Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS) vs. First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Critical Survey

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS) are both large-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.1% of First Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.4% of Skyworks Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of First Solar shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Skyworks Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

First Solar has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Skyworks Solutions has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Solar and Skyworks Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Solar	0	8	15	0	2.65
Skyworks Solutions	1	8	17	0	2.62

First Solar presently has a consensus price target of $232.62, suggesting a potential upside of 29.68%. Skyworks Solutions has a consensus price target of $121.27, suggesting a potential upside of 23.45%. Given First Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Solar is more favorable than Skyworks Solutions.

Profitability

This table compares First Solar and Skyworks Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Solar	5.23%	3.13%	2.22%
Skyworks Solutions	20.97%	23.89%	15.39%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Solar and Skyworks Solutions’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Solar	$2.99 billion	6.41	-$44.17 million	$1.46	122.86
Skyworks Solutions	$4.96 billion	3.16	$1.28 billion	$6.49	15.14

Skyworks Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than First Solar. Skyworks Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Solar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc. provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United State, Japan, France, Canada, India, Australia, and internationally. The company designs, manufactures, and sells cadmium telluride solar modules that converts sunlight into electricity. It serves developers and operators of systems, utilities, independent power producers, commercial and industrial companies, and other system owners. The company was formerly known as First Solar Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to First Solar, Inc. in 2006. First Solar, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

About Skyworks Solutions

Skyworks Solutions, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary semiconductor products in the United States, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. Its product portfolio includes amplifiers, antenna tuners, attenuators, automotive tuners and digital radios, clocks and timings, circulators/isolators, DC/DC converters, demodulators, detectors, diodes, wireless analog system on chip products, directional couplers, diversity receive modules, filters, front-end modules, hybrids, light emitting diode drivers, low noise amplifiers, mixers, modulators, optocouplers/optoisolators, phase locked loops, phase shifters, power dividers/combiners, receivers, switches, synthesizers, timing devices, technical ceramics, voltage controlled oscillators/synthesizers, and voltage regulators. The company provides its products for the usage in aerospace, automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, connected home, entertainment and gaming, industrial, medical, military, smartphone, tablet, and wearable markets. It sells its products through direct sales force, electronic component distributors, and independent sales representatives. Skyworks Solutions, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is based in Irvine, California.