Canadian Solar Posts Wider Q4 Loss, Reaffirms 2025 Outlook Amid Fierce Industry Headwinds

Canadian Solar Inc. CSIQ reported fourth-quarter 2024 results on Tuesday, with a net revenue decline of 10.6% year-over-year to $1.52 billion, below the consensus of $1.57 billion.

The decrease was mainly due to lower solar module average selling prices, partially balanced by increased battery storage and project sales.

Gross profit was $217 million, up 2% year over year. On stronger battery and project sales, gross margin improved to 14.3% from 12.5% year over year.

Total module shipments recognized as revenue reached 8.2 GW, a decline of 2% sequentially and an increase of 1% YoY. This total includes 401 MW delivered to the company’s utility-scale solar projects.

Operating expenses rose to $344 million, up from $213 million YoY, mainly due to impairment charges and higher shipping costs.

Related: Canadian Solar Gears Up For Q4 Print; Here Are The Recent Forecast Changes From Wall Street’s Most Accurate Analysts

Canadian Solar reported an adjusted net loss of $99 million, or $1.47 per share, missing the EPS consensus of $0.11.

The company generated $66 million in operating cash flow for the quarter. Total debt stood at $5.2 billion as of December 31, 2024, with $2.4 billion from CSI Solar, $2.6 billion from Recurrent Energy, and $0.2 billion in convertible notes.

As of December 31, 2024, Recurrent Energy’s solar project development pipeline totaled 24.9 GWp, including 1.9 GWp under construction, 4.2 GWp in backlog, and 18.8 GWp in advanced and early-stage development. Additionally, the e-STORAGE pipeline expanded to 79 GWh, with $3.2 billion in contracted backlog.

Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO, commented, “2024 was a challenging year for the solar industry, with intense competition and ongoing policy and trade-related uncertainties creating operational and financial headwinds. Despite these industry-wide pressures, our modules business executed targeted strategic adjustments, enabling us to maintain relatively stronger profitability compared to the broader market.”

“Energy storage was a key profitability driver, as we delivered both quarterly and full year shipment records. While we anticipate margin normalization in this segment, our priority remains scaling volume and further diversifying our global footprint. With our largest-ever pipeline and a robust contracted backlog, we have strong visibility into future growth,” commented Yan Zhuang, President of Canadian Solar’s subsidiary CSI Solar.

Q1 Outlook: Canadian Solar expects total revenue of $1.0 billion—$1.2 billion, versus a consensus estimate of $1.593 billion, and anticipates a gross margin of 9 – 11%.

The company expects total module shipments recognized as revenues by CSI Solar to be 6.4 to 6.7 GW. Battery energy storage shipments are expected to reach ~800 MWh, with ~150 MWh allocated to the company’s projects.

Shawn Qu, Chairman, and CEO, mentioned, “First quarter margins will be impacted by lower contribution from our storage business due to seasonally smaller shipment volumes, trade-related duties, and tariffs. Additionally, softer margins from Recurrent project asset sales will weigh on segment performance. Amid ongoing consolidation in the solar market, we remain committed to prioritizing profitability over volume.”

2025 Outlook reaffirmed: CSIQ expects total module shipments to be 30 GW to 35 GW and CSI Solar’s total battery energy storage shipments in the range of 11 GWh to 13 GWh, including approximately 1 GW and 1 GWh, respectively, to the company’s projects.

The company’s total revenue is expected to be in the range of $7.3 billion – $8.3 billion versus the $7.375 billion consensus.

Price Action: CSIQ shares traded lower by 0.41% at $9.665 at the last check Tuesday.

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