Leading solar PV manufacturer JinkoSolar’s module shipments have continued to decline in the first quarter of 2026, with sales of 13.7GW.
This represents a 21.9% drop on a yearly basis and a 45.2% decrease from the previous quarter. As shown in the chart below, the Q1 2026 module sales are the lowest since 2023 when the Chinese manufacturer registered 13GW of module shipments.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
The majority of the module shipments were to overseas markets, accounting for 80% of total module sales, a trend that has recently been highlighted by think tank Ember’s report on Chinese solar exports during March 2026. Indeed, wafers, solar cells and module exports doubled from the previous month to a record 68GW in March.
Moreover, at the end of Q1 2026, the average power output of its TigerNeo 3.0 series reached 655W to 660W. Solar module shipments with a power output above 640W continued to rise, accounting for a quarter of total shipments in the first three months of 2026.
JinkoSolar expects its production of modules with a power output above 650W to exceed 40GW by the end of this year.
Revenue continues to drop as gross profit jumps
“Driven by improved supply-demand balance, especially in overseas markets, module prices rebounded sequentially during the quarter, helping improve our gross profit margin to 8.3% and narrow our net loss,” said Xiande Li, chairman and CEO at JinkoSolar.
As the company’s gross profit margin increased from 0.3% in Q4 2025 to 8.3%, its gross profit increased significantly by 388.7% year-on-year to RMB1.02 billion (US$149.1 million). Yet JinkoSolar’s revenue decreased to RMB12.25 billion in Q1 2026, representing a 30% quarter-on-quarter decrease and down 11.5% year-on-year.
“While recent geopolitical disruptions have impacted key logistics lines and are temporarily putting pressure on our shipping costs and delivery schedules, they also highlight the critical importance of global energy security.
“As a result, we are seeing growing demand from industrial, commercial, residential and utility customers for solar and storage solutions and we are further optimising our production pipeline and geographic mix in response to these evolving market dynamics,” said Li, adding that the company expects module prices to remain relatively stable.
Furthermore, if the shipments of solar modules have experienced a more than 10GW dip from the previous quarter, JinkoSolar’s shipments of energy storage systems increased significantly year-over-year to nearly 1.42GWh, up by 350% from Q1 2025 figures. Similar to solar modules, the majority of shipments were delivered to overseas markets.
In its guidance, the solar manufacturer forecasts module shipments of 14-16GW, while its guidance for the entire year remains between 75GW and 85GW. Production capacity for its solar manufacturing is forecast to reach 100GW by the end of the year, of which 14GW will come from from overseas manufacturing plants.
On the other hand, energy storage system shipments are forecast to more than double in 2026 compared to 2025.
