First Solar Shares Gain On Earnings Beat, Sales Miss

First Solar Inc. on Tuesday said it earned $192 million, or $1.89 a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with 64 cents a share a year ago. The solar-power company reported sales of $1 billion, compared with $768 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 77 cents a share on sales of $1.28 billion. Shares of First Solar rose 0.8% in after-hours trading Tuesday. Shares had ended up 10% in regular trading Tuesday after First Solar announced late Monday it was planning to launch an "yieldco," a subsidiary bundling power plants and other assets, with SunPower Corp.