First Solar Shares Hit 52-Week Low of $182.88 Amid Interest Rate and Tax Credit Policy Fears

First Solar shares tumbled roughly 7.7% on Thursday, September 24, touching a fresh 52-week low of $182.88 and making the stock one of the worst performers in the semiconductor and clean-energy space on the day. The decline extended a sharp year-to-date selloff that has sent FSLR down more than 20% in 2026 and left it trading below its 200-day moving average.

Investors are weighing two overlapping pressures: a higher-for-longer interest rate environment that raises the cost of capital for large utility-scale solar projects, and persistent uncertainty around U.S. federal tax-credit policy, particularly the Section 45X domestic manufacturing credit that underpins a significant share of First Solar's earnings outlook. Securities class action litigation filed against the company earlier in 2026, alleging misleading statements tied to tariff policy and facility utilization in Malaysia and Vietnam, has added another layer of uncertainty.

The company's full-year 2026 guidance calls for 17.0 to 18.2 gigawatts of volume sold and net sales of $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion, but analysts had already projected a year-over-year decline in quarterly earnings per share heading into the second half. By the close on Thursday, FSLR underperformed its clean-energy peers, and investors remained divided on whether the intraday low represented a durable bottom or a pause in the broader downtrend.