LIVE
ENPH
Enphase Energy, Inc. · Energy
$52.28
+11.80% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
FSLR
First Solar, Inc. · Energy
$257.70
+16.23% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
ENPH
1
FSLR
4
Comparison scoreboard
FSLR LEADS 4/5AI Score
ENPH ✓56.5
FSLR 50.9
1Y Return
ENPH +49.71%
FSLR ✓+79.08%
Fwd P/E
ENPH 22.56
FSLR ✓11.41
Target Up.
ENPH -14.32%
FSLR ✓-8.06%
Op. Margin
ENPH -9.13%
FSLR ✓33.07%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
ENPH vs FSLR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Enphase and First Solar are both leading clean energy companies but serve entirely different solar markets. Enphase serves residential solar (individual homeowners with rooftop systems), while First Solar serves utility-scale solar (large ground-mounted solar farms for utilities and corporate buyers). They are not direct competitors — they sell to different customers and compete on different factors.
ENPH vs FSLR is a comparison between the residential solar microinverter leader facing demand recovery from high-rate headwinds (Enphase) and the US utility-scale solar panel manufacturer benefiting from IRA domestic content premiums with multi-year backlog visibility (First Solar).
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
FSLR holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. FSLR leads on both 1-year return (+79.08%) and forward P/E (11.41x vs 22.56x for ENPH), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. FSLR leads on both revenue growth (23.60%) and operating margin (33.07%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for FSLR (-8.06%) than for ENPH (-14.32%).
Normalized 1Y performance
ENPH
FSLR
Recent returns
ENPH
FSLR
Analyst price targets & sentiment
ENPH · 33 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Hold (2.7/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$33.00
analyst high$95.00
analyst mean$46.77
current price$52.28
-14.3% upside to analyst mean
FSLR
Price target range
analyst mean$245.77
current price$257.70
-8.1% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
ENPH may suit investors who:
- →prefer the residential solar microinverter market leader with home battery storage integration and European diversification
- →value microinverter technology's superior safety, monitoring, and shading performance as a defensible residential solar position
- →want residential clean energy exposure with recovery upside as US interest rates decline and residential solar installation activity recovers
- →are comfortable with demand cyclicality tied to residential mortgage rates and installer sentiment that created significant 2022–2024 headwinds
FSLR may suit investors who:
- →prefer the US utility-scale solar manufacturer with IRA domestic content bonus competitive advantage that Chinese panel makers cannot match
- →value multi-year utility-scale customer backlog providing revenue visibility absent in residential solar market cycles
- →want exposure to utility-scale solar infrastructure buildout driven by AI data center power demand and corporate renewable PPAs
- →are comfortable with ASP compression risk as solar manufacturing economics improve and First Solar invests in new capacity
Performance & AI score
| Metric | ENPH | FSLR |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 56.5 | 50.9 |
| AI rank | #232 | #408 |
| Latest close | $52.28 | $257.70 |
| 1M return | +11.80% | +16.23% |
| 6M return | +65.39% | +1.44% |
| 1Y return | +49.71% | +79.08% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ENPH | FSLR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $14.37K (+43.7%) started 2025-06-18 | $17.94K (+79.4%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $3.21K (-67.9%) started 2021-06-21 | $32.96K (+229.6%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $244.3K (+2343.0%) started 2016-06-20 | $52.25K (+422.5%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | ENPH | FSLR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $7.19B | $28.72B |
| Trailing P/E | 54.05 | 17.27 |
| Forward P/E | 22.56 | 11.41 |
| Price/Sales | 3.80 | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 4.91 | 4.96 |
| Analyst target | $46.77 | $245.77 |
| Target upside | -14.32% | -8.06% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | ENPH | FSLR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | -20.60% | 23.60% |
| Earnings growth | -36.40% | 65.10% |
| EPS growth | -36.40% | +65.10% |
| FCF margin | +6.54% | +21.18% |
| Operating margin | -9.13% | 33.07% |
| Profit margin | 9.64% | 30.73% |
| ROIC proxy | 14.11% | 18.44% |
| Return on equity | 14.11% | 18.44% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | N/A |
| Beta | 1.57 | 1.69 |
| Debt/equity | 55.53 | 5.94 |
| Current ratio | 3.80 | 2.56 |
