Summary
Management prioritized earnings quality, cash flow, and strategic investments over shipment scale amid weaker Chinese demand and persistent industry oversupply.
- 30%China demand was described as 30% to 40% lower year over year, prompting reduced domestic exposure.
- Approximately 100 gigawatts of integrated capacity is targeted by year-end, but utilization will be managed selectively.
- Strategic investment activity is expanding beyond solar and storage into AI, computing, robotics, and other frontier technologies.
Guidance
- Q3 module shipments 15 to 17 gigawatts.
- FY2026 module shipments 60 to 70 gigawatts.
- 60%FY2026 high-efficiency products over 60% of shipments.
- Year-end 2026 integrated production capacity approximately 100 gigawatts, including approximately 14 gigawatts overseas.
- Year-end 2026 TopCon 3.0 capacity 140 gigawatts.
- FY2026 energy storage shipments more than double year over year.
- Q3 gross margin moderate improvement expected.
- FY2026 operating cash flow improve compared to 2025.
What analysts pressed on
- 01Q3 ASPs were expected to rise modestly, helped by higher Tiger Neo 3.0 mix and improving market pricing.
- 02Input-cost inflation was characterized as a healthy rebound, with module pricing expected to absorb higher polysilicon and materials costs.
- 03Shipment guidance was reduced to 60 to 70 gigawatts as management prioritized profitability, operating control, and selective markets.
- 04Section 232 was expected to raise U.S. module costs without materially impairing project returns or demand.
- 05Credit-loss expense reflected aging-based accounting provisions rather than materially deteriorated customer credit.
- 06Storage growth was described as second-half loaded, with execution dependent on testing and commissioning.
Notable disclosures
- More than 40 companies have received strategic investments, including newer exposure to AI and computing technologies.
- 490MRMB 490 million of portfolio gains were generated in the first half, including RMB 380 million of unrealized gains.
- 500MApproximately 500 million RMB to 1 billion RMB of annual maintenance capex was indicated for the next two years.
- Storage expansion will use an asset-light model, with no planned battery-cell or pack capacity expansion.
- 10%Global market share was said to have a potential floor around 10%, versus approximately 15% at its peak.
Risks raised
- 30% to 40% lower Chinese demand is reducing domestic volumes and intensifying price competition.
- Trade and policy barriers in the United States, Europe, India, Turkey, and other markets are shrinking accessible demand.
- Section 232 could increase U.S. module costs and solar project development costs.
- Tiger Neo 3.0 ramp-up costs remained elevated during the quarter.
- Large-scale storage projects face testing and commissioning delays before revenue recognition.
Tone: Cautious -0.20
The call acknowledged weaker demand, pricing pressure, and losses, while highlighting improving cash flow, premium products, and portfolio value creation.
Who spoke
Company
- Stella WangInvestor Relations
- Dimi DuChief Executive Officer
- Janet MiaoChief Marketing Officer
- Pan LiChief Financial Officer
- Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Analysts
- Phil ShenAnalyst, Roth Capital Partners
- Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Goldman Sachs
Full transcript
Analyst questions are marked with a bar. Timestamps are into the recording.
Prepared remarks
Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by for JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited's second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the meeting over to your host for today's call, Ms. Stella Wang, JinkoSolar's Investor Relations Manager. Please proceed, Stella.
Stella WangInvestor Relations
Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for JinkoSolar's second quarter 2020 earnings conference call. The company's results were released earlier today and available on the company's IR website at iir. jinkosolar. com, as well as on use of wild services. We have also provided a supplemental presentation for today's earnings call, which can also be found on the IR website. On the call today from JinkoSolar are Mr. Jimmy Zhu, CEO of JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited, Mr. Janet Miao, CMO of JinkoSolar Company Limited, Mr. Pan Li, CFO of JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited, and Mr. Charlie Cao, CEO of JinkoSolar Company Limited. Mr. Zhu will discuss JinkoSolar's business operations and company highlights, followed by Mr. Miao, who will provide an update on sales and marketing, and then Mr. Panli, who will go through financials.
Management will be available to answer questions during the Q&A session. Please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the State Harbor provision of the U. S. Private Securities Latigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainty. As such, future results may be materially different from the views expressed today. Further information regarding this and other risks is included in JinkoSolar's public filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. JinkoSolar does not assume any obligation to update any forelocking statements except as required under the applicable law.
