CSIQ vs NXT vs FSLR Stock Comparison

Canadian Solar, Nextpower and First Solar Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSIQ Canadian Solar Inc.
$9.41 -15.9% 1M -54.7% 1Y
Market cap
$757.23M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.99B
Div. yield
–
Solar Equipment Industrials
NXT Nextpower Inc.
$91.13 +8.1% 1M -10.0% 1Y
Market cap
$16.26B
P/E
27.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.63B
Div. yield
–
Solar Equipment Industrials
2 wins
FSLR First Solar, Inc.
$182.05 +4.3% 1M -31.8% 1Y
Market cap
$21.74B
P/E
11.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.01B
Div. yield
–
Solar Equipment Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

First Solar leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (First Solar 8, Nextpower 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSIQNXTFSLRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $757.23M $16.26B $21.74B FSLR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -3.1x 27.4x 11.7x FSLR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 22.0x 10.1x FSLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -15.7% +17.0% -0.7% NXT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.9% 16.4% 37.1% FSLR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -0.2% — 17.1% FSLR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -0.6x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -54.7% -10.0% -31.8% NXT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -25.0%/yr — +9.3%/yr FSLR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 89.6% 67.3% 52.5% FSLR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 81/100 86/100 FSLR

Percentile Scorecard

CSIQNXTFSLR

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCSIQNXTFSLR
Valuation 85 #10 of 62 89 #8 of 62 92 #6 of 62
Growth 9 #54 of 59 81 #12 of 59 76 #15 of 59
Profitability 63 #21 of 55 98 #2 of 55 94 #4 of 55
Financial Health 23 #56 of 72 78 #17 of 72 83 #13 of 72
Shareholder Returns – 60 #13 of 31 –
Overall 45 81 86
  • CSIQ ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • NXT ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • FSLR ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCSIQNXTFSLRSPY
1 month -15.9%+8.1%+4.3% -2.3%
3 months -39.4%+0.5%-21.8% -0.7%
6 months -40.7%-22.1%-13.9% +4.8%
Year to date -60.4%+4.6%-30.3% +10.3%
1 year -54.7%-10.0%-31.8% +10.3%
3 years -56.5%+145.0%+19.8% +73.0%
3 years, per year -24.3%+34.8%+6.2% +20.1%
5 years -76.2%—+55.8% +61.9%
5 years, per year -25.0%—+9.3% +10.1%
10 years -34.7%—+348.6% +258.6%
10 years, per year -4.2%—+16.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCSIQNXTFSLRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 89.6%67.3%52.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 98.6%66.5%56.3% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.612.641.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.61-0.15-0.61 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -85.6%-51.1%-60.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -72.0%-41.7%-42.8% -3.5%
52-week high $33.58$156.40$318.25 $779.14
52-week low $8.85$76.48$168.15 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCSIQNXTFSLR
P/E now vs peer median -2.6xmedian 29.1x 23.1xmedian 29.1x 10.5xmedian 29.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 2.3x 3.8xmedian 2.3x 3.9xmedian 2.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 18.5x 17.1xmedian 18.5x 7.3xmedian 18.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 28.9x 25.2xmedian 28.9x 84.1xmedian 28.9x
P/B now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 1.8x 5.4xmedian 1.8x 1.8xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.07median 0.81 0.12median 0.81 0.18median 0.81

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCSIQNXTFSLR
Revenue $4.99B $3.63B $5.01B
Gross profit $820.00M $1.21B $2.47B
Operating income -$27.67M $701.94M $1.89B
Net income -$251.16M $594.06M $1.86B
Free cash flow $311.68M $548.73M $232.79M
R&D $83.20M $143.86M $276.36M
EPS (diluted) $-3.60 $3.83 $17.28
Cash & equivalents $1.46B $1.21B $1.58B
Total debt $6.38B – $107.67M
Shares (diluted) 67.37M 155.14M 107.70M
Enterprise value -$5.28B $12.15B $13.11B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCSIQNXTFSLR
P/E -2.6x 23.1x 10.5x
P/FCF 2.0x 25.2x 84.1x
P/Operating cash flow -1.1x 22.9x 23.3x
P/S 0.1x 3.8x 3.9x
P/B 0.2x 5.4x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 0.2x 5.6x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA – 17.1x 7.3x
EV/EBIT -200.8x 18.0x 9.6x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 3.5x 3.6x
EV/FCF 17.8x 23.0x 77.5x
EV/Operating cash flow -9.8x 20.9x 21.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.07 0.12 0.18

