Jinko Holdings Limited (NYSE:JKS) stock edged higher Friday after the solar manufacturer reported mixed third-quarter 2026 results, with earnings beating Wall Street expectations despite a revenue miss.

The company reported a sharp improvement in gross margins and narrower losses, supported by cost reductions, a stronger product mix and growing contributions from its energy storage business.

Earnings Snapshot

Jinko Holdings reported third-quarter revenue of 13.62 billion yuan ($2.03 billion), down 15.7% year over year but up 10.2% sequentially. Revenue missed the analyst consensus estimate of $2.43 billion.

The company posted an adjusted loss of 2 cents per American depositary share, narrower than analysts’ expected loss of 97 cents.

Solar module shipments fell 25% year over year and 6% sequentially to 15,003 megawatts.

Gross profit jumped 41.4% to 1.67 billion yuan ($249.3 million), while gross margin expanded to 12.3% from 7.3% a year earlier and 4.2% in the second quarter.

The improvement reflected lower production costs, increased shipments of high-efficiency products and higher-margin energy storage revenue.

Jinko narrowed its GAAP net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders to 170 million yuan ($25.4 million) from 749.8 million yuan a year earlier.

Adjusted net loss narrowed to 7.9 million yuan ($1.2 million) from 409.1 million yuan.

Operating loss improved to 79.97 million yuan from 1.40 billion yuan, while operating loss margin narrowed to 0.6% from 8.7%.

Operating expenses declined 32.3% to 1.75 billion yuan, reflecting lower asset impairments and expected credit losses.

Net interest expense increased 24.6% to 251.3 million yuan, primarily due to lower interest income on deposits.

Debt and Liquidity

Jinko held 15.56 billion yuan ($2.32 billion) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of Sept. 30.

Inventories increased to 17.61 billion yuan ($2.63 billion) from 16.47 billion yuan in June, while accounts receivable declined to 11.95 billion yuan ($1.78 billion) from 12.61 billion yuan.

Total interest-bearing debt rose to 45.15 billion yuan ($6.73 billion) from 44.90 billion yuan.

CFO Transition

Jinko Holdings said Chief Financial Officer Mengmeng Li (Pan Li) resigned effective Oct. 30.

The company appointed Kun Zhang (Craig Zhang), its finance director since August, as acting CFO.

Jinko said Li’s departure did not involve any disagreement with the company and that the leadership change was not expected to materially affect operations.

CEO Highlights Margin Recovery and Energy Storage Growth

CEO Dimi Du said improved product mix, higher shipments of premium Tiger Neo modules and lower TOPCon 3.0 production costs helped strengthen profitability.

Energy storage also gained momentum, with approximately 1.75 gigawatt-hours of shipments recognized as revenue during the quarter, matching full-year 2025 levels.

Jinko is expanding its proprietary power conversion system products and exploring data center applications.

The company is also selectively investing in artificial intelligence, renewable energy, advanced materials and commercial space.

Jinko expects approximately 40 gigawatts of high-efficiency production capacity meeting China’s Level 1 energy-efficiency standards by year-end.

Outlook

Jinko forecast fourth-quarter solar module shipments of 16 GW to 18 GW.

The company also expects approximately 10 GWh of energy storage system shipments for 2026 on a proof-of-delivery basis.

Du said Jinko will prioritize technological innovation, global expansion, AI transformation and capital discipline while improving its product mix.

JKS Price Action

JKS Price Action: Jinko Holdings shares were trading 2.31% at $8.420 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo via Shutterstock