It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Mr. Dimi Du, CEO of JinkoSolar. Please go ahead, Dimi.
Dimi DuChief Executive Officer
Hello everyone, this is Dimi Du, and thank you for joining JinkoSolar second quarter, 2026. It is an honor to take the role of CEO. I appreciate the trust the board of directors and management team have placed in me. Daniel, this milestone of our 20th anniversary as we embark on the next stage of development, I look forward to working closely together to further enhance our operating performance and strategic execution I will begin by reviewing operational performance in the second quarter and then outline our key priorities going forward. In the second quarter, module shipments increased sequentially to approximately 16 gigawatts. Supply and demand imbalances across the PV industry remained dynamic. These pressures were further compounded by shifting domestic and overseas policies, with prices across the supply chain and industry probability remaining under pressure.
At the course of ramping up, our high-efficiency products remained evaluated during the quarter. Together with impacts of delivering certain low-value orders, gross margin decreased sequentially during the quarter while our net loss expanded. Facing this operating pressure, we optimized our order books and geographic mix, rationally managed utilization rates, and continued to expand the proportion of high-efficiency products within shipments while introducing technologies that lower costs. These measures are driving a gradual recovery in probability. The underlying pattern of TV industry competition is gradually shifting from capacity and shipment scale to effective supply, product value, and earnings quality.
The mandatory new national standard on energy efficiency for modules and inverters released in July will take effect in January 2027. The new standard set level 3 energy efficiency as a minimum threshold for market access. Products that fail to meet these minimum thresholds will not be permitted for production or sale, placing high-efficiency products in a stronger position for large-scale renewable energy project tenders.
Meanwhile, the implementation of market-based pricing for renewable power is pushing customers to increasingly focusing on energy yield, reliability, and the lifetime value of modules. These changes are beneficiary to industry leaders with advanced manufacturing capacity, technological expertise, global delivery, and long-term service capabilities, which will accelerate the phase-out of inefficient production capacity. By the end of 2026, we expect to have 140 gigawatts of TopCon 3.0 production capacity. Based on the new standard thresholds, these products are expected to meet level one energy efficiency requirements and strengthen or analyze production capacity for high-efficiency products to lead the industry. We continue to advance our product portfolio and build a solid base for next-generation technologies based on our TopCon technology roadmap.
In June, we unveiled our newest next-generation TopCon Tiger New 5.0 modules. By optimizing multiple core technologies, the Tiger New 5.0 achieved mass-produced efficiency of 25.91% and power output of over 700 watts, Setting a new benchmark for TopCon product performance once again. ESF shipments in the first half of the year were 3.1 gigawatt hour, increased significantly year over year. Benefiting from our presence in high-value market, gross margin improved year over year in the first half of 2026. Due to uncertainties in timing of project delivery and other factors, recognized revenue remains in ramp-up stage.
Approximately 1.5 GWh will recognize their revenue in first half, including more than 1 GWh in the second quarter. As project data rates increase, alongside ongoing enhancement of our in-house PCS, EMS, and other capabilities, we will continue to boost the efficiency of both revenue recognition and profit realization, driving high-quality growth for our ESS business. Now, I will move on to our guidance for the third quarter and the full year of 2026. We expect our annual integrated production capacity to reach approximately 100 gigawatts by year-end 2026, including approximately 14 gigawatts from overseas facilities. Considering demand dynamics in certain markets, we will place greater emphasizes on balancing shipment volume, We are looking at the full year of the 2021, profitability, cash flow, and all the quality going forward.
And adjusting guidance for full year 2026, module shipments to between 60 gigawatts and 70 gigawatts, and high-efficiency products accounting for over 60%. We expect module shipments to between 15 gigawatts and 17 gigawatts in third quarter of 2026. For full year 2026, we expect our energy storage system shipment to more than double year-over-year.
As we continue to strengthen the competitiveness of our core solar and energy storage businesses, we are also building an investment platform through disciplined capital allocation and professional investment management that will act as a complementary driver for long-term value creation. Over the past several years, leveraging our deep industry expertise and long-term perspective on technological trends, we have made this claim to select investments directly or through fund platforms, focusing on strategic synergies, technological innovation, and long-term value creation. Our earlier investment primary focused on solar and storage value chain. In recent years, as AI drives demand for computing power and electricity demand, we have selectively expanded our investment scope to the AI ecosystem and other frontier technologies. To date, we have invested in more than 40 companies in total.
