Maxeon’s module shipments fall by 90% over two years amid border dispute

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Maxeon solar panels.
Maxeon shipped just 153.2MW of modules in the first half of this year. Image: Maxeon.

Solar module manufacturer Maxeon shipped just 153.2MW of modules in the first half of this year, just 15% of the capacity sold in the first half of 2024.

This is according to the company’s latest financial results, published last week and covering the first half of the year. The majority of the company’s past financial results have broken down sales on a quarterly basis, and the H1 2025 figures compare poorly to many of these quarterly figures; Maxeon shipped a lower capacity of modules in the first half of this year than in any single quarter over the last seven years.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

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 low module sales also represent the fourth consecutive half-year that the company has seen half-on-half module sales decline, from 1,581MW modules sold in the first half of 2023. This means that the company’s module shipments have fallen by around 90% in two years, as shown by the graph below.

This collapse in module sales has driven a similar decline in revenue, with the company posting US$39 million in revenue in the first half of this year, just over one-tenth of the US$371.7 million posted in the first half of 2024.

Maxeon has sought to cut expenses across its operations, particularly outside the US, to offset this decline. Last year, the company sold sales and marketing divisions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific to the TCL Technology Group, the parent company of its largest shareholder, for around US$94 million to shore up its balance sheet.

The company noted that its operating expenses have halved, from US$110.3 million in the first half of 2024, to US$54 million in the first half of 2025. Similarly, its capital expenditures have fallen from US$36.9 million in the first half of last year to US$1.3 million in the first half of this year, as Maxeon focuses “exclusively” on the US, and the commissioning of a 2GW module assembly plant in the state of New Mexico.

Disputes with CBP

Many of these struggles stem from the company’s ongoing dispute with US Customs & Border Protection (CBP), which has prevented Maxeon from shipping modules to the US since July 2024.

CBP detained the modules as part of routine assessments to ensure compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), with which Maxon has consistently insisted it complies. Last week, Maxeon CEO George Guo called the detention an “unsubstantiated decision”, and in July the company filed a complaint with the US Court of International Trade. In April, CBP denied protests Maxeon had made against the detention, so the dispute will likely continue.

“We remain hopeful that the court will correct this unwarranted action that has severely impacted our business for over a year,” Guo said last week.

Guo added that the company would be “evaluating” the impacts of the recently-passed One Big Beautiful Bill on the company’s operations. The bill has slashed federal support for new renewable energy projects in the US, but some provisions to incentivise the domestic manufacturing of renewable energy components are still present as the US looks to build a more resilient domestic solar supply chain.

Maxeon’s ongoing border dispute follows the news that CBP has detained solar cells produced in South Korea by Hanwha Solutions since mid-June due to concerns over UFLPA compliance.

At the time, Christian Roselund, senior policy analyst at Clean Energy Associates, reported that the value of “electronics” devices detained at the border in June 2025 – the category that includes solar products and batteries – had reached US$15.6 million, the highest value since October 2024.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 3, 2025
Renewables developer Madison Energy Infrastructure has bought the US distributed generation assets of NextEra Energy Resources.
October 3, 2025
EDF Renewables and Enlight Renewable Energy have advanced solar-plus-storage projects in New Mexico and Arizona.
October 3, 2025
SunStrong Management has raised US$900 million to refinance a 'large portfolio' of residential solar assets developed by SunPower.
October 3, 2025
The US solar manufacturing industry is feeling bullish, despite the policy whiplash inflicted over the summer and the increased pressure on US solar supply chains.
October 3, 2025
Chinese government policies and supply-side production cuts will drive a significant increase in solar and storage component costs.
October 2, 2025
PV products using perovskite technology could assume a dominant position within the next ten years, according to module producer Qcells' CTO.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland