FSLR vs CSIQ vs SHLS Stock Comparison

First Solar, Canadian Solar and Shoals Technologies Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FSLR First Solar, Inc.
$171.99 -10.4% 1M -24.9% 1Y
Market cap
$18.07B
P/E
10.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.38B
Div. yield
–
Solar Equipment Industrials
10 wins
CSIQ Canadian Solar Inc.
$9.23 -18.6% 1M -34.8% 1Y
Market cap
$596.89M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.99B
Div. yield
–
Solar Equipment Industrials

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

First Solar leads on 10 of the 12 questions below (First Solar 10, Shoals Technologies 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFSLRCSIQSHLSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.07B $596.89M $1.23B FSLR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 10.3x -2.5x 38.6x FSLR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.3x — 18.9x FSLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +23.8% -15.7% +46.9% SHLS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 32.5% -4.9% 5.4% FSLR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.8% -0.2% 5.6% FSLR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.7x — 2.3x FSLR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -24.9% -34.8% -26.6% FSLR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.1%/yr -24.5%/yr -21.8%/yr FSLR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.2% 92.1% 85.5% FSLR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 93/100 45/100 60/100 FSLR

Percentile Scorecard

FSLRCSIQSHLS

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

AxisFSLRCSIQSHLS
Valuation 95 #4 of 61 85 #10 of 61 77 #15 of 61
Growth 97 #3 of 58 12 #51 of 58 33 #39 of 58
Profitability 96 #3 of 55 63 #21 of 55 76 #14 of 55
Financial Health 83 #13 of 71 20 #57 of 71 56 #32 of 71
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 93 45 60
  • FSLR ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • CSIQ ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • SHLS ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFSLRCSIQSHLSSPY
1 month -10.4%-18.6%-1.7% -1.0%
3 months -15.2%-30.9%-19.3% +2.9%
6 months -11.2%-34.6%-4.4% +6.4%
Year to date -34.2%-61.2%-10.8% +11.4%
1 year -24.9%-34.8%-26.6% +13.1%
3 years +10.3%-56.0%-51.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +3.3%-23.9%-21.4% +21.5%
5 years +61.9%-75.4%-70.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.1%-24.5%-21.8% +10.9%
10 years +307.1%-41.4%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +15.1%-5.2%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureFSLRCSIQSHLSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.2%92.1%85.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.3%99.6%93.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.832.683.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.46-0.38-0.31 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -60.0%-85.6%-92.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.0%-72.5%-40.6% -2.5%
52-week high $318.25$33.58$12.77 $779.14
52-week low $171.25$9.22$5.71 $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.

MultipleFSLRCSIQSHLS
P/E now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 24.1x -2.6xmedian 24.1x 40.0xmedian 24.1x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.2x 0.1xmedian 2.2x 2.2xmedian 2.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 17.4x —median 17.4x 18.4xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 27.4x 2.0xmedian 27.4x -24.7xmedian 27.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.8x 0.2xmedian 1.8x 2.1xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.09median 0.76 0.07median 0.76 -0.98median 0.76

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 monthsFSLRCSIQSHLS
Revenue $5.38B $4.99B $588.06M
Gross profit $2.37B $820.00M $187.70M
Operating income $1.81B -$27.67M $62.52M
Net income $1.75B -$251.16M $31.84M
Free cash flow $1.50B $311.68M -$51.59M
R&D $269.73M $83.20M –
EPS (diluted) $16.21 $-3.60 $0.19
Cash & equivalents $1.69B $1.46B $15.72M
Total debt $37.64M $24.65B $642.00M
Shares (diluted) 107.73M 67.37M 170.02M
Enterprise value $9.02B -$5.44B $1.20B

