We hosted a Skull Session Fireside Chat with Rhone Resch, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Toyo Co., Ltd (NASDAQ:TOYO), on May 27, 2026. The session was co-moderated by GeoInvesting research contributor “Jev” (@MicrocapDr), who brings two decades of energy economics experience to the discussion, and was coordinated with the help of Crocker Coulson of AUM Advisors, who serves as investor relations support for the company.
We opened by walking through TOYO’s recent financials and corporate structure before handing the discussion over to Jev for a deeper conversation with management.
Manufacturing Footprint and Execution Track Record
Resch described the company as a Cayman-incorporated solar manufacturer with Japanese parentage, a cell factory in Vietnam producing two gigawatts, a four-gigawatt cell facility in Ethiopia, and a one-gigawatt module assembly plant in Houston that is currently being expanded to two gigawatts.
He explained that the Vietnam facility, which was initially targeting the US market, was redirected to Southeast Asia and Japan following the Solar Three ADCVD (anti-dumping and countervailing duty) case.
The Ethiopia facility, by contrast, was purpose-built for the US market and is currently running at or above nameplate capacity. Resch added that the Ethiopia plant went from initial construction to full ramp in roughly six months, compared to an industry standard of 18 months or more for a facility of similar scale.
Competitive Positioning and Technology Roadmap
The discussion then shifted to competitive positioning. Resch explained that TOYO produces TOPCon (tunnel oxide passivated contact) crystalline silicon cells, which operate in the 24 to 25 percent efficiency range.
He contrasted this with cadmium telluride thin-film products from competitors in the high-teens efficiency range, pointing out that higher efficiency matters most in land-constrained applications such as utility-scale projects near data centers or in dense geographies.
Resch stated that TOYO is the largest non-Chinese producer of TOPCon cells currently supplying other module manufacturers in the US at commercial scale. Looking ahead, the company is investing in research and development around heterojunction technology (HJT) and perovskites as the next generation of solar cell technology, with potential efficiencies in the 30 to 32 percent range expected in a two-to-three year timeframe.
Q1 Financials, Guidance, and the Planned Domestic Cell Facility
On the financial side, Coulson addressed the gross margin expansion, explaining that Q1 2025 had no Ethiopia production, so the comparison reflects a full quarter of four-gigawatt output selling entirely into the higher-priced US market.
The company indicated it was sold out for the year and generated approximately $48 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and $33 million in operating cash flow in the quarter. A planned domestic cell facility was discussed broadly, with management indicating an announcement with more detail was expected within weeks.
On financing, Coulson stated the company has multiple options including operating cash flow, potential 45X tax credit monetization through forward sales, and debt, adding that some equity component was not ruled out but the company aimed to avoid significant dilution. He added that 45X credit transfer pricing was expected to be in the low 90 cents on the dollar range for their scale.
Risk Factors: ADCVD Exposure, Supply Chain, and Tariff Policy
Jev and our analyst team pressed management on several risk factors. On the ADCVD risk in Ethiopia, Resch explained that TOYO’s cell facility takes raw wafers and fully processes them from scratch, creating the PN junction on-site, which establishes the Ethiopian country of origin.
He distinguished this from a “blue wafer” approach, in which a wafer with a pre-formed junction is imported and minimally processed, which he described as a concern for other operators in the country but not for TOYO.
Coulson added that customs has already reviewed hours of video footage and documentation verifying the company’s manufacturing process and feedstock sourcing. On the question of US-China trade normalization, Resch argued that multiple layers of protection exist beyond ADCVD tariffs, including domestic content requirements and the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act, which would require acts of Congress to meaningfully unwind.
He also said that the company’s business model is profitable on a standalone basis without any 45X tax credit support, which management described as a non-negotiable internal standard before approving any project.
Positioning and Next Steps
Going forward, TOYO’s stated priorities include completing the domestic cell facility announcement, scaling the Houston module plant to two gigawatts by year-end, and continuing to increase the share of US-sourced materials in its bill of materials.
The company framed its longer-term ambition as becoming a full US manufacturing platform rather than simply an arbitrage play on Ethiopian cost structure, and Resch indicated the company has close working relationships with the current administration on domestic manufacturing policy.