A. History and Development of the Company Our company was incorporated in the Cayman Islands as Mega Stand International Limited in November 2007. We changed our corporate name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. We are a company limited by shares domiciled in the Cayman Islands. The corporate affairs of Daqo New Energy Corp. are governed by our Fourth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. In 2008, we established Chongqing Daqo as our wholly owned operating subsidiary in China. Through Chongqing Daqo, we focused primarily on the manufacturing and sale of polysilicon and later expanded into wafer manufacturing. In addition to Chongqing Daqo, we established Nanjing Daqo New Energy Co., Ltd., or Nanjing Daqo, in China in 2007, through which we conducted our module manufacturing business. In 2009, we established our wholly owned subsidiary Daqo Solar Energy North America, or Daqo North America, in California to promote our products in North America. Daqo Group established Daqo New Material in 2006 in Chongqing, China. Although all of Daqo Group’s equity interest holders also beneficially own shares of Daqo Cayman, Daqo Group does not have any shareholding in our company. Subsequent to the establishment of Chongqing Daqo in July 2008, Chongqing Daqo entered into a lease agreement with Daqo New Material to rent all of Daqo New Material’s land, production infrastructure, machinery, equipment, facilities, factories, buildings and other assets for polysilicon production. This lease was terminated on December 30, 2013. Under Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 810-10-15, “Variable Interest Entities,” we were deemed to be Daqo New Material’s primary beneficiary and Daqo New Material had been consolidated from July 1, 2008 to December 30, 2013. As a result of the voluntary termination of our contractual arrangements with Daqo New Material, starting from December 31, 2013, we deconsolidated Daqo New Material. We commenced commercial production at the Phase 1 polysilicon facilities in July 2008. Production at the Phase 1 polysilicon facilities used equipment and property from both us and Daqo New Material. Even though we do not directly or indirectly hold any equity interests in Daqo New Material, under U.S. GAAP, Daqo New Material has been deemed to be our predecessor business from November 16, 2006 through June 30, 2008. Under a non-competition agreement with us, Daqo Group has agreed not to engage in the business of manufacturing, marketing or distributing polysilicon or any other solar power products anywhere in the world or compete in any manner with our businesses without our consent for an indefinite term. Under the non-competition agreement, we, through Daqo Cayman and Chongqing Daqo, are entitled to seek temporary restraining orders, injunctions or other equitable relief, in addition to monetary remedies specified in the agreement, if Daqo Group breaches its non-competition obligations. Related party transactions are subject to our Audit Committee’s review and approval. With the approval of our Audit Committee, we gave our consent to Daqo Group to enter the photovoltaic cell manufacturing business in China. Daqo Group incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Zhenjiang Daqo Solar Co., Ltd., or Zhenjiang Daqo, which started commercial production of photovoltaic cells in 2011. On October 7, 2010, we listed our ADSs, each representing five ordinary shares of Daqo New Energy Corp., on the NYSE under the symbol “DQ” in connection with an initial public offering. We issued a total of 9,200,000 ADSs at $9.50 per ADS in connection with our initial public offering. In February 2011, we incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Xinjiang Daqo, in Shihezi Economic Development Area in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China, to build our Phase 2A polysilicon production facilities. We finished construction of our Phase 2A polysilicon facilities in September 2012 and engaged in commercial production at these facilities beginning from the first quarter of 2013. In April 2011, we incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Daqo New Energy Holdings (Canada) Ltd., or Daqo Canada, to expand our operations in North America. Through Daqo Canada, we set up a joint venture with JNE Solar Inc., a party unrelated to us prior to this transaction, in Hamilton, Ontario. This joint venture was terminated in April 2012. We liquidated Daqo Canada in October 2013. 