JinkoSolar NYSE: JKS reported a narrower third-quarter loss as higher-margin solar products, cost reductions and growth in energy storage improved profitability, while management said it expects continued pressure on fourth-quarter margins from a larger mix of China shipments and elevated logistics costs.
The company, which recently completed a name change to JinkoSolar Holdings Limited, said third-quarter gross margin rose to 12.3%, from 4.2% in the prior quarter and 7.3% a year earlier. Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders narrowed to $25.4 million, compared with $103 million in the second quarter and $105 million in the third quarter of 2025.
Adjusted net loss was $1.2 million, improving from $134 million in the preceding quarter and $57.5 million a year earlier. Acting CFO Craig Zhang said the improvement reflected the company’s focus on high-efficiency products and higher-value markets, an increased contribution from energy storage, and cost-control measures.
Revenue rises sequentially as storage contribution grows
Total revenue was $2.03 billion, up 10.2% sequentially but down 15.7% from a year earlier. Zhang said the sequential increase was driven primarily by greater revenue from energy storage systems and higher average selling prices for solar modules. The year-over-year decline reflected lower module shipment volume.
Operating expenses fell to $261.2 million, down 10.2% from the second quarter and 32.3% from the prior-year period. The company attributed the quarterly decline mainly to lower expected quality losses, while the annual decline was linked to reduced impairment of long-lived assets and lower expected credit losses.
Loss from operations narrowed to $11.9 million, producing an operating-loss margin of 0.6%, compared with 11.6% in the second quarter and 8.7% a year earlier.
JinkoSolar shipped 15 gigawatts of modules during the third quarter, with overseas markets accounting for roughly 70% of total volume. Shipments of Tiger Neo 3.0 modules exceeded 5 gigawatts, and the products carried an approximately $0.01-per-watt premium over conventional modules, CEO Dimi Du said.
New products and 2027 mix strategy
Du said the company launched its next-generation Tiger Neo 5.0 All-Black residential module, based on its TAC technology platform. The module offers power output of up to 510 watts and efficiency of up to 25.52%, according to the company. JinkoSolar plans to gradually increase production and shipments during the next two years based on market demand and industry conditions.
Charlie Cao, CEO of Jinko Solar Company Limited, said the company expects to further optimize its product, regional and customer mix in 2027, including across utility-scale and residential distributed-generation markets. He said the company expects module pricing to stabilize and believes current industry pricing and profit margins are unsustainable.
“We strongly believe the current profit margin and the price is not sustainable, and we need to have a kind of recovery next year,” Cao said.
The company expects fourth-quarter module shipments of 16 gigawatts to 18 gigawatts. Tiger Neo 3.0 products represented about 30% of module shipments in the third quarter and are expected to account for roughly 40% in the fourth quarter, Cao said.
However, Cao cautioned that fourth-quarter gross margin faces headwinds. The company expects relatively more deliveries to China, where seasonal demand is stronger in the fourth quarter, and must fulfill some long-term contracts signed earlier in the year. Higher shipping expenses, particularly for Middle East routes, are also weighing on costs.
Cao said logistics costs remained stable during the third quarter but at elevated levels, with routes involving the Middle East and Red Sea among the most affected. He said high energy prices could persist for several quarters before potentially returning to more normal levels in the second half of next year or later.
Energy storage reaches quarterly operating profitability
JinkoSolar recognized approximately 1.75 gigawatt-hours of energy-storage shipments as revenue during the third quarter, equal to the total recognized during all of 2025. The storage business also posted positive quarterly operating profit for the first time, Du said.
Cao said the energy-storage business has gross margins of roughly 15% to 20%, compared with about 10% for modules. Storage represented approximately 5% to 6% of revenue, meaning its impact on total gross margin was about one to two percentage points, he said.
The company expects full-year 2026 energy-storage system shipments on a point-of-delivery basis to reach about 10 gigawatt-hours. Cao said revenue recognition trails physical shipments because storage projects require shipping, acceptance and commissioning procedures that generally take six to 12 months.
- JinkoSolar shipped about 5 gigawatt-hours of storage systems in 2025 but recognized revenue for about 1 gigawatt-hour.
- For 2026, management expects approximately 10 gigawatt-hours of shipments and six to seven gigawatt-hours of revenue recognition.
- Roughly 7 gigawatt-hours of shipments across the two years are expected to be recognized in later periods, according to Cao.
Management said it is also pursuing storage opportunities in emerging applications, including data centers, and is advancing use of its proprietary power-conversion-system products.
Cash, debt and strategic investments
Operating cash flow was approximately $91 million for the first nine months of 2026. Zhang said management expects full-year operating cash flow to improve from the prior year.
At quarter-end, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $2.32 billion, up from $2.1 billion at the end of the second quarter. Total interest-bearing debt was $6.73 billion, compared with $6.62 billion in the prior quarter, while net debt rose to $4.41 billion from $4.12 billion.
The company said it had approximately 40 gigawatts of high-efficiency capacity meeting Level 1 national energy-efficiency requirements planned by the end of 2026. Du said the company would maintain strict capital-expenditure controls as the solar sector adjusts supply and demand.
Beyond solar and storage, JinkoSolar continued investing in technologies including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and supercapacitors. Third-quarter total and follow-on strategic investments were approximately RMB330 million, including roughly RMB254 million from the company’s own capital.
At the end of the third quarter, the fair value of its strategic investment portfolio was approximately RMB2.05 billion. For the first nine months, the portfolio generated approximately RMB327 million in gains and RMB386 million in cash proceeds from exits. The company also completed the sale of its remaining stake in LAPLACE, bringing cumulative gains from that investment to approximately RMB357 million.
About JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS)
JinkoSolar Holding Co, Ltd. is a global solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer that develops and produces products used to convert sunlight into electricity. The company's portfolio includes silicon wafers, solar cells, PV modules and related energy-storage products, serving utility-scale solar projects as well as commercial, industrial and residential customers.
Founded in 2006, JinkoSolar has developed a vertically integrated manufacturing business spanning much of the solar supply chain.
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