Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) stock soared after delivering third-quarter 2025 net revenues of $1.487 billion, beating the $1.366 billion estimate, even as its adjusted loss of 58 cents per diluted share missed the expected 53-cent loss.
Revenue slipped 12% sequentially and 1% year over year. Gross margin rose to 17.2%, above guidance and up from 16.4% a year earlier.
GAAP net income attributable to shareholders was $9 million, or a net loss of 7 cents per diluted share, compared with a 31-cent loss per diluted share a year ago.
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CSI Solar Segment Performance and Shipments
CSI Solar recognized 5.1 GW of module shipments, down sharply from prior periods, including 33 MW to its own projects. Lower module sales drove the decline, partly offset by stronger battery energy storage system sales.
CSI Solar delivered $1.43 billion in revenue and $214.4 million in gross profit, while Recurrent Energy generated $105.2 million in revenue and $48.5 million in gross profit.
Solar modules contributed $839.4 million, battery storage solutions $486.0 million, solar system kits $29.9 million, and EPC and other services $29.8 million.
Energy storage remained the standout. e-STORAGE shipped a record 2.7 GWh—well above guidance—and grew its contracted backlog to $3.1 billion.
Storage revenue jumped to $486.0 million from $95.4 million a year earlier. The company had an 80.6 GWh battery energy storage development pipeline as of Sept. 30, 2025, including 6.5 GWh under construction and in backlog, and 74.1 GWh in advanced or early-stage development.
Operating expenses dropped to $222 million from $378 million in the prior quarter and $247 million a year earlier, reflecting cost reductions and the absence of impairments.
Operating income was $34.6 million, while total other expenses reached $42.2 million on $44.4 million of interest expense and $15.1 million of interest income.
Net cash used in operating activities was $112 million, compared with $189 million provided in the second quarter and $231 million used a year earlier. Total debt reached $6.4 billion. The company held $2.2 billion in cash at quarter-end.
Recurrent Energy Update
Recurrent Energy’s global solar development pipeline reached 25.1 GWp, with 2.0 GWp under construction and 3.4 GWp in backlog.
Recurrent reported $102.3 million in revenue, including $39.8 million from asset sales, $19.9 million from power services, and $42.6 million from electricity and storage operations.
Management pointed to improved mix, record storage performance, and continued progress on U.S. factory build-outs. Dr. Shawn Qu said, “Third quarter revenue was at the high end of guidance, while gross margin exceeded expectations, supported by strong energy storage deliveries and a high mix of module shipments to profitable markets,” adding that U.S. solar cell and battery manufacturing remains on track for 2026.
The company continued adding large-scale storage and solar work across Canada, Germany, Australia, and the United States, commissioning new assets and securing $825 million in financing for the Desert Bloom Storage and Papago Solar projects.
Outlook
Canadian Solar forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, below the $1.599 billion analyst estimate, with an expected gross margin of 14% to 16%.
It projects module shipments of 4.6 GW to 4.8 GW and storage shipments of 2.1 GWh to 2.3 GWh.
For 2026, CSI Solar expects 25 GW to 30 GW of module shipments and 14 GWh to 17 GWh of storage volume.
Qu said, “We will continue to focus on profitable solar markets and to manage volumes in less profitable regions,” and reiterated that Recurrent Energy will increase project ownership sales in 2026 to manage leverage.
Elevated Short Interest
The company has a short float of 10.44 million shares, representing 20.03% of its publicly traded float, indicating a relatively high level of short interest among investors betting against the stock.
Price Action: CSIQ shares were trading higher by 9.38% to $31.13 premarket at last check Thursday.
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