39 Table of Contents In September 2012, to focus on our core businesses of polysilicon and wafer production, we sold our 100% equity interest in our module business to Daqo Group for a consideration of $9.9 million. On December 21, 2012, we effected a change of the ADS to ordinary share ratio from one ADS representing five ordinary shares to one ADS representing 25 ordinary shares. The ratio change had the same effect as a 1-for-5 reverse ADS split. In September 2012, we halted polysilicon production in order to begin maintenance and technology improvement projects at the Phase 1 polysilicon facilities with the primary objective of lowering the cost to produce polysilicon at these facilities. In conjunction with the production stoppage, a supplementary lease agreement with Daqo New Material was reached which reduced lease payments beginning in 2013 to approximately $zero. In the first quarter of 2013, we terminated Daqo North America, which was originally designed to promote our module products in North America. In the second quarter of 2013, we incurred fixed asset impairment charges related to the Phase 1 polysilicon facilities to reflect the market challenges that had an adverse effect on the profit-generating ability of the assets. As of March 2013, we successfully reached our initial targets for both capacity and cost structure for our Xinjiang Phase 2A polysilicon facilities. As part of our efforts toward further improvement, we successfully completed a project to identify and reduce restrictions on our production throughput, or a “debottlenecking” project, prior to the end of 2013. In November 2013, our board of directors approved our plan to further expand our capacity in Xinjiang from 6,150 MT to 12,150 MT, or the Phase 2B expansion, in order to take advantage of the enormous competitive advantage in electricity price in Xinjiang compared to that of Chongqing. Since we did not intend to continue the technology improvement project in our Phase 1 facilities and we planned to relocate the idle machinery and equipment from Phase 1 facilities in Chongqing to our Xinjiang facilities for expansion projects including Phase 2B, Phase 3A and 3B, we (i) ceased production at the Phase 1 polysilicon facilities in 2012, then started the relocation of certain machinery and equipment from the Phase 1 polysilicon facilities to Xinjiang, and (ii) on December 30, 2013, signed an amendment to the supplementary lease agreement to terminate the lease, which resulted in the deconsolidation of Daqo New Material. To support the wafer manufacturing at Chongqing Daqo, Chongqing Daqo entered into a new lease agreement with Daqo New Material to lease a small portion of its facilities, including, but not limited to, the dining hall, part of the office buildings and portions of the employee dormitory, on January 1, 2014. Following the completion of our Phase 2A and our capacity enhancement project for Phase 2A, we fully ramped up our nameplate polysilicon production capacity to 6,150 MT per annum in the first quarter of 2014. We fully ramped up the full production capacity of our Phase 2B project to 12,150 MT per annum at the end of the third quarter of 2015. 40 Table of Contents In January 2015, our board of directors approved our Phase 3A expansion project. We completed the construction and installation of Phase 3A at the end of 2016 and achieved full production capacity of 18,000 MT per annum in the first quarter of 2017. In August 2017, our board of directors approved the Phase 3B expansion project. We completed the construction and installation of Phase 3B and commenced pilot production by October 2018. The Phase 3B facility ramped up to full production capacity and increased our total production capacity to 30,000 MT in December 2018. In addition, we completed a debottlenecking project and increased our total production capacity to 35,000 MT by the end of June 2019. Our Phase 4 expansion plan comprises Phase 4A and Phase 4B, which each increased our production capacity by 35,000 MT. We completed the Phase 4A project and ramped it up to full production capacity in December 2019, which increased our total production capacity to 70,000 MT. Following the full operation of our Phase 4A expansion project, we further reduced our production cost to $6.38/kg in the fourth quarter of 2019, benefiting from lower unit cost of electricity, new production processes and equipment with higher efficiencies, and greater economies of scale. We began our Phase 4B project in March 2021 and completed the construction of the project in December 2021. We ramped it up to its full capacity of 35,000 MT and increased our total annual production capacity to 105,000 MT in January 2022. In December 2021, we entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, to build polysilicon projects for the solar industry with a total annual production capacity of 200,000 MT (i.e., our Phase 5 expansion project, comprising Phase 5A and Phase 5B), and for the semiconductor industry with a total annual production capacity of 21,000 MT, silicon metal projects with a total annual production capacity of 300,000 MT and silicone