Is First Solar Stock a Buy?

Solar power is expected to be the fastest-growing energy source worldwide in the coming years. The share of global electricity generation from solar is expected to rise from its current 3% to more than 20% by 2050. That's surely good news for companies in that segment of the energy industry, including solar panel manufacturers. However, it doesn't guarantee rosy days for leading U.S. solar panel supplier First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR). On the contrary, the company faces some serious challenges.

First Solar's quarterly revenues grew at an average annualized rate of around 13% over the past 10 years. That looks impressive, but it pales in comparison to JinkoSolar's (NYSE: JKS) average growth of around 35% over the same period. Nor was it as good as Canadian Solar's (NASDAQ: CSIQ) 17% average revenue growth.