module shipments totaling 5.2 GW
Production fell by around 200 MW due to glass supply disruptions, though the Louisiana fab began operations in August 2025
It has revised full-year 2025 sales guidance to $4.95 to $5.2 billion following bp contract terminations and supply issues
US solar PV module manufacturer First Solar has reported an increase of $0.5 billion in its net sales totaling $1.6 billion for Q3 2025, attributing it to the increase in the volume of solar modules sold during the quarter at 5.2 GW. It was also over $700 million more than $888 million the company reported for Q3 2024 (see QoQ Drop In Sales For First Solar In Q3 2024; Lowers Annual Guidance).
It also announced a new manufacturing facility in the US – a 3.7 GW line to onshore finishing of international Series 6 panels, fully compliant with the upcoming Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) guidance expected from the US Department of the Treasury. First Solar expects these modules will qualify for Section 45X module assembly tax credits.
The new fab is expected to commence commercial operations in Q4 2026 and ramp up through H1 2027. The management is currently scouting for possible locations.
The manufacturer also improved its operating income year-on-year (YoY) and quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to $466 million. Net income too improved by 46% YoY and 33% QoQ to $456 million.
Nevertheless, the company’s Q3 production was impacted by approximately 200 MW owing to manufacturing disruptions faced by its domestic glass suppliers, mainly at its Alabama factory. It produced 3.6 GW of total module capacity during the quarter, comprising 2.5 GW in the US and 1.1 GW internationally. First Solar’s Louisiana factory started commercial operations in August 2025 (see First Solar Breaks Ground On 5th Manufacturing Fab).
On its earnings conference call, First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said that it deliberately lowered production at its Malaysia and Vietnam locations due to lower demand and termination of 6.6 GW multi-year agreements defaulted by affiliates of fossil-fuel giant bp. It also announced plans to reduce production at its Southeast Asia locations earlier this year (see First Solar To Cut Series 6 Production From SE Asia Factories).
Guidance
Following the cancellation of 6.6 GW of orders and glass supply chain disruptions, the management has revised its full-year 2025 net sales guidance from $4.9 billion to $5.7 billion on July 31, 2025, to now $4.95 billion to $5.20 billion. Operating income is expected to be between $1.56 billion and $1.68 billion, compared to $1.53 billion to $1.87 billion forecast earlier. Module sales guidance has also been changed from 16.7 GW to 19.3 GW previously to now between 16.7 GW and 17.4 GW (see First Solar’s Q2 2025 Net Sales Jump 30% Sequentially).
Bookings
Since last quarter, First Solar’s gross bookings in Q3 2025 rose by 2.7 GW with an ASP of 30.9 cents/W, reaching a total backlog of 54.5 GW, extending through 2030. It now sees potential booking opportunities of 79.2 GW, out of which 17.8 GW are mid-to-late stage, majorly in the US.
Policy perspectives
The company believes the various policy headwinds, including Section 232 investigation into polysilicon imports, antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) investigation into solar imports from India, Laos, and Indonesia, and India’s upcoming Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-II for solar cells and similar measures for wafers in 2028, bode well for the non-Chinese solar supply chain.
First Solar also shared an update into its TOPCon patent case. During the reporting quarter, it filed 3 separate filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) seeking rejection of petitions filed by the affiliates of Canadian Solar, JinkoSolar, and Mundra to invalidate First Solar’s US TOPCon patents.
This follows the cadmium telluride (CdTe) manufacturer’s patent infringement investigations against several TOPCon manufacturers in 2024 (see First Solar Initiates Infringement Investigation).