As of June 30, 2026, we have invested an aggregate of approximately RMB 1.86 billion in cash. The original cash cost of the investment remaining in our portfolio is approximately RMB 1.5 billion, with a fair value of approximately RMB 1.99 billion as of the same date. Our investment portfolio has generated cumulative value appreciation of approximately RMB 880 million, comprising of approximately RMB 410 million in realized gain from exit and approximately RMB 470 million in unrealized fair value from remaining investments in the portfolio. During the first half of 2026, our portfolio generated gains of approximately RMB 490 million, comparizing approximately RMB 110 million in realized gains and approximately RMB 380 million in unrealized fairly gains. In the first half of 2026, we divested a substantial portion of our equity interest in Laplace Renewable Energy Technology Company Limited.
This is the JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. earnings conference call. I will now turn the call over to management for a while. In addition, Hangzhou Gold Electronic Equipment Company Limited successfully completed its listing on Chinlex Market of Shenzhen Stock Exchange during the second quarter, creating an additional pathway for future value realization.
Looking ahead, we will continue to maintain a disciplined approach to capital allocation. Supporting the long-term development of our core solar and energy storage business will remain our top priority. At the same time, we will continue to evaluate our existing strategic investments based on the operating performance, strategic synergies, and the long-term value creation potential of each portfolio company, while remaining disciplined and selective in pursuing new opportunities. Through strengthening our core businesses, realizing portfolio value, and improving capital utilization efficiency, we remain committed to creating sustainable long-term value for shareholders.
This concludes my remarks. I will now turn the call over to Jenna.
Janet MiaoChief Marketing Officer
Thanks, Timmy. Total shipments were 32.9 GW in the first half, with total module shipments accounting for over 90%, leveraging sales network covering nearly 200 countries and regions, and 35 service centers globally. We continue to optimize our geographic mix and customer structure overseas. In the first half, shipments to the overseas markets accounted for over 70%, mainly across Asia Pacific, Europe, and the emerging markets. In the second quarter, the proportion of high-efficiency product shipments improved sequentially. Our Tiger NEO 3.0 series continued to command a premium of approximately We also began to ship a small number of scenario-based products in the second quarter and gradually began to increase deliveries in the second half. Those products already command a premium approximately 0.5 to 1 USD cents per watt over conventional products.
Following the launch of AIDC and other scenario-based module products in the first quarter, We recently released the Sunny365 Smart Solar Storage System. This comprehensive series of integrated PV storage solutions cover several scenarios such as retail, supermarkets, AIDC, and manufacturing sectors. Especially, the AIDC solution is built around our Titanium 3.0 module platform technology and the Sonterra Energy Storage System, capable of meeting the demand from data centers for power supply reliability, energy economics, and sustainable low-carbon development through the coordinated control of energy storage system, PCS, EMS, and smart operations and maintenance. We recently received the highest AAA bankability rating in the Q2 2016 Bankability Rating Report for module manufacturers released by QVTAC. Since first participating in the evaluation in 2014, we have maintained a great rating for 12 consecutive years.
Also, we were recognized as a Tier 1 energy storage provider by BNEF for the 10th consecutive quarter. These ratings reinforce our bankability, project implementation capabilities, and long-term delivery capabilities for the international market. Impacted by the market-based pricing mechanism for renewable energy and the pace of project investment, domestic insulation demand has slowed. Yet, we observe the positive signs of shifting structural demand with national-level, large-scale renewable energy-based projects, led by the central and state-owned enterprises, maintaining a steady pace of progress. The share of tenders for high-efficiency modules has increased significantly in the centralized procurement, and the criteria has shifted from simply pursuing lowest bidding price to greater emphasize on module efficiency, lifecycle power generation performance, reliability, and long-term delivery capability.
High modules have already commanded a reasonable premium in tenders At the same time the distributed generation market is transitioning from scale growth towards a focus on scenarios and operational value Brand reputation channel local services and scenario adaptabilities are becoming increasingly critical This trend benefits enterprises with global channels, established brands, and differentiated products, which enable conversion of technology and product power into more stable client relationship and product value.
