US thin-film photovoltaic manufacturer First Solar has announced its 2025 financial results, reporting net sales of $5.2 billion and module shipments of 17.5GW. The company issued relatively conservative revenue guidance for fiscal year 2026 and took significant steps on both the technological and legal fronts: signing a perovskite patent license agreement with Oxford PV, and filing a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that 10 foreign photovoltaic manufacturers infringe its TOPCon patents.
First Solar reported that net sales reached $5.2 billion in 2025, driven by a 24% increase in third-party module sales, landing at the high end of its previous guidance range. Strong fourth-quarter module sales boosted quarterly net sales by $100 million sequentially to $1.7 billion. The company sold a record-high 17.5GW of modules in 2025. Despite total debookings of 8.3GW last year due to certain contract terminations, the company still added 7.4GW of new bookings. As of year-end, the backlog stood at 50.1GW, valued at $15.1 billion.
For fiscal year 2026, First Solar issued conservative guidance, projecting net sales between $4.9 billion and $5.2 billion, and module sales between 17GW and 18.2GW (with US sales between 12.6GW and 13.1GW). Regarding production capacity, as the company reduces Southeast Asian capacity and reshoring production to the US, nominal capacity is expected to decline to 19GW in 2026, before increasing to 22.1GW in 2027. This includes the planned 3.7GW Series 6 factory in South Carolina, scheduled to commence commercial operation in the second half of 2026.
First Solar stated that it is aggressively advancing its Copper Replacement (CuRe) technology and perovskite R&D. The company plans to permanently convert its lead-containing lines in Ohio to CuRe CdTe technology in the first quarter, extending this to its Series 6 and Series 7 factories. The company believes that due to superior spectral and shading response, this technology will offer an 8% lifetime energy yield advantage compared to crystalline silicon TOPCon modules. Furthermore, First Solar announced signing a non-exclusive patent license agreement with Oxford PV, granting it rights to use Oxford PV’s granted and pending perovskite patents, covering potential manufacturing and distribution for the US utility, commercial & industrial (C&I), and residential markets.
During the earnings call, company management stated that it had filed a petition with the ITC alleging that affiliates of 10 foreign manufacturers directly or indirectly infringe one of its US TOPCon patents. The companies involved include affiliates of Axitec Solar, Canadian Solar, JA Solar, JinkoSolar, Mundra, Philadelphia Solar, Hanwha Qcells, Runergy, Trinasolar, and VSUN.
Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar, stated that if successful, the ITC could issue a general exclusion order, prohibiting the import of all infringing TOPCon products manufactured by foreign entities, or issue a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders against the named entities in the complaint. First Solar anticipates that if the ITC institutes an investigation, a ruling could be made within approximately 18 months.
