Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ ) shares traded lower Thursday morning before heading up after the company reported mixed second-quarter 2026 results, with a revenue beat offset by an EPS miss and a below-consensus third-quarter sales outlook.
Revenue fell 29% year over year to $1.208 billion but beat the $1.143 billion estimate. GAAP loss widened to $1.40 per diluted share, missing the $1.18 loss estimate .
Canadian Solar posted a net loss of $77 million, compared with net income of $7 million a year earlier. Gross profit fell to $168 million from $505 million, while gross margin contracted to 13.9% from 29.8%.
The margin decline reflected the absence of IEEPA tariff-refund benefits recorded in the prior quarter and a U.S. project sales-type leasing benefit recognized a year earlier.
• Where is CSIQ stock headed?
Margins and Shipments
Solar module shipments fell 60% year over year to 3.1 GW, while battery storage shipments jumped 73% to 3.7 GWh, above guidance of 2.8-3.2 GWh. Of the battery shipments, 471 MWh went to internal projects.
Manufacturing generated $1.098 billion in revenue, with an 11.9% gross margin and a $49 million operating loss.
Recurrent Energy reported $117 million in revenue, a 30.7% gross margin, and a $19 million operating loss.
The company expects deferred project sales to close in the third quarter.
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e-STORAGE’s contracted backlog stood at $3.5 billion as of June 30, while U.S. module backlog exceeded 13 GWp and $4.5 billion as of Aug. 14.
On the earnings call, management added that the U.S. module backlog excludes potential Section 232 adjustments and could increase as customer contracts are renegotiated .
TrendingManagement also said on the call that 2026 capital spending should total about $1.3 billion, weighted toward the second half of the year.
CSI Solar recorded a $41 million mark-to-market investment gain, while Recurrent Energy recognized a $24 million impairment tied to a Latin America project.
The call also revealed a 500 MW/2.5 GWh storage contract with a major U.S. utility designed to support data-center grid infrastructure and resiliency.
Separately, operating cash outflow totaled $181 million. Cash and equivalents stood at $1.461 billion, restricted cash at $389 million, and total debt at $7.145 billion.
Q3 Outlook Trails Estimate
Canadian Solar expects third-quarter revenue of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, below the $1.813 billion estimate , with gross margin projected at 13.5% to 15.5%.
The company expects module shipments of 3.5-3.8 GW and battery storage shipments of 3.4-3.8 GWh.
For 2026, Canadian Solar reaffirmed U.S. shipment guidance of 6.5 GW to 7.0 GW for modules and 4.5 GWh to 5.5 GWh for storage.
CSIQ Price Action: Canadian Solar shares were up 2.16% at $14.17 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data .
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