Looking forward to 2027, as electricity pricing marketization policies are gradually absorbed and mechanism-based pricing and project ROI models become clear, several projects that were delayed due to insufficient returns are expected to gradually resume. Large-scale renewable energy-based products direct green power connection, and the distributed scenario-based application will continue to drive domestic demand. The overseas market is expected to maintain some growth resilience, benefiting from energy security, growing power demand, and improve the solar plus storage economics. Leveraging our global sales network, leading high-efficiency products, and continuously expanding solar plus storage solutions, we will capitalize on the opportunities arising from change in demand structure and expanding application scenarios. We will continue to optimize our market and product mix and leverage our technological advantages to strengthen our presence in high-value markets, enhance product value, and improve the quality of our operations.
With that, I will turn the call over to Phan.
Pan LiChief Financial Officer
Thank you, Jinko. Leveraging our leading position and the high-efficiency products, we optimized our sales mix during the quarter, resulting gross margin reaching 4.2% at 1.3 percentage points year over year. We also continue to optimize our capital structure and cash flow management and generated positive operating cash flow during the period, a significant improvement compared to last quarter. However, our asset to liability ratio declined by approximately 1.5 percentage points from the beginning of the year. For the remainder of the year, our focus will be on balancing scale and earnings quality while carefully controlling cash flow. We expect full-year operating cash flow to improve compared to 25. Looking at our second quarter financials in more detail, total revenue was $1.82 billion, up 0.9% sequentially and down 31% year-over-year.
The sequential and year-over-year changes were mainly due to the fluctuation in the shipment volume modules. Gross margin was 4.2% compared with 8.3% in the first quarter and 2.9% in the second quarter last year. The sequential decrease was mainly due to lower average selling price of solar modules while the year-over-year increase were primarily due to the higher ASP. Total operating expenses were $287 million, up 21% sequentially and 2% year-over-year. The sequential and year-over-year increases were mainly due to higher expected credit losses in the second quarter this year. Operating expenses accounted for 15.8% of total revenues compared to 13.1% in the first quarter this year and 10.6% in the second quarter last year.
Operating loss margin was 11.6% compared with 4.8% in the first quarter this year and 7.7% in the second quarter last year. Moving to the balance sheet, at the end of the second quarter, our cash and cash equivalent were about $2.5 billion compared with about $3.3 billion at the end of the first quarter this year. AR turnover days was 1.13 days compared with 1 to 8 days in the first quarter of 26. Inventory turnover was 1 to 5 days compared to 1 for 2 days in the first quarter this year. At the end of the second quarter, total debt was about $6.6 billion compared to about $6.8 billion at the end of the first quarter of 26.
Net debt was $4.1 billion compared to $3.5 billion at the end of the first quarter of 26. This concludes our prepared remarks. We are now happy to take your questions. Operator, please proceed.
Questions and answers
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star then 2. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up your handset to ask your question.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Goldman Sachs
Your first question comes from Brian Lee with Goldman Sachs & Co. Please go ahead. Hey, guys. This is Tyler Bisseton for Brian. Thanks for taking our questions. ASPs declined pretty meaningfully sequentially, so curious how you're viewing ASPs so far in Q3, and how much of an impact you could see from greater shipments of Tiger Neo 3.0 modules.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
So, yeah, for the AST side, we are expecting, firstly, apple to apple, we are expecting the price goes up a little bit in Q3. And if we look into the average prices, it will go up as well. The first reason is because from the current market situation, the price is going up because of different reasons, but small markets go up. So, most of the DG prices are falling in the small market, so we are expecting the price of Q3 goes up. The second reason is because of the mix of different products. Our 3.0 product, which is a premium product ratio in Q3, will be definitely higher than Q2, which will be helpful to lift up the AISP in Q3 as well.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Goldman Sachs
Super helpful. And we have seen pricing for wafers and cells increase pretty meaningfully over the past month. We've also seen futures prices for poly also increasing following some industry self-regulation. So I wanted to see how you're thinking about your input costs over the near term and whether you're expecting any impacts from some of these recent moves in input costs.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
So you are talking about the input costs, right? So what is the impact? You know, we believe it's a kind of healthy rebound, including poly-silicon, glasses, and a couple of materials. And that is why I think we, you know, the industry prepared and increased the module price. We don't believe this is going to have negative impact on the customer side. And if you look at landscape, solar is the cheapest energy sources, and now there's a huge demand for storage, and solar plus storage will be the dominator of the energy diversification for most of the readings.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Goldman Sachs
Okay, and just one more from us. Can you provide any more details on how you're balancing shipment volumes and profitability and how that weighed on your shipment volume guidance for the year? Are there certain markets that you are prioritizing or de-emphasizing? You know, we guided down the shipment, right, to 60 to 70.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
That's a clear message, and we don't believe, you know, it's the right time to focus on the scale, and the preferability and the operating control is the key. So we do a lot of, you know, optimization of the structures, not only the markets, as well as, you know, the products and the efficiencies, even our, you know, resources. And particularly if you look at the demand in China is 30% to 40% lower than last year. So definitely we have less and less exposure in China, and China is still relatively competitive, and the prices is one of the lowest of the markets. But what we are doing is not only the country by country as well as the customer by customer.
