Lausanne, Switzerland – July 23, 2026 – Hyundai Heavy Industries, JG Solar and First Solar hold the top three spots in the latest edition of the financial stability ranking that tracks and ranks the Altman Z-scores for 64 solar module manufacturers. The report, developed by technical consultancy firm Sinovoltaics, is the third edition published this year.
The ranking covers September 2023 to June 2026. It reports 14 companies in the safe zone (scores above 2.6), down from 22 at the start of the period, while 26 companies now fall below 1.1, the threshold for elevated bankruptcy risk, including 6 in outright severe distress. The deterioration is uneven: Indian manufacturers average 2.93 and Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese makers average 2.89, both safely inside the safe zone, while Mainland-Chinese vertically-integrated giants average just 0.70 and US/European makers average -0.96, pulled down by a handful of severely distressed names.
“What the data shows is a module manufacturing sector under sustained financial strain, with the strain landing very unevenly by region,” Dricus de Rooij, CEO of Sinovoltaics commented. “Some manufacturers have used this period to strengthen their balance sheets, but the vertically-integrated giants that dominate global module supply are, on average, sitting in a weaker credit position than they were three years ago.”
Chinese giants JinkoSolar (0.84), Trina Solar (0.73) and JA Solar (0.71) all sit below the 1.1 threshold, while LONGi Solar fell from 3.37 to 1.27. Among Western makers, First Solar is the standout, climbing from 4.76 to 6.28, while Solartron (-3.71) and SPI Energy (-4.12) remain deeply negative. Hyundai Heavy Industries posted the largest improvement in the ranking, from 3.78 to 9.12.
The Altman Z-score is a financial metric that combines profitability, leverage, liquidity, solvency and activity ratios into a single composite indicator of financial health. A score above 2.6 is considered safe, a score between 1.1 and 2.6 is classified as grey, and a score below 1.1 is associated with elevated bankruptcy risk over the following two years. Scores below zero indicate severe financial distress.
The full report is available on Sinovoltaics’ website. Sinovoltaics' financial stability rankings for inverter and BESS (battery energy storage system) manufacturers are also available as a free resource on the Sinovoltaics website.
About Sinovoltaics
Since 2010, Sinovoltaics, a Dutch-German Battery Energy Storage (BESS) and solar photovoltaic (PV) technical compliance and quality assurance service firm, has been a pioneer in the BESS and solar photovoltaic industries. With innovative software solutions such as SELMA® and BESSecure, Sinovoltaics’ mission is to eliminate all photovoltaic and BESS product defects, enabling investors and the world to succeed with minimal investment risks.
Sinovoltaics’ services include quality assurance inspections, factory audits, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, and traceability audits for utility-scale solar and BESS developers and investors. The company maintains a global presence with offices in Switzerland, the United States, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Vietnam, as well as factory inspection and audit teams strategically located in China, Vietnam, Türkiye, Thailand, India and other key manufacturing bases.
Media Contact
Rasa Jakaitis
Media Manager
rasa@sinovoltaics.com
+37060152349
Lithuania
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