JinkoSolar's Tiger Neo Racks Up 30 Gigawatts in Orders While Gross Margin Collapses to 4.2%

JinkoSolar's Q2 2026 gross margin fell to 4.2% from 8.3%, triggering a Pomerantz investigation and a 63% year-to-date share decline despite record Tiger Neo orders.

JinkoSolar has become a case study in the solar industry's central paradox: demand for its products has rarely been stronger, yet the economics of selling them have rarely been worse. The Chinese manufacturer's order book and its income statement are now telling two very different stories, and investors are clearly siding with the latter.

A Margin Cut in Half

The numbers from the second quarter of 2026 make for grim reading. Gross margin tumbled to 4.2%, down from 8.3% in the first quarter — a halving of profitability in the space of three months. That collapse, rather than any operational misstep, sits at the heart of the company's current troubles, exposing how brutally global module pricing has squeezed even the sector's largest players.

Legal scrutiny followed swiftly. On September 23, U.S. law firm Pomerantz LLP disclosed an investigation into possible securities violations and unfair business practices, targeting JinkoSolar and certain executives. Such probes are almost routine after weak earnings, but the timing here sharpens existing doubts about how reliable management's guidance can be in an industry drowning in oversupply.

Orders Keep Flowing

None of this reflects a weak product. JinkoSolar confirmed on September 25 that its flagship Tiger Neo module series had surpassed 30 gigawatts in cumulative global orders within ten months of its November 2025 launch. Demand spans core markets across the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and China, a testament to the appeal of the company's N-type technology.

The innovation pipeline behind that product is well funded. Between 2021 and 2025, JinkoSolar plowed a cumulative 22 billion RMB into research and development, a commitment that has placed it first among Chinese photovoltaic module makers by patent count. Independent testing bodies have repeatedly recognized the reliability of its modules as well.

Yet technological leadership offers no shelter when selling prices fall faster than production costs can be trimmed. Record shipment volumes do not automatically translate into healthy earnings, and that gap is precisely what the market is now punishing.

Haining Rework and an Insider Sale

Management is not standing still. Zhejiang Jinko Solar has proposed a 179.2 million RMB modernization of its Haining site, a plan that would retire older cell and module lines and replace them with 2.7 gigawatts of annual capacity for high-efficiency cells. The environmental review for the project is still pending. Strategically, the move reads as a deliberate shift away from legacy volume toward higher-margin premium output.

Sentiment, however, has been dented by another disclosure: a mandatory filing showed a director planning to sell 45,000 depositary receipts. When insiders look to exit while legal questions hang in the air, operational wins tend to fade into the background — and in an already jittery solar market, investors are quick to read ambiguity in leadership as a warning sign.

The Stock Pays the Price

The share price reflects the full weight of these pressures. The stock closed at EUR 8.41 in the latest session and has lost 63% since the start of the year. Tuesday brought a fresh 52-week low of EUR 8.08, with the current quote at EUR 8.46, keeping selling pressure firmly in place.

For now, the balance of risks leans toward caution. The order book proves JinkoSolar's products can compete anywhere in the world, but as long as open legal questions and insider selling cloud the picture, the shares lack the footing for a sustained turnaround. A convincing recovery would need the Haining overhaul to deliver and profitability to climb back meaningfully — until then, the gap between what the company builds and what investors are willing to pay for it looks set to persist.