Canadian Solar tumbles over 10% as Q2 earnings miss expectations by wide margin

Published 21/08/2025, 11:12
 Canadian Solar tumbles over 10% as Q2 earnings miss expectations by wide margin

KITCHENER, Ontario - On Thursday, Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) reported second-quarter earnings that significantly missed analyst expectations, despite achieving higher gross margins than anticipated.

The company’s shares plunged 10.51% in pre-market trading after the release.

The solar technology and renewable energy company posted an adjusted loss of -$0.53 per share for the second quarter, falling $2.01 short of the $1.48 earnings per share analysts had expected. Revenue came in at $1.7 billion, below the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. The company attributed the revenue shortfall to delayed storage shipments and project sales that shifted to the second half of the year.

Despite the disappointing bottom line, Canadian Solar reported a gross margin of 29.8%, exceeding its guidance range of 23% to 25%. The company delivered 7.9 GW of solar module shipments, within its guidance of 7.5 GW to 8.0 GW, representing a 14% increase quarter-over-quarter but a 4% decrease year-over-year.

"We delivered a second quarter largely in line with expectations. While revenue came in below guidance due to storage shipments shifting to the second half and delays in certain project sales, gross margin exceeded expectations," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.

Looking ahead, Canadian Solar provided a cautious outlook for the third quarter, projecting revenue between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion with gross margins expected to moderate to between 14% and 16%. For the full year 2025, the company expects total revenue in the range of $5.6 billion to $6.3 billion.

"We expect third quarter margins to moderate as difficult market conditions persist, and storage profitability reflects more recent orders at normalized levels," Dr. Qu added. "The second half will remain challenging, with rising solar supply chain prices and ongoing trade uncertainties."

The company’s cash position remained strong at $2.3 billion as of June 30, with operating cash inflow of $189 million during the quarter. Total (EPA:TTEF) debt, including financing liabilities, stood at $6.3 billion.

Canadian Solar’s e-STORAGE business reported a contracted backlog of $3 billion, including long-term service agreements, while its global solar project development pipeline reached approximately 27 GWp with a battery energy storage project pipeline of 80 GWh.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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