And on top of that, because we are zoning out the Tiger Nier 3, that is one of the key markets and targeting the central markets, and particularly for the premium markets, including the United States, including Europe. So that is one of the areas we like to penetrate more market share and to get relatively good capabilities. All right.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Goldman Sachs
Thank you very much.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Yes. So I'd just like to take it out to the, to, you know, I think the investor in the call, and the one, this call, and the meeting, you know, Earning data is relatively different, and if you look at the JinkoSolar Holding Co and the U. S. companies, we lack the requisition of companies, no strategies.
And firstly, you know, JinkoSolar Holding Co is kind of the country shareholder of Jinko China, which is the focus on integration of the solar process storage. But now JinkoSolar has more capabilities. In the last five years, we build up a very, very strong strategic investment teams, and invest a lot of investment, a lot of investment are very, very successful. And in the last five years, we focused on solar storage related, upstream, downstream, kind of the very high-growth potential companies to make the financial investment and to get investment returns and as well as get some synergies for Jinko China. On top of that, because China is more competitive on the new technology, like AI, content, and computing, robotics, and the team is shifting the focus to more kind of strategic board industries, particularly the next generation.
So we think, you know, the JinkoSolar is kind of shifting to both one is the controlling of the Jinko China and focus on renewable energy. And on top of that, the JinkoSolar and the U. S. companies were shifting more capabilities to invest on the high growth opportunities. You know, China is the second most powerful country. There's a lot of massive opportunities, and we are able to, you know, our teams are able to take the advantage.
So we would like to invest gradually to have the communication with our IR teams, and to understand what is the progress, particularly for the strategic investment we are planning and we have made, which we believe will get a very strong return for the JinkoSolar Holding Co. in the next two or three years. And again, we think it's good for the valuation of JinkoSolar Holding Co. If you look at purely the China versus the U. S. , there's a very big valuation gap. The U. S. is just 20-30% valuation. And plus, we have a lot of portfolios investment and unique investment We are able to monetize, and so I'd like to take the opportunity to bring this key topic and have the investor understand, okay, what are you going to do in the future?
Thank you.
Your next question comes from Phil Shen with Roth Capital Partners. Please go ahead.
Phil ShenAnalyst, Roth Capital Partners
Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Demi, nice to meet you. Congratulations on the new position. Wanted to check in with you guys on the Section 232. Specifically, given your recent transition and sale of your U. S. assets to FH Capital, Can you talk about the impacts of the 232 on that JV How do you expect module pricing to be impacted And then ultimately how do you expect the landscape of manufacturers to shift as a result of the Section 232 Thanks In general, we believe it's kind of very good for JinkoSolar to die in France. Our manufacturing is shifting to plant-felt entities in the United States.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
And specifically, I think JV, because we are the financial minority investors, we are not in a position to discuss the plan for the joint ventures because the majority of shareholders take the leadership, and we are not invoking any operations. But for the 232, in general, we believe that it is consistent with Trump administration to bring manufacturing back to the United States, not only the module capacity as well as the vapor polyselectic and the solar cell capabilities. And we have expectation, anticipation, the 232 will be coming in the early year. It's coming a little bit late, but we have some kind of diversified the potential supply chain to minimize the impact. But anyway, we believe that is going to increase the cost of the solar modules.
That is going to have the impact to the solar development cost. But we believe because of the – it's a little bit of a significant increase for the potential solar module price, But it does not have a significant impact for the solar farm investment returns given U. S. PPA prices in recent years gradually increased to a relatively competitive but a little bit higher level. So back to your question, and we think it's anticipated, but it's a little bit exceeding expectation because the input price tax rate is a little bit higher, but it's not so high to make the industry demand dramatically go down. We still believe U. S. is a good market in the next few years, and the JinkoSolar minority interest, and the joint venture will penetrate the U. S. market to take the opportunity in the U. S. market.
