Canadian Solar Q2 Loss Wider Than Estimates, Revenues Fall Y/y

Canadian Solar, Inc. CSIQ reported a second-quarter 2026 loss of $1.40 per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.01. The loss also widened compared with the year-ago quarter’s loss of eight cents.

CSIQ’s Revenues

Canadian Solar reported revenues of $1.21 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17 billion by 3.6%. The top line, however, declined 28.7% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $1.69 billion.

Canadian Solar’s manufacturing business generated $1.09 billion in revenues during the second quarter. Solar module revenues were $589.4 million, while battery energy storage solutions contributed $425.9 million. Solar system kits generated $35.7 million, while EPC and other revenues were $43.0 million.

Recurrent Energy generated revenues of $113.9 million. Solar power and battery energy storage asset sales contributed $61.1 million, while power services generated $20.1 million. Revenues from electricity and battery energy storage operations totaled $32.7 million.

Operational Update of CSIQ

Solar module shipments recognized as revenues totaled 3.1 gigawatts (GW), down 25% year over year. The company delivered 3.1 GW of solar modules during the quarter, with nearly half shipped to its North American home base.

Battery energy storage shipments recognized as revenues totaled 3.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh), up 73% year over year and 82% sequentially. Of the total, 471 megawatt-hours were shipped to internal projects under execution, with associated revenues expected to be recognized in subsequent quarters.

CSIQ's Margin and Expense Performance

Canadian Solar’s gross profit was $168 million compared with $505 million in the second quarter of 2025. Gross margin was 13.9%, down from 29.8% in the year-ago quarter. The decline primarily reflected the absence of IRA tariff refund benefits recognized in the prior quarter and the absence of realized profit from sales-type leasing of a U.S. project recorded in the prior-year period.

Total operating expenses were $240 million, down from $378 million in the second quarter of 2025. The decrease mainly reflected lower impairment charges related to certain solar and storage assets and reduced manufacturing assets. Operating expenses represented 19.8% of revenues compared with 22.3% a year ago.

Canadian Solar's Pipeline and Backlog

As of June 30, 2026, e-STORAGE’s contracted backlog, including contracted long-term service agreements, stood at $3.5 billion. The signed orders represent binding customer commitments and provide visibility over a multi-year period.

Recurrent Energy had a global solar project development pipeline of approximately 22 GW and a battery energy storage project development pipeline of 84 GWh. The solar pipeline included 1.7 GW under construction, 2.2 GW of backlog and 17.7 GW of early-stage projects.

CSIQ's Financial Update

As of June 30, 2026, Canadian Solar’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.46 billion compared with $1.37 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.

Long-term borrowings as of June 30, 2026, were $3.29 billion, down from $3.62 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.

CSIQ’s Guidance

For the third quarter of 2026, Canadian Solar expects revenues in the range of $1.30-$1.50 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter sales is pegged at $1.65 billion, higher than the company’s guided range.

The company expects the gross margin to be between 13.5% and 15.5%.

CSIQ’s Zacks Rank

Canadian Solar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Solar Release

Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 46 cents per share, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, the bottom line declined 33.3% from 69 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Enphase Energy’s second-quarter revenues of $291.9 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $295 million by 1%. The top line also decreased 19.6% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure of $363.2 million.

First Solar, Inc. FSLR reported second-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.92 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.74 by 43.1%. The bottom line increased 23.3% from $3.18 in the year-ago quarter.

Net sales of $1.06 billion missed the consensus estimate of $1.061 billion by 0.4% and declined 3.7% year over year.

SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. SEDG reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of six cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of four cents by 50%.

Revenues increased 19.6% year over year to $346.2 million and surpassed the consensus estimate of $343 million by 1.3%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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