(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — First Solar (FSLR) has been a difficult long-term investment over the last 20 years because of how rapidly the industry has been forced to shift its priorities in response to a million challenges along the way. If it wasn’t competition from China, it was threats from the tax code, or drastic changes in the funding environment or destruction of the ESG theme or literally anything else you could think of. Solar as an investing idea just has not made it easy for the believers. Don’t get me wrong, if you held FSLR since the IPO, you’re up almost 900%. It’s just that almost all of that performance happened in the first few years and then the last few years with over a decade of torture occurring right in the middle. Imagine living through this, despite the reward: The 15-year average annual return is just 3.41%. That’s way too much volatility to endure. But things change, and I wanted to spotlight this name today because I think it’s worth having on your screen. We’re not pulling the trigger on an entry yet, but someday we might and this write-up will give you the background you need for that moment. Something exciting is happening here fundamentally, as Sean will explain. A breakout to a new 20-year high is worth anticipating. Best Stock Spotlight: First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) Sean — Energy infrastructure is very hard to scale. Natural gas takes five years, while something like a nuclear plant can take over a decade to permit, construct and operate. Solar, on the other hand, is said to be the fastest and most commercially viable. FSLR is positioning itself to meet record energy demand in the most efficient (and profitable) way. First Solar is the only U.S.-headquartered solar manufacturing company in existence. Their vertically integrated thin-film technology uses a continuous manufacturing process that doesn’t rely on Chinese supply chains, insulating them from tariffs, supply chain snags, and low-quality manufacturing. FSLR reports on potential gigawatts (GW) sold, representing the power their panels could produce. The company delivered record third quarter results with 5.3 GW of modules sold, representing net sales of $1.6 billion, up $500 million sequentially. Their contracted backlog is valued at $16.4 billion or 54.5 gigawatts, which extends through 2030. FSLR is ramping its capacity just in time for a massive infrastructure cycle that is well underway. They opened a new facility in Louisiana adding 3.7 gigawatts of production per year, putting their total potential annual output at about 24 gigawatts. FSLR has seen a tremendous turnaround when it comes to profitability. Gross margins have inflected going from 2.7% in FY2022 to 44.2% in FY2024, all while hitting record top-line revenue. You can see this turnaround in profitability post-2022: This company is not slowing down. FSLR expects 50% EPS growth in the coming year, and volume sold of 16.7-17.4 GWs, representing about $5 billion in revenue. Now here’s Josh on the risk management… Risk management Josh — We don’t typically write up chart formations that look like this but the purpose of today’s column is to just put the name on your radar. First Solar has pulled back meaningfully from its late-2025 highs and is now trading below the 50-day after an extended run. Recent candles show softer closes and less follow-through on upside attempts, suggesting selling pressure is still being worked through rather than fully resolved. This is okay. It’s called waiting for a better setup to materialize. Momentum reflects that reset, with RSI slipping below 50 and not yet turning higher, which keeps near-term risk elevated for new buyers. Until RSI stabilizes, there’s no rush to take a position. My confidence would improve if the stock can stabilize and reclaim the 50-day with stronger closes and then we see confirmation with a turn higher in momentum. This would mean the buyers are regaining control after this digestion phase. If this recent bottoming doesn’t hold, a deeper reset down to that rising 200-day around 200 becomes the more obvious area where risk could compress. Again, in that area we would need to see downside momentum begin to fade (a stabilizing RSI). In other words, I either want this name on my sheets higher as it retakes the 50-day or lower upon a successful retest of the 200. Until one of those conditions materializes, this looks more like a pause that’s still unfolding than a spot to press new exposure aggressively. Sometimes a name is on our list of Best Stocks, but it’s not ready for a new long position. This is one of those cases. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
