Episode Details
Back to EpisodesJinkoSolar (JKS): The $212M Operating Loss That Was Reported As $103M
Published 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Description
JinkoSolar (JKS) Q2 2026 — Q2 2026 (three months to 30 June): revenue RMB12.36BN / $1,821.2M, -31.3% YoY on module shipments of 15,961MW, -34.4%; gross margin 4.2% from 8.3% in Q1; operating expenses $287.3M against $75.6M of gross profit, so a $211.7M loss from operations. Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders $102.8M, or $1.94 per ADS - but the company's own ADJUSTED loss is $134.2M, 31% BIGGER. Full-year shipment guidance cut from 75-85GW to 60-70GW. The 6-K landed pre-market on 26 Aug: the ADSs closed -11.87% and made a fresh 12-month closing low the next session.
Making and selling solar modules lost JinkoSolar $211.7M in the June quarter. The loss reported to the owners of the ADSs was $102.8M - less than half of it. Both figures are correct and both are printed on the same filed statement of operations. The $108.9M in between is five non-operating items: government grants of $29.7M, the gain on selling 75.1% of the US business ($34.9M), a fair-value mark on a portfolio of private investments ($54.6M), an income tax benefit ($24.1M), and $84.0M of the group loss carried by the MINORITY holders of the majority-owned operating subsidiary. Not one of them is a solar module, and on the same morning the company cut its full-year shipment guidance by 15GW and made its head of strategic investment the chief executive.
THE CALL: SELL (3/5, A LEVERED CYCLICAL WHOSE REPORTED LOSS IS HALF THE OPERATING ONE) — base-case value ~$9.90 vs ~$13.54 today.
KEY METRICS:
- CALL: SELL 3/5, fair value $9.90 vs the $13.54 close of 28 August (-26.9%). Bear $4.94, base $8.89, bull $20.86, weighted 35/45/20. Below both live Street targets: Goldman Sachs cut to $11.00 and Roth Capital to $16.00, both on 27 August. Their average of $13.50 is 4 cents UNDER the last close.
- THE BRIDGE: loss from operations $211.7M; net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders $102.8M; ratio 2.06x, against 1.27x in the March quarter. The five items in between total $227.3M of help against $118.4M of drags - net interest $40.3M, an exchange loss on foreign-currency debt of $48.0M, and smaller items.
- THE UNIT ECONOMICS: 0.47 cents of gross profit per watt shipped against 1.80 cents of operating cost per watt - 3.8x. A quarter earlier the gross line was 1.10 cents. Gross margin must reach ~15.8% to cover the overhead; it is 4.2%, an 11.6-point gap that WIDENED from 7.7 points a year ago.
- THE BALANCE SHEET: $6,617M of total interest-bearing debt less $2,497M of cash = $4,121M of net debt, 5.8x the $716M market value. Cash fell $865M in the quarter (from $3,362M at 31 March) while a $1.50/ADS dividend (~$79M) was declared. Equity attributable to JinkoSolar is $2,152M - 12.3% of $17.5BN of assets. Book value $40.72 an ADS; the tape pays 0.33x book.
- TWO VENDOR ERRORS NAMED ON-SLIDE: (1) FMP's epsActual of -2.53 is the company's ADJUSTED loss per ADS, not the filed GAAP -1.94. (2) FMP's market cap of $177.3M is 75% TOO LOW - it carries 13.09M shares where the release prints 211,435,343 weighted ordinary shares, and ONE ADS REPRESENTS FOUR ORDINARY SHARES. The correction makes the stock DEARER, not cheaper.
What to watch: DOWN (our case): gross profit per watt staying under 1.80 cents; a second cut to the 60-70GW guide in November; net debt holding above $4BN against a sub-$1BN equity. UP (what would change our mind): two consecutive quarters of gross profit per watt above 1.80 cents; the January 2027 efficiency standard lifting realised prices on 40GW of TOPCon 3.0 capacity; net debt falling toward the equity value.
Also on YouTube: @ChargedAlpha
DISCLAIMER: For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Do your own research before any investment decision.