Daqo Cuts Polysilicon Cash Cost to Record $4.23/kg as Q3 Loss Narrows

• Daqo New Energy cut its polysilicon cash cost to a record low of $4.23/kg in Q3 2026, still above its $4.12/kg selling price.
• Sales tripled to 46,910 tons as n-type polysilicon prices in China rose to about RMB 40–43/kg by end-September, Daqo said.
• Daqo raised its 2026 output guidance to 175,000–185,000 tons but expects only 35,000–45,000 tons in the fourth quarter.

Daqo New Energy Corp. cut its polysilicon cash cost to a record low of $4.23 per kilogram in the third quarter. Sales tripled and its quarterly net loss narrowed, the New York-listed producer said on Oct. 27.

The loss attributable to shareholders was $52.9 million, against $81.2 million in the second quarter and $14.9 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to $194.2 million from $62.7 million, still below $244.6 million a year ago. Sales jumped to 46,910 metric tons from 15,190 tons after Daqo switched in June to a more market-oriented sales and pricing strategy.

Market prices recovered faster than Daqo's own. The company said n-type polysilicon in China climbed from a second-quarter trough of RMB 30.5–33 per kg to about RMB 40–43 by end-September. That is roughly $5.95–6.40 per kg (list.solar calculation at the Oct. 27 central parity rate of 6.7171 yuan per dollar). Daqo credited July 31 price-compliance guidance from China's market regulator and an August industry pledge against below-cost sales, which it co-signed. Its own selling price rose only 2% to $4.12/kg because third-quarter shipments filled orders signed before late July.

The polysilicon sector "bottomed out and rebounded in Q3, with polysilicon prices gradually recovering towards cost levels," Chief Executive Officer Xiang Xu said.

Daqo's quarter in numbers

• $4.23/kg cash cost and $5.37/kg total production cost, both record lows, down from $4.57 and $5.95 in the second quarter.
• $0.11/kg gap between the $4.12 average selling price and cash cost; against total production cost, the gap was $1.25/kg (list.solar calculation).
• 53,469 tons produced, above guidance of 40,000–45,000 tons, at about 70% of 305,000 tons of nameplate capacity.
• 87.7% of output sold, with 6,559 tons more produced than shipped (list.solar calculation).
• $30.9 million of inventory impairment, down from $55.7 million in the second quarter.
• $2.06 billion in cash, deposits and other readily convertible assets, with zero debt.
• 1.31 TW of solar capacity in China at end-September, up 16.5% year on year, National Energy Administration data show.

Daqo still called conditions for polysilicon makers challenging. It cited high industry inventories and weak near-term demand, despite a Sept. 3 government notice on cost accounting for low-price competition.

The company expects to produce 35,000–45,000 tons in the fourth quarter and is evaluating a lower near-term utilization rate to help clear inventories. It raised its full-year 2026 production guidance to 175,000–185,000 tons from the 160,000–180,000 tons it gave in August.