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSIQNXTFSLR
Revenue growth (1Y) -15.7% 17.0% -0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -14.4% 22.4% 16.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -26.1% 15.3% 22.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -17.7% 51.3% 42.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 48.9% 5.5% 25.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -27.0% 48.9% 65.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -44.9% 8.1% 32.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.7% 54.6% 57.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -1,020% 6.1% 32.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -36.0% 196.5% 57.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -135.9% -2.2% -48.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% 22.2% 0.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -51.2% -4.4% -62.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -43.3% 18.8% 34.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSIQNXTFSLR
Gross margin 16.4% 33.4% 49.3%
EBITDA margin – 20.3% 49.5%
Operating margin -0.6% 19.3% 37.7%
Pretax margin -3.7% 19.9% 38.5%
Net margin -4.9% 16.4% 37.1%
FCF margin 6.2% 15.1% 4.6%
Operating cash flow margin -11.4% 16.6% 16.7%
Return on equity -6.3% 24.3% 17.6%
Return on assets -1.6% 14.3% 13.6%
Return on invested capital -0.2% – 17.1%
Return on capital employed -0.3% 23.1% 16.2%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.9x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.0x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSIQNXTFSLR
Debt / assets 39.6% – 0.8%
Debt / equity 1.6x – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -0.6x
Debt / FCF 20.5x – 0.5x
Liabilities / assets 75.6% 40.0% 22.4%
Equity / assets 24.4% 60.0% 77.6%
Interest coverage -0.1x – 70.3x
Current ratio 1.0x 2.7x 2.6x
Quick ratio 0.4x 2.0x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.1x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 0.47 6.20 5.63

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSIQNXTFSLR
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -0.2% –
Shareholder yield – -0.2% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCSIQNXTFSLR
Forward P/E – 22.0xFY2026 10.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-2.62FY2026 $4.36FY2026 $18.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -3.1%FY2026 +30.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +37.6% +21.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.88BFY2026 $4.11BFY2026 $5.34BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.0%FY2026 +15.4%FY2026 +2.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.9% +29.5% +16.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSIQNXTFSLR
Held by institutions 60.5% 0.0% 93.1%
Institutions holding 156 2 1,012
Change in shares held, QoQ +23.0% – +5.9%
Institutions buying 98 0 499
Institutions selling 32 1 356
Buyers to sellers 3.06 0.00 1.40

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CSIQNXTFSLR
CSIQ 1.00 0.40 0.50
NXT 0.40 1.00 0.52
FSLR 0.50 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSIQ, NXT and FSLR?

First Solar (FSLR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Canadian Solar (CSIQ) $757.23M, Nextpower (NXT) $16.26B, First Solar (FSLR) $21.74B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSIQ, NXT and FSLR?

First Solar (FSLR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -3.1x, Nextpower (NXT) 27.4x, First Solar (FSLR) 11.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, First Solar (FSLR) is cheapest (Nextpower (NXT) 22.0x, First Solar (FSLR) 10.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nextpower (NXT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -15.7%, Nextpower (NXT) +17.0%, First Solar (FSLR) -0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

First Solar (FSLR) has the highest net margin (Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -4.9%, Nextpower (NXT) 16.4%, First Solar (FSLR) 37.1%). On return on invested capital, First Solar (FSLR) leads (Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -0.2%, First Solar (FSLR) 17.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nextpower (NXT) returned the most: Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -54.7%, Nextpower (NXT) -10.0%, First Solar (FSLR) -31.8%. Over five years, First Solar (FSLR) compounded fastest (Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -25.0%/yr, First Solar (FSLR) +9.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, First Solar (FSLR) has been the steadiest (Canadian Solar (CSIQ) 89.6%, Nextpower (NXT) 67.3%, First Solar (FSLR) 52.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CSIQ, NXT and FSLR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, First Solar (FSLR) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.