First Solar management check
FSLR · Information Technology · Semiconductors · CEO Mark R Widmar
Filings as of
4 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $264, against $48 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.05 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.5% of net income$8.1m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.5bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 3.0 years of payThe CEO holds 88,794 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 3.0 years of pay. 11 insiders sold $15.4m in the last six months and none bought. 54 of 67 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.4% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
3 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. Widmar. 3 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 53 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 73 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 39 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 49 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 100 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Semiconductors, by management score. First Solar is 17th of 73 in its sector.
- 20NVDANvidia86
- 101ONON Semiconductor76
- 112AVGOBroadcom75
- 117MUMicron Technology75
- 132FSLRFirst Solar73
- 235MRVLMarvell Technology66
- 236QCOMQualcomm65
- 314ADIAnalog Devices60
- 319MPWRMonolithic Power Systems60
- 373TXNTexas Instruments56
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 2, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Widmar | $8.1m | $10.4m | $2.6m | $264 | $48 | $1.5bn |
| 2024 | — | $6.4m | $6.5m | $2.0m | $178 | $32 | $1.3bn |
| 2023 | — | $7.7m | $19.9m | $3.0m | $174 | $52 | $830.8m |
| 2022 | — | $7.2m | $32.5m | $2.1m | $151 | $71 | −$44.2m |
| 2021 | — | $6.5m | $3.1m | $2.0m | $88 | $75 | $468.7m |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted operating margin (1). Its other key measures: Competitiveness of new technology (2), Bookings backlog for delivery (3), Series 7 production (4), CuRe production (5).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Mark R Widmar (Chief Executive Officer) held 88,794 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on May 26, 2026, roughly $24.5m at that filing's price.
11 insiders sold $15.4m in the last six months and none bought. 54 of 67 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldMark R WidmarChief Executive Officer$6.0mMay 26, 2026
- SoldCaroline StockdaleChief People and Comm. Officer$3.0mMay 28, 2026
- SoldMichael KoralewskiChief Supply Chain Officer$1.6mAug 3, 2026
- SoldMarkus GloecklerChief Technology Officer$1.3mOct 1, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Mar 14, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 10, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 16, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 1, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 18, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 15, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $0 returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 0% of net income, and $131.1m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.9bn | $2.6bn | $3.3bn | $4.2bn | $5.2bn |
| Net income | $468.7m | −$44.2m | $830.8m | $1.3bn | $1.5bn |
| Stock-based pay | $20.9m | $28.7m | $34.2m | $28.1m | $19.2m |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 107m | 107m | 107m | 108m | 108m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.