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
MetricFSLRCSIQSHLS
P/E 10.6x -2.6x 40.0x
P/FCF 12.3x 2.0x -24.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.6x -1.1x -66.1x
P/S 3.4x 0.1x 2.2x
P/B 1.8x 0.2x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 0.2x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 7.0x – 18.4x
EV/EBIT 9.3x -200.4x 23.3x
EV/Revenue 3.1x 1.1x 2.5x
EV/FCF 11.2x 17.8x -28.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.8x -9.8x -75.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.09 0.07 -0.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFSLRCSIQSHLS
Revenue growth (1Y) 23.8% -15.7% 46.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 21.6% -14.4% 12.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 27.5% -26.1% 39.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 67.5% -17.7% 2.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 32.9% 48.9% 51.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 192.6% -27.0% -14.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 38.9% -44.9% 50.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 123.5% -35.7% -42.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 38.6% -9.9% 48.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 123.2% -36.0% -40.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 621.3% -135.9% -161.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 39.2% -39.4% -30.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 259.1% -51.2% -526.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 70.7% -43.3% -38.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFSLRCSIQSHLS
Gross margin 44.0% 16.4% 31.9%
EBITDA margin 44.4% – 13.4%
Operating margin 33.6% -0.6% 10.6%
Pretax margin 33.9% -3.7% 7.6%
Net margin 32.5% -4.9% 5.4%
FCF margin 27.9% 6.2% -8.8%
Operating cash flow margin 40.1% -11.4% -3.3%
Return on equity 17.3% -6.3% 5.2%
Return on assets 13.1% -1.6% 3.1%
Return on invested capital 16.8% -0.2% 5.6%
Return on capital employed 16.1% -0.3% 7.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 2.3x -0.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% – 2.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFSLRCSIQSHLS
Debt / assets 0.3% 39.6% 19.3%
Debt / equity 0.0x 1.6x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.7x – 2.3x
Debt / FCF 0.0x 20.5x -3.8x
Liabilities / assets 22.9% 75.6% 39.3%
Equity / assets 77.1% 24.4% 60.7%
Interest coverage 46.9x -0.1x 5.3x
Current ratio 2.5x 1.0x 2.2x
Quick ratio 1.7x 0.4x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 5.54 0.47 3.14

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFSLRCSIQSHLS
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – – –
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.

ConsensusFSLRCSIQSHLS
Forward P/E 9.3xFY2026 – 18.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.47FY2026 $-2.62FY2026 $0.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +30.0%FY2026 – +11.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.3% – +47.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.35BFY2026 $5.88BFY2026 $592.23MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.5%FY2026 +5.0%FY2026 +24.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.3% +21.9% +15.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFSLRCSIQSHLS
Held by institutions 93.1% 60.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,010 156 269
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.9% +23.0% -1.8%
Institutions buying 497 98 143
Institutions selling 356 32 88
Buyers to sellers 1.40 3.06 1.63

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.

FSLRCSIQSHLS
FSLR 1.00 0.50 0.47
CSIQ 0.50 1.00 0.38
SHLS 0.47 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FSLR, CSIQ and SHLS?

First Solar (FSLR) is the largest by market capitalisation: First Solar (FSLR) $18.07B, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) $596.89M, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) $1.23B.

Which stock is cheaper, FSLR, CSIQ and SHLS?

First Solar (FSLR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (First Solar (FSLR) 10.3x, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -2.5x, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) 38.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, First Solar (FSLR) is cheapest (First Solar (FSLR) 9.3x, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) 18.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Shoals Technologies (SHLS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: First Solar (FSLR) +23.8%, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -15.7%, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) +46.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

First Solar (FSLR) has the highest net margin (First Solar (FSLR) 32.5%, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -4.9%, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) 5.4%). On return on invested capital, First Solar (FSLR) leads (First Solar (FSLR) 16.8%, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -0.2%, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) 5.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year First Solar (FSLR) returned the most: First Solar (FSLR) -24.9%, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -34.8%, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) -26.6%. Over five years, First Solar (FSLR) compounded fastest (First Solar (FSLR) +10.1%/yr, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -24.5%/yr, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) -21.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, First Solar (FSLR) has been the steadiest (First Solar (FSLR) 54.2%, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) 92.1%, Shoals Technologies (SHLS) 85.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 10. 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.