FSLR vs. TXN: First Solar vs. Texas Instruments Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN) 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 Texas Instruments (TXN) are both classified in the Semiconductors sub-industry within the broader Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN)
Profile Item	FSLR	TXN
Name	First Solar Inc.	Texas Instruments Inc.
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	Semiconductors
Market Capitalization	21.62 billion USD	253.58 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	November 17, 2006	June 1, 1972
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FSLR

TXN

GSPC

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN), 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

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Trailing total returns for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
Total Return (1Y)	-28.81%	86.19%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	12.86%	30.37%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	10.80%	12.03%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FSLR

TXN

GSPC

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN), 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

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	52.55%	44.27%
Beta (5Y)	1.67	1.40
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-59.97%	-33.41%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.40M	6.57M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FSLR and TXN 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 Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.63	1.85
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.85	3.15

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Texas Instruments (TXN) at 39.72% sits in the top ROE quartile, while First Solar (FSLR) at 18.71% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for TXN.

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%

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

39.72%

Max: 52.82%
TXN: 39.72%
Q3: 22.26%
Median: 10.58%
Q1: 1.29%
Min: -16.89%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN): 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 Texas Instruments (TXN) at 34.25% 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%

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

34.25%

Max: 63.80%
TXN: 34.25%
Q3: 28.36%
Median: 11.44%
Q1: 0.90%
Min: -37.77%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN): 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 Texas Instruments (TXN) at 47.55% 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%

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

47.55%

Max: 58.66%
TXN: 47.55%
Q3: 30.23%
Median: 15.91%
Q1: 7.54%
Min: -25.74%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
ROE (TTM)	18.71%	39.72%
ROA (TTM)	8.60%	14.85%
Net Margin (TTM)	37.12%	34.25%
Operating Margin (TTM)	44.37%	47.55%
Gross Margin (TTM)	49.25%	60.24%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both First Solar (FSLR) at 24.09% and Texas Instruments (TXN) at 13.05% 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. Texas Instruments (TXN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both First Solar (FSLR) at 18.22% and Texas Instruments (TXN) at 4.81% 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. Texas Instruments (TXN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	24.09%	13.05%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	25.84%	-4.07%
EPS Growth (YoY)	18.22%	4.81%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-16.64%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both First Solar (FSLR) at 2.57 and Texas Instruments (TXN) at 5.60 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

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

5.60

Max: 10.33
Q3: 5.62
TXN: 5.60
Median: 3.33
Q1: 2.35
Min: 1.03

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN): 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 Texas Instruments (TXN) at 0.71 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

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.71

Max: 1.46
TXN: 0.71
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.27
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.00

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN): 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 Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.57	5.60
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.03	0.71
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.52	0.51

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 Texas Instruments (TXN) reports a yield of 2.04%, 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%

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

2.04%

TXN: 2.04%
Max: 1.37%
Q3: 0.65%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN): 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 Texas Instruments (TXN) reports a payout of 73.67%, 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%

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

73.67%

TXN: 73.67%
Max: 49.64%
Q3: 21.71%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	2.04%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	73.67%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

First Solar (FSLR) at 11.63 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Texas Instruments (TXN) at 35.97 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

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

35.97

Max: 110.34
Q3: 66.81
Median: 37.02
TXN: 35.97
Q1: 23.96
Min: 8.12

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both First Solar (FSLR) at 4.31 and Texas Instruments (TXN) at 12.21 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

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

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

12.21

Max: 21.42
Q3: 12.27
TXN: 12.21
Median: 5.76
Q1: 2.73
Min: 0.00

First Solar (FSLR) vs. Texas Instruments (TXN): 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 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while Texas Instruments (TXN) at 13.21 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

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

TXN

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

13.21

Max: 14.06
TXN: 13.21
Q3: 7.44
Median: 4.29
Q1: 2.30
Min: 0.20

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for First Solar (FSLR) and Texas Instruments (TXN)
Metric	FSLR	TXN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	11.63	35.97
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.31	12.21
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.99	13.21
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.18%	1.88%