1. China's biggest solar manufacturers continued to incur heavy losses in the third quarter of 2026, as persistent overcapacity outweighed efforts to cut costs. [para. 1] The six leading manufacturers—Trina Solar, Tongwei, TCL Zhonghuan, Longi, JA Solar, and Jinko Solar—posted combined net losses of nearly 7 billion yuan ($1 billion) for the July-to-September period, up from roughly 5.9 billion yuan a year earlier. [para. 2]
2. Among the six, Trina Solar reported the largest quarterly loss at 1.67 billion yuan, widening from 1.28 billion yuan a year earlier. Tongwei's loss jumped sharply to 1.64 billion yuan from 315 million yuan, while Longi's loss widened to 1.03 billion yuan from 834 million yuan. [para. 4] By contrast, TCL Zhonghuan narrowed its quarterly loss by 11.9% to 1.35 billion yuan, and Jinko Solar reduced its losses to 290 million yuan from more than 1 billion yuan a year earlier. [para. 5]
3. The uneven performance indicates that China's solar industry remains near the bottom of a downturn lasting roughly three years. Approximately 40 listed solar companies accumulated losses approaching 130 billion yuan during 2024 and 2025, following a massive expansion in manufacturing capacity that pushed prices sharply lower across the supply chain. [para. 6] China now possesses enough solar-manufacturing capacity to supply nearly twice the global demand. [para. 7] By the end of 2025, the country had more than 3.5 million metric tons of annual polysilicon capacity, 1,500 gigawatts (GW) of wafer capacity, 1,400 GW of solar-cell capacity, and 1,100 GW of module capacity, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. [para. 8] China accounted for more than 90% of global capacity for polysilicon, wafers, and cells, and over 80% for modules. [para. 9]
4. Demand has weakened both at home and abroad. China exported about 180.8 GW of solar modules during the first nine months of 2026, down about 12% from a year earlier, with September exports falling roughly 17%. [para. 11] Domestic installations dropped even more sharply, with China adding 110.8 GW of solar capacity in the first nine months, down nearly 54% year on year. [para. 12] Part of the decline reflects an unusually high comparison base, as developers rushed to complete projects in 2025, but returns have also come under pressure since China moved renewable generators more fully into market-based electricity pricing, exposing solar projects to lower power prices and making some investments less attractive. [para. 13] Jinko Solar Vice President Qian Jing said at a company technology conference in October that "single-quarter data doesn't mean the turning point has arrived" and that 2027 will still be a very challenging year. [para. 14]
5. Companies that improved their third-quarter results did so largely through cost cuts, higher-margin products, and diversification rather than because of a broader industry recovery. [para. 16] Jinko attributed its narrower loss to lower manufacturing costs following production-line upgrades, a larger contribution from high-power products, and growth in energy storage. [para. 17] The company delivered 4.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy-storage systems in the first nine months and expects storage shipments of 10 GWh to 12 GWh for the full year, roughly double the 2025 level. [para. 18] TCL Zhonghuan also benefited from manufacturing cost reductions; its first-nine-month losses narrowed to 4.56 billion yuan, while cash costs in its wafer business fell 17.3% as the company optimized its supply chain and reduced energy and labor costs. [para. 19]
6. Pressure remains especially severe for companies exposed to upstream polysilicon. [para. 20] Tongwei posted the second-largest third-quarter loss among the six and lost 6.76 billion yuan in the first nine months, as weak polysilicon prices continued to weigh on profitability. [para. 21] Polysilicon producers responded by cutting output, with industry operating rates falling to around 35% in October as manufacturers sought to work through high inventories and reduce supply. [para. 22] Prices for N-type polysilicon stood at around 43,000 yuan per metric ton in late October, roughly 28% below their highs at the beginning of the year and around the industry's estimated full-cost level. [para. 23]
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