Image：Canadian Solar
Canadian Solar reported a sharp rebound in its financial performance in the second quarter of this year, driven by strong growth in both module shipments and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The solar manufacturer shipped 7.9GW of modules, a 14% quarter-on-quarter increase, generating US$505 million in gross profits. Around 672MW of the modules were delivered to Canadian Solar’s own utility-scale solar projects. While module shipments fell 4% year-on-year, the quarterly growth helped push revenues higher. Net revenues reached US$1.7 billion, up 42% from the first quarter and 4% year-on-year.
This marks a major turnaround from the first quarter, when Canadian Solar posted only US$140.5 million in gross profits amid trade uncertainty caused by US protectionist measures under President Trump. The company’s manufacturing subsidiary, CSI Solar, was particularly affected, reporting just US$1.8 million in income from operations in Q1.
In response, Canadian Solar has accelerated its shift into battery manufacturing. Between the first and second quarters, CSI Solar’s revenue from BESS nearly tripled—from US$155.3 million to US$432.4 million—and accounted for more than a quarter of company revenue in Q2. As a result, CSI Solar’s income from operations surged to US$120.7 million by the end of the second quarter.
“Despite tariff headwinds, e-STORAGE achieved one of its strongest quarters,” said Yan Zhuang, president of CSI Solar. “With solar supply chain pricing trending higher and storage margins normalising, we expect margin pressure in the second half. We remain focused on strategically managing module volumes to less profitable markets and growing our storage volumes globally.”
The company said it expects to further pivot toward storage in the coming months. Between June and December, CSI Solar plans to cut cell and module manufacturing capacity from 36.2GW to 32.4GW and 59GW to 51.2GW, respectively, while adding 5GWh of new storage system capacity.
Canadian Solar also indicated in May that it may relocate parts of its manufacturing footprint to mitigate US tariffs, suggesting it could establish new solar and battery production facilities in the United States. However, no further update has been provided on this move.