Phil ShenAnalyst, Roth Capital Partners
Okay, thanks, Charlie. So would you expect pricing to kind of go to, you know, $0.42, $0.44 in the U. S.? You guys are a JV minority owner now, but I got to imagine you have some views on pricing. So what's your sense of where module pricing goes in the U. S.? Thanks.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
If you look at the minimum price, 38, right? 38 cents, 15% tariff. I think the market is evaluating the potential impact, and customers evaluating how they are going to proceed their project plan. And I think we don't have definitive answer from customers, but the initial feedback is the most part of it will continue even under, you know, the 10-0, 2-3-2 policy disruptions. That is my, you know, initial preliminary information.
Phil ShenAnalyst, Roth Capital Partners
Okay, great. That's very helpful. Thanks, Charlie. And then as it relates to, you just mentioned two elements of the 232, the minimum import price and then the 15% ad valorem tariff. There's also a third part, which is the tariff rebate program that is based on U. S. CapEx. Would you expect your JV to qualify for that tariff rebate program?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
It's still a JV question. I'm not in a position, but based on interpretation of policy, my understanding is, first, it's a kind of new capacity expansion. Secondly, it should include wafer cell and maybe polysilicon, right? It's a new capacity addition. You know, it's not included. The solar module is not included, and it looks like, you know, it's targeting for the wafer cell and as well as polyselecan.
Phil ShenAnalyst, Roth Capital Partners
Right, that's true. It's based on new capacity, but it can support, you know, manufacturers to expand capacity. So, okay, I'll pass it on from here. Thank you very much.
Welcome.
Your next question comes from Rajiv Chowdhury with Sunsera Capital. Please go ahead.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
Good morning, everybody. I have a few questions, starting with, can you calibrate for us the size of the market So, you mean the total demand, right? Yes.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
I think in 2006, we are expecting a low year because of the sharp drop of the China domestic demand. If you are looking at number-wise, we are thinking roughly, module-side, it will be roughly 600 GW or slightly below that. That will be our expectation. If you bring them into different categories, you will find out, for example, in China, you will find out that the demand disappeared from the utility market, but the distribution market are still strong or robust during the first stop. And if you look at the non-China market demand, you will find out the European market has some up and downs during the first half. But if we look into the total numbers because of the first quarter rush of the VAT policy change in China, most of the non-China demand is almost in line with the expectations, even slightly higher than us here.
So, that's what we had for the first half and our expectation for this year. And for next year, we believe there will be some recovery in the utility market in China. So, we are expecting a better 2027 demand than 2026. So if you want to quantify that, we will look at roughly 600 something between 600 to 650 gigawatts in 2027 versus around 600 gigawatts or slightly below 600 gigawatts in 2026. Okay. So, if the 2026 is around 600, that means that you're now looking at your market share globally going down from last year, because your market share would be about 11%, right?
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
Yes, there are some reasons behind it. First one is what we call accessible market is reducing.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
So there are certain sizeable markets introducing more and more strict barriers, trade barriers or policy barriers, which is not easy to access. The second reason is because the competition across manufacturers where some of the Tier 3, Tier 2 players, they are playing low price strategy, sacrificing the quality, etc. to attack the market or even protect their own cash flow, which is not what Jinko can do. So Jinko is still taking care of the long-term reputation and qualities.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
So that's why we have to give up some of the low-price deal and protect our own interests. So breaking it down, when you said about some markets becoming less easy to access, I assume you're talking primarily about the United States. Can you give us a sense of what you expect out of that 65 million gigawatts that you expect this year, roughly what percentage will be the U. S. , and what you think going forward, longer term, your U. S. will be?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Yeah, sorry to jump in, but not only U. S. Even for example, Europe, they have this kind of rules asking for all the EU-funded projects or financed projects cannot use China-based or Chinese factories. So, for India, it's a kind of technical barrier, but for a Chinese, China-based manufacturing, it's not accessible at all as well. Together with some other mid or small size of the market as well, like Turkey, like other markets. So I won't name all of them, but definitely U. S. is one of them or one of the big ones. But it's not the only one. There's many more because of different reasons, geopolitical or securities.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
I see. Okay, moving on to another question about credit losses. Can you elaborate on what you mean by that and what happened actually in the second quarter? Credit loss.