projects with a total annual production capacity of 200,000 MT in Baotou. In the first phase, we completed the construction of the Phase 5A project in April 2023 and ramped it up to its full capacity in June 2023, which increased our annual production capacity of polysilicon for the solar industry to 205,000 MT. In the second phase, we completed the construction of the Phase 5B project and began production in May 2024, which increased our annual production capacity for polysilicon to 305,000 MT. Our 1,000 MT polysilicon project for the semiconductor industry also began production in May 2024. In November 2013, we achieved great progress in our wafer business by increasing our annual production capacity from 36 million pieces to 72 million pieces. From 2014, we began running our wafer business in full capacity and improved the quality and efficiency for our wafer products. In May 2014, we established an in-house slurry recovery system, which helped us lower the wafer production cost. In November 2015, we launched a wafer technology enhancement project at our Chongqing wafer facilities, which helped to reduce our wafer manufacturing cost and increase our wafer capacity with a limited capital expenditure requirement. We upgraded our ingot furnaces from Generation 5 to Generation 6 directional solidification casting furnaces and increased our ingot output from approximately 500 kilograms per batch to approximately 800 kilograms per batch in the first half of 2016. We also increased our wafering capacity by improving efficiency of the existing wafering system and acquiring certain used wafering tools from the secondary market in the first half of 2016. By the end of June 2016, we successfully completed this project and increased our annual wafer capacity from 87 million pieces to approximately 100 million pieces. By the year-end of 2017, we had successfully switched our slicing technology from traditional slurry wire saws to diamond saws which enable us to significantly improve our manufacturing efficiency and lower processing cost. In September 2018, we made a strategic decision to discontinue our wafer manufacturing operations in Chongqing in response to the increasingly challenging market conditions. In August 2015, our board of directors and the Audit Committee approved the restructuring plan of Xinjiang Daqo in order for it to meet certain PRC legal requirement for listing on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, or the New Third Board, an emerging over-the-counter securities market in China. Pursuant to the restructuring plan, Xinjiang Daqo Investment subscribed for newly issued equity interest of Xinjiang Daqo representing 1% of the total outstanding equity of Xinjiang Daqo, and the restructuring was completed in December 2015. In April 2016, Xinjiang Daqo received approval to list its shares on the New Third Board. In June 2016, Xinjiang Daqo was listed on the New Third Board. In May 2018, Xinjiang Daqo was voluntarily delisted from the New Third Board, because the effectiveness and efficiency of the financing activities on the New Third Board did not meet our expectations. In December 2018, we approved for our subsidiary, Xinjiang Daqo, to acquire an 100% equity interest of Xinjiang Daqo Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daqo Group and an affiliated company of the Company, for a total consideration of $16.0 million. In December 2016, we adopted a dual Chinese name “大全新能源公司” at our annual general meeting, so that the name of our company is “Daqo New Energy Corp. “ 大全新能源公司.” In April 2018, we completed a follow-on public offering of 2,064,379 ADSs, representing 51,609,475 ordinary shares, at $55.00 per ADS. We received net proceeds of $106.6 million from this offering. In October 2019, we incorporated Xinjiang Daqo Guodi, a wholly owned subsidiary, in Shihezi Economic Development Area in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China. The subsidiary focuses on research and development related to polysilicon manufacturing. 41 Table of Contents In November 2019, Xinjiang Daqo Lvchuang was incorporated, which is 70% owned by Xinjiang Daqo and 30% owned by a third party company. The subsidiary primarily focuses on the recycling and sales of polysilicon by-product, which was in the start-up stage as of December 31, 2021. In March 2020, Daqo New Energy (Hong Kong) Co., Limited, our wholly owned subsidiary, was incorporated in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. The subsidiary primarily focuses on development of business and investment for us. In June 2020, we announced our strategic plan to complete a listing of shares of our principal operating subsidiary, Xinjiang Daqo, on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Sci-Tech innovation board, known as the STAR Market. STAR Market listing