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First Solar earnings quality score
How much of the reported profit is backed by cash, and how many markers of managed earnings the filings show
Score84 / 100 · grade A · rank 20 of 1027
First Solar (FSLR) scores 84 of 100 for earnings quality, grade A: rank 20 of 1027 companies and 4 of 203 in technology. It loses the most points on accruals of -4.2% of assets, lower than 51% of companies (profit backed by cash), discretionary accruals of -3.1% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most. It earns full or near-full marks for Piotroski F-score 8 of 9, adjusted and GAAP earnings agree, Beneish M-score -2.56: clean (below −2.22).
What earned and lost points
| Component | What the filings show | Points | Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accruals | accruals of -4.2% of assets, lower than 51% of companies (profit backed by cash) | 10 | 20 |
| Beneish M-score | Beneish M-score -2.56: clean (below −2.22) | 15 | 15 |
| Dechow F-score | Dechow F-score 0.62 (normal) | 15 | 15 |
| Montier C-score | Montier C-score 0 of 5 checks failed | 15 | 15 |
| Discretionary accruals | discretionary accruals of -3.1% of assets (modified Jones), smaller than most | 5 | 10 |
| Piotroski F-score | Piotroski F-score 8 of 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Non-GAAP gap | adjusted and GAAP earnings agree | 10 | 10 |
| Earnings smoothness | profit about as variable as cash flow (smoothness 0.88) | 5 | 5 |
How the score is built
Eight published measures, each scored against the whole universe or on its own scale and weighted: accruals 20, discretionary accruals 10, Beneish M 15, Dechow F 15, Montier C 15, Piotroski F 10, the non-GAAP gap 10, smoothness 5. A measure that cannot be computed (Beneish for a bank, say) drops out and the rest is rescaled, so every company is scored on what applies to it.
Every company ranked → The full quality workbench, live → First Solar: cash flow →
Computed from the companies’ own XBRL filings (latest fiscal year) by published formulas; a statistical screen, not an audit or an accusation. A low score means the reported profit shows more of the markers of managed or low-quality earnings than its peers. Not investment advice.