Three of China's largest solar manufacturers, JA, Longi and Tongwei, reported wider losses for the first nine months of 2026 than a year earlier, according to their results summarised by pv magazine on 6 November. Revenue fell at all three.
Combined, the three companies lost about CNY 15.1 billion (around US$2.2 billion) attributable to shareholders between January and September. Two of them did show a narrower loss in the third quarter than in the second.
Longi: back contact grows, losses widen
Longi's nine-month revenue fell 13.85% year on year to CNY 43.864 billion (US$6.45 billion). Its net loss attributable to shareholders grew to CNY 4.713 billion (US$693 million), from CNY 3.403 billion a year earlier.
The third-quarter loss was CNY 1.029 billion (US$151 million), narrower than in the second quarter. Longi shipped 48.61 GW of modules over the nine months, including 31.64 GW of back-contact modules, up 118.58% year on year. Back-contact products now account for more than 65% of its module shipments, and their gross margin rose 6.27 percentage points from the first half.
JA: shipments recover, revenue falls
JA's nine-month revenue dropped 23.62% to CNY 28.113 billion (US$4.13 billion), the steepest decline of the three. Its net loss widened slightly to CNY 3.64 billion (US$535 million), from CNY 3.558 billion.
In the third quarter alone, JA lost CNY 974 million (US$143 million) on revenue of CNY 10.616 billion (US$1.56 billion). Cell and module shipments reached 13.97 GW in the quarter, up about 35% on the previous quarter, and 36.22 GW over nine months. Overseas markets took 60.92% of its module shipments.
Tongwei: the largest loss
Tongwei, a major polysilicon and cell producer, reported the largest loss. Its nine-month net loss attributable to shareholders reached CNY 6.759 billion (US$994 million), up from about CNY 5.27 billion. Excluding nonrecurring items, the loss was CNY 6.868 billion (US$1.01 billion).
Nine-month revenue fell 9.69% to CNY 58.337 billion (US$8.58 billion). Third-quarter revenue was almost flat at CNY 23.98 billion (US$3.53 billion), down 0.46% year on year, and the quarterly loss narrowed to CNY 1.639 billion (US$241 million) from CNY 2.675 billion in the second quarter. Net operating cash flow over nine months was CNY 2.024 billion (US$298 million).
Lower prices at home too
The same pv magazine brief reported lower prices in China's own power market. In Guangdong, a renewable energy mechanism-price auction selected 58,962 distributed solar projects at CNY 0.300 (US$0.044) per kWh, 16.7% below the CNY 0.360 of the previous round. The covered volume rose about 59% to 7.934 TWh, and the price applies for 12 years.
What it means for buyers and developers in Asia-Pacific
The results show that low module prices are still costing China's leading manufacturers heavily, even as some quarterly losses begin to narrow. The companies did not give reasons for the losses in the reported results.
For buyers, the figures point in two directions. Current prices remain low, but losses of this size put pressure on manufacturers to raise prices, cut capacity or both. Longi's growth in back-contact modules and their improving margin also show where leading suppliers are trying to earn more, so buyers should expect more of their offers to be built around premium technologies rather than standard products.
Source: pv magazine, based on company results released 29–30 October 2026.