requires Xinjiang Daqo to have multiple shareholders. As a result, we sold 4.4% of Xinjiang Daqo’s shares at the aggregate consideration of RMB199.05 million to Mr. Guangfu Xu, Mr. Xiang Xu, Mr. Dafeng Shi and Mr. Longgen Zhang, respectively. Following the transaction, we beneficially owned 95.6% of equity interest in Xinjiang Daqo. In July 2021, Xinjiang Daqo completed its initial public offering and listing on the STAR Market and raised net proceeds of approximate RMB6.07 billion in this offering. In February 2022, Xinjiang Daqo applied with the Shanghai Stock Exchange to conduct a private offering to qualified institutional investors, intending to raise up to RMB11 billion from this private offering for our 100,000 metric tons of polysilicon expansion project in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, and to supplement our working capital. As of March 31, 2026, we beneficially own a 72.8% equity interest in Xinjiang Daqo. On November 17, 2020, we effected a change of the ADS-to-ordinary-share ratio from one (1) ADS representing twenty-five (25) ordinary shares to one (1) ADS representing five (5) ordinary shares. In October 2021, Inner Mongolia Daqo New Energy Co., Ltd., which is 100% owned by Xinjiang Daqo, was incorporated in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The subsidiary primarily focuses on manufacturing of polysilicon. Our principal executive offices are located at 29th Floor, Huadu Mansion, 838 Zhangyang Road, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, and our telephone number at that location is +86-21-5075-2918. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of International Corporation Services Ltd., P.O. Box 472, 2nd Floor, North Wing, Harbor Place, Grand Cayman KY1-1106, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc., located at 801 2nd Avenue, Suite 403, New York, NY 10017. SEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding us that file electronically with the SEC. Our website is http://www.dqsolar.com. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Capital Expenditures” for a discussion of our capital expenditures. B. Business Overview Photovoltaics is one of the proven and most rapidly growing renewable energy sources in the world. Energy from the sun is converted into electricity primarily through the photovoltaic effect and, to a lesser extent, through concentrated solar thermal technologies. We are a leading high-purity polysilicon manufacturer based in China. We utilize the chemical vapor deposition process, or the “modified Siemens process,” with upgraded Hydrochlorination technology, to produce polysilicon, and have fully implemented the closed loop system to produce high-quality polysilicon cost-effectively. We manufacture and sell high-purity polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers, who further process our polysilicon into ingots, wafers, cells and modules for solar power solutions. Currently, our annual production capacity for polysilicon is 305,000 MT, including 105,000 MT of production capacity in Xinjiang and 200,000 MT of production capacity in Inner Mongolia. We improve our production efficiency and increase our output through technological improvements, adoption of process innovation and refinement as well as equipment enhancement. Actual production volume may exceed the production capacity due to operational improvements we may implement at our facilities in response to market conditions. We commenced commercial production of wafers using our own polysilicon in July 2011. Following our discontinuation in September 2018 of our wafer manufacturing operations in Chongqing, we focused on our operations in Xinjiang in northwestern China and then gradually expanded to Inner Mongolia. The cost of doing business in western and northern China is generally lower than the coastal areas of China. Specifically, in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia where currently our polysilicon facilities are located, the electricity rate is much lower than the coastal areas. Because of our strategic location, we have experienced advantages in electricity and raw material costs over our competitors that are based in developed countries or in the coastal areas of China. 42 Table of Contents We impose rigorous quality control standards at various stages of our manufacturing process. We systematically test raw materials from our suppliers and test our inputs at each stage of our manufacturing process to ensure that they meet all technical specifications. With our strict quality control measures in our manufacturing and facility construction processes, we are able to produce high-quality polysilicon consistently at our facilities. We currently sell polysilicon to China-based photovoltaic product manufacturers. The majority of our sales are made