| Quick ratio | 2.71 | 1.91 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
ENPH max drawdown39.65%
FSLR max drawdown35.10%
ENPH max wkly drop26.73%
FSLR max wkly drop21.67%
5Y risk snapshot
ENPH max drawdown92.23%
FSLR max drawdown59.97%
ENPH max wkly drop33.19%
FSLR max wkly drop21.67%
10Y risk snapshot
ENPH max drawdown92.23%
FSLR max drawdown61.26%
ENPH max wkly drop42.51%
FSLR max wkly drop25.40%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | ENPH | FSLR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +43.71% | +79.37% |
| CAGR | +43.78% | +79.52% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.78 | 1.25 | |
| Max drawdown | 39.65% | 35.10% | |
| Max daily drop | 18.01% | 13.61% | |
| Max wkly drop | 26.73% | 21.67% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -67.94% | +229.58% |
| CAGR | -20.38% | +26.99% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.04 | 0.63 | |
| Max drawdown | 92.23% | 59.97% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.73% | 17.89% | |
| Max wkly drop | 33.19% | 21.67% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +2342.99% | +422.51% |
| CAGR | +37.68% | +17.99% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.74 | 0.49 | |
| Max drawdown | 92.23% | 61.26% | |
| Max daily drop | 28.14% | 17.89% | |
| Max wkly drop | 42.51% | 25.40% |
Business comparison
| Category | ENPH | FSLR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Enphase Energy, Inc. | First Solar, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Solar | N/A |
| Core business | Enphase Energy is the leading residential solar microinverter and energy management system company. Its microinverters convert DC power from each individual solar panel to AC, providing better performance and monitoring than string inverters. Enphase also sells IQ batteries for home energy storage. Its platform integrates solar, batteries, and home energy management through the Enphase App. Revenue is primarily from US residential solar installers (SunPower, Sunrun, installers) and increasingly from Europe. | First Solar is the largest US-headquartered solar panel manufacturer, producing CadTel (cadmium telluride) thin-film solar modules for utility-scale solar installations. Unlike Chinese crystalline silicon competitors, First Solar manufactures primarily in the US (Ohio, Alabama) and internationally (India, Malaysia, Vietnam), making it the primary beneficiary of the Inflation Reduction Act's domestic content bonuses. Utility-scale solar customers include large IPPs, utilities, and corporate PPA buyers. |
| Investor focus | Investors track microinverter shipment volumes, US and European residential solar demand recovery from the 2023 interest rate-driven slowdown, IQ battery attachment rate (storage revenue per system), and the timeline for demand recovery in the residential solar installation market. | Investors track manufacturing capacity additions (gigawatts per year), order backlog and ASP (average selling price) trends, US domestic content bonus realization under the IRA, and module technology improvements (Series 7 efficiency gains). |
ENPH strengths
- →Microinverter technology provides superior panel-level monitoring, safety (no high-voltage DC), and partial shading performance vs string inverters
- →IQ Battery storage integration creates a complete residential solar + storage energy system with a competitive software management layer
- →European market diversification (Germany, Netherlands, France) reduces dependence on US residential solar demand cycles
FSLR strengths
- →Largest domestic US solar panel manufacturer — the primary beneficiary of IRA domestic content bonus credits that Chinese competitors cannot access
- →CadTel thin-film technology uses no polysilicon, insulating First Solar from Chinese polysilicon supply chain constraints
- →Multi-year utility-scale customer backlog provides revenue visibility that residential solar companies like Enphase lack
Risks to watch — ENPH
- →US residential solar demand has been severely impacted by high interest rates, reducing installer pull-through for Enphase systems
- →SolarEdge (string inverter with DC optimizer) and Chinese string inverter competitors offer lower upfront cost alternative technology
- →Enphase revenue declined significantly from 2022–2023 peaks as inventory normalization and demand slowdown reduced shipments
Risks to watch — FSLR
- →Module average selling prices (ASPs) can decline over time as manufacturing efficiency improves and competitors add capacity
- →Utility-scale solar development timelines are subject to interconnection queue delays and permitting challenges
- →IRA policy risk: any reduction in domestic content credits under future administrations would significantly impact First Solar's competitive advantage
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