FSLR vs. KLAC: First Solar vs. KLA Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC) both belong to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry, though FSLR is classified under Semiconductors while KLAC falls under Semiconductor Materials & Equipment.

Company profile comparison for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Profile Item	FSLR	KLAC
Name	First Solar Inc.	KLA Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
GICS Industry	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
GICS Sub-Industry	Semiconductors	Semiconductor Materials & Equipment
Market Capitalization	21.62 billion USD	180.45 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	November 17, 2006	October 8, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FSLR

KLAC

GSPC

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
Total Return (1Y)	-28.81%	26.92%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	12.86%	44.97%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	10.80%	30.55%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FSLR

KLAC

GSPC

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	52.55%	63.92%
Beta (5Y)	1.67	1.51
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-59.97%	-56.93%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.40M	10.66M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FSLR and KLAC are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.63	0.35
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.85	0.50

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

KLA (KLAC) at 91.38% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than First Solar (FSLR) at 18.71%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

18.71%

Max: 52.82%
Q3: 22.26%
FSLR: 18.71%
Median: 10.58%
Q1: 1.29%
Min: -16.89%

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

91.38%

KLAC: 91.38%
Max: 52.82%
Q3: 22.26%
Median: 10.58%
Q1: 1.29%
Min: -16.89%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their ROE against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both First Solar (FSLR) at 37.12% and KLA (KLAC) at 36.25% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

37.12%

Max: 63.80%
FSLR: 37.12%
Q3: 28.36%
Median: 11.44%
Q1: 0.90%
Min: -37.77%

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

36.25%

Max: 63.80%
KLAC: 36.25%
Q3: 28.36%
Median: 11.44%
Q1: 0.90%
Min: -37.77%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their net margin against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both First Solar (FSLR) at 44.37% and KLA (KLAC) at 45.01% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

44.37%

Max: 58.66%
FSLR: 44.37%
Q3: 30.23%
Median: 15.91%
Q1: 7.54%
Min: -25.74%

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

45.01%

Max: 58.66%
KLAC: 45.01%
Q3: 30.23%
Median: 15.91%
Q1: 7.54%
Min: -25.74%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
ROE (TTM)	18.71%	91.38%
ROA (TTM)	8.60%	22.27%
Net Margin (TTM)	37.12%	36.25%
Operating Margin (TTM)	44.37%	45.01%
Gross Margin (TTM)	49.25%	61.47%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both First Solar (FSLR) at 24.09% and KLA (KLAC) at 11.71% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both First Solar (FSLR) at 18.22% and KLA (KLAC) at 20.51% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	24.09%	11.71%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	25.84%	8.96%
EPS Growth (YoY)	18.22%	20.51%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	14.87%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both First Solar (FSLR) at 2.57 and KLA (KLAC) at 2.76 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

2.57

Max: 10.33
Q3: 5.62
Median: 3.33
FSLR: 2.57
Q1: 2.35
Min: 1.03

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

2.76

Max: 10.33
Q3: 5.62
Median: 3.33
KLAC: 2.76
Q1: 2.35
Min: 1.03

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

First Solar (FSLR) at 0.03 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while KLA (KLAC) at 0.92 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.03

Max: 1.46
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.27
Q1: 0.04
FSLR: 0.03
Min: 0.00

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.92

Max: 1.46
KLAC: 0.92
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.27
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.00

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.57	2.76
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.03	0.92
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.52	0.19

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

First Solar (FSLR) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile KLA (KLAC) reports a yield of 0.65%, ranking against industry peers normally.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 1.37%
Q3: 0.65%
FSLR: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.65%

Max: 1.37%
Q3: 0.65%
KLAC: 0.65%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

First Solar (FSLR) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile KLA (KLAC) reports a payout of 21.03%, ranking against industry peers normally.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 49.64%
Q3: 21.71%
FSLR: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

21.03%

Max: 49.64%
Q3: 21.71%
KLAC: 21.03%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.65%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	21.03%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

First Solar (FSLR) at 11.63 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while KLA (KLAC) at 34.71 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for FSLR, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

11.63

Max: 110.34
Q3: 66.81
Median: 37.02
Q1: 23.96
FSLR: 11.63
Min: 8.12

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

34.71

Max: 110.34
Q3: 66.81
Median: 37.02
KLAC: 34.71
Q1: 23.96
Min: 8.12

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

First Solar (FSLR) at 4.31 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while KLA (KLAC) at 12.44 sits in the pricier quartile — KLAC costs more per dollar of sales.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

4.31

Max: 21.42
Q3: 12.27
Median: 5.76
FSLR: 4.31
Q1: 2.73
Min: 0.00

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

12.44

Max: 21.42
KLAC: 12.44
Q3: 12.27
Median: 5.76
Q1: 2.73
Min: 0.00

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

First Solar (FSLR) at 1.99 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile relative to book while KLA (KLAC) at 27.67 prices above its industry range — a wide valuation gap against assets.

FSLR

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

1.99

Max: 14.06
Q3: 7.44
Median: 4.29
Q1: 2.30
FSLR: 1.99
Min: 0.20

KLAC

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

27.67

KLAC: 27.67
Max: 14.06
Q3: 7.44
Median: 4.29
Q1: 2.30
Min: 0.20

First Solar (FSLR) vs. KLA (KLAC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and KLA (KLAC)
Metric	FSLR	KLAC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	11.63	34.71
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.31	12.44
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.99	27.67
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.18%	1.56%