What is an income statement waterfall?

An income statement waterfall is a bar chart that walks from total revenue down to net income, with each step showing how much a cost or tax line removes (or adds). Subtotals — gross profit, operating income, pre-tax income — are anchored to zero so the cascade reconciles exactly to the bottom line.

How much of First Solar (FSLR) revenue becomes net income?

For TTM through Q1 2026, First Solar turned $5.42B of revenue into $1.67B of net income — a net margin of 30.7%. The waterfall shows where the rest goes: cost of revenue, operating expenses, non-operating items, and taxes.

What are First Solar (FSLR) gross, operating, and net margins?

For TTM through Q1 2026, First Solar reported a gross margin of 41.7%, an operating margin of 33.2%, and a net margin of 30.7%. Each subtotal in the waterfall corresponds to one of these margins.

Why does First Solar (FSLR) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

Gross margin (gross profit ÷ revenue) reflects how much of each revenue dollar remains after direct production costs. Capital-light software and platform businesses often show gross margins above 60–80% because their cost of revenue is mainly hosting and support. Hardware, retail, and commodity businesses show lower gross margins because raw materials and manufacturing costs are significant. The waterfall makes this visible at a glance — the size of the "Cost of Revenue" bar relative to Revenue is the gross margin complement.

What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Gross margin = (Revenue − Cost of Revenue) ÷ Revenue. It measures production efficiency. Operating margin = Operating Income ÷ Revenue. It adds operating expenses (R&D, S&M, G&A) and measures the profitability of core operations. Net margin = Net Income ÷ Revenue. It also includes interest, other income/expense, and taxes, and represents the shareholder take after everything.

First Solar (FSLR) Income Statement Waterfall

Revenue

$5.42B

Gross Margin

+41.7%

Operating Margin

+33.2%

Net Margin

+30.7%

Income statement waterfall for First Solar (FSLR) — TTM through Q1 2026

Net income: $1.67B

Margin breakdown for First Solar (FSLR) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Revenue	$5.42B	$5.42B
Cost of Revenue	-$3.16B	$2.26B
Gross Profit	$2.26B	$2.26B
Operating Expenses	-$464M	$1.8B
Operating Income	$1.8B	$1.8B
Other Income / Expense	-$79.2M	$1.72B
Pre-tax Income	$1.72B	$1.72B
Income Tax	-$52.9M	$1.67B
Net Income	$1.67B	$1.67B

Revenue$5.42B
Cost of Revenue-$3.16B
Gross Profit$2.26B
Operating Expenses-$464M
Operating Income$1.8B
Other Income / Expense-$79.2M
Pre-tax Income$1.72B
Income Tax-$52.9M
Net Income$1.67B

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