Pan LiChief Financial Officer
Rajiv, what are you talking about, the credit locks for accounts receivable? Yes, can you just give us more details on that?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
So you mean kind of provision empowerment or whatever you are looking at, right? Yes, you mentioned in your comments that one of the reasons for higher operating expenses in the second quarter was that you experienced some credit losses, and I was just looking for some elaboration. Was it some particular customers who went delinquent? Well, Rajiv, let us check, but based on my understanding, you know, it's kind of, we didn't have any kind of deteriorated credit from customers, and it's kind of accounting perspective based on the aging, the aging. And actually, if you look at the operating cash flow, we delivered positive 600 million RMB in the first half year. And the healthy operating cash flow is one of the key focus on management perspective.
And we don't see any significant, you know, bad debits or whatever from customer perspective.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
Okay. Another question is on, you mentioned that the cost of production of the newer product line, the 3.0, remained elevated. Can you explain some of the reasons why? Because we were expecting actually the cost to start to come down as you ramped up.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
What happened? The second quarter, we ramped up the new facility, the Tiger Nier 3, and the ramping up stage, typically the cost is relatively higher. On top of that, the second quarter, because the first quarter, the raw material cost, the shear cost is relatively higher. So, forward to the second quarter, the cost is relatively higher. It's a kind of combination of two factors together to result the higher cost.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
But we expect the cost will be lower in the third quarter with the capacity reaching to full operational status, as well as the input cost is relatively lower compared to the second quarter. So, and given that you're expecting the ASPs also to be up in the third quarter, are you suggesting that gross margin could bounce up quite nicely in the third quarter?
We did expect, you know, gross margin moderate improvement in the third quarter.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Okay And can you also talk a little bit about Mr Zyandi Lee stepping down from the CEO position This is obviously a tough time for the company Can you just elaborate on why he chosen to do it at this time David Lee, our chairman, is the founder. He's always focused on the strategic long-term revisions, and I don't believe there's any change because of the change of the chief executive The officer, because the JKS is a controlling shareholder of Jinko China, and so the key business of JKS on top of the controlling shareholder of Jinko China, that is the primary entity to operate the business. And the chairman believes this is the right time, you know, JinkoSolar Holding Co. on top of the controlling shareholder business and doing the strategic investment because our chairman built up the teams, the strategic investment teams, and five years ago, there is a strong track record in the last five years, And it is the right time to catch up with massive opportunities in China, not only in the last five years.
There's a solar and storage investment opportunity, as well as AI, robotics, content computing, a lot of investment opportunities. So that is why I think I talked about in the beginning of the conference call, and we like to invest in to have take the time to understand what we have done in the last five years for strategic investment. Over 10 investment cash out, maybe 60 percent, and there is a very good investment opportunity. The team have invested, including the recent large model, the AI model. KME, K3, maybe you heard from the news, and we believe there will be a good opportunity to make investment return through the JinkoSolar Holding Co. So the JinkoSolar Holding Co. Strategic investment team platform.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
Okay. Moving on to capital spending, can you tell us what the capital spending plan is for this year and how you're thinking about 2027? You know, obviously you are running well below the 100 gigawatt capacity that you have. Should we expect basically very little capital spending in the next two years?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Yes, correct. There will be very, very small minimum and minor upgrades, and we don't expect any significant investment. Even if we want to do some, in the future we do the local manufacturing in the key countries out of China for the local market, we will do through the joint venture structures. That will be minimize our expense as well. That is depending on if the market is getting the bond. So back to your question, I don't believe it's significant. And we should be very small in the maintenance capex in the next two years. So is the five billion number maintenance CapEx? Or even less than that? No, it should be significantly lower, maybe 500 million or maybe one billion.
And then it should be more or less more.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
I see. Okay.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
And how much CapEx is required in the storage business? Storage. Storage. Storage. Storage, we don't have capacity plan. Currently, we have roughly 5 gigawatts battery cell and 20 gigawatts battery pack. We don't have plan to do the capacity expansion. And we like to take a lighter approach and partner with different suppliers. And the key element part, key part is the solution. The solution for AIGC, for solution for different case, different projects, and the technical branding and marketing capability and the technical services. That will be the key investment, but the investment is on the, I think the teams is not the equipment.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
I see. Okay, so your business model in storage is basically an asset-like model.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Yes, yes. Now, going back to module market share, do you think that in the second quarter also you were number one in the world? Yeah, in the first half year, and I think we are still number one. But that is now our target, and the key is we need to go through the cycles, and we develop our capabilities, and the volume does not show any capabilities. The capabilities are just, you know, we are able to have more good planning and we have, make sure our, you know, we have more capabilities to select different customers and different, you know, different markets and branding and marketing activities. And we don't believe the volume says something.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
Okay. So at what level do you think, given that some markets are becoming more difficult, as Jenner mentioned, at what level do you think your market share globally bottoms out?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
You know, at the peak it was around 15% roughly the last couple of years ago, and now you're heading towards, you know, 11 to 12. Where do you think that number bottoms out?
Bottom out? Firstly, I don't have the target number, but I think 10% is renewable number for current stage. But the markets go pick up. We think we should be ready to get more markets here.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Sunsera Capital
Okay. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Jefferies
The next question comes from Alan Lowe with Jefferies. Please go ahead. Thanks, management, for taking my question. Also, congratulations, Stevie. Jamie wanted to become the CEO of the company.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
So I would like to follow up on a couple of stuff. First of all, Section 232 heard there are already quite significant inventory in the U. S. Like BNEF is quoting close to 100 gigawatts. Not sure if you are aware of it, and would like to know how much inventory we have to get prepared for the policy change. We did have preparations, but it's based on the short-term sales contract in the next two or three months. Typically, we will arrange some kind of purchase agreement. And that because there's still sufficient time, right, two or three months, and we will purchase on regular basis.
And we believe because the cost factor is a little bit higher, we believe the market are able to observe I will now turn the call over to the potential cost increase.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Jefferies
So how much inventory in the market do you see? We don't have the information.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
You mean the module, right? Yes, yes, yes. I think you can check the customer data, maybe two, three months later you will see the U. S. customer data. It will have a better understanding about how many or how much megawatt has been imported.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Jefferies
Understood. Thanks. So also heard some feedback on the Section 337 investigation regarding to the TOPCON patent. I wonder if, how do you see it, and is it affecting any of the top coin sales in the U. S.? Is that the first solar patent case?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Yeah, patent, they have a patent case, and also there is a section 3v7 investigation, and yeah, there's some feedback suggesting that, yeah, this might impact, or this might create some problems. I didn't hear the information or any updates, but again, based on our internal and external teams, and we are quite confident in our patent capabilities, and we don't see any disruption for JinkoSolar so far.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Jefferies
Understood. So, and regarding to the strategic cooperation with one of the U. S. major players, I wonder if you might share the progress on that front. Like is there an update or because there's a recent announcement of a $10 billion of investment into building solar capacities by that largest player in the ESS. So I wonder if what's the progress of our discussion with that player?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
We didn't have any progress so far. If there were any significant improvements, I think we may take the news. And but globalization is our strategies, cooperation with different partners, not only in the United States, in different countries. It's one of our, you know, the key areas we like to take and explore the different opportunities. And if we reach to significant progress, we definitely will share the news.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Jefferies
Understood. So my last question is on the ESS business. So I think in the last quarter, in the PowerPoint, it showed around 1.42 gigawatt hour of ESS shipment, POD. While in this quarter, since the number is revised or I'm not sure if the way of calculating the shipments is different, but it seems that Q1 has a lower number of shipments where it is Q2. There is one gigawatt plus shipments, and it seems the company is reiterating its annual target. So does it mean that in second half there will be close to 8 gigawatt hour of shipment?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
It's second half year loaded, and because a lot of projects we shift, but we need to go through different stages, including testing, commissioning, and particularly for the large scale ESS project. And we have the confidence that we are able to achieve our guidance by the end of the year. And if you look into next year and second, third quarter, we are able to recognize maybe three to four gigawatt hours a quarter next quarter.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Jefferies
Understood. So how much was shipped in the first quarter? Because it seems there's a change in the method of calculation or what?
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
First half we shipped I think 3 gigawatt hours. And again last year we shipped I think over 5 gigawatt hours, but last year we were just 1 gigawatt hours. So there's a gap for gigawatts to forward into this year.
Unidentified AnalystAnalyst, Jefferies
I understand. Thank you.
Charlie CaoChief Executive Officer
Thanks, Charlie, for taking my question. Thanks, Dimiya and Ghana. So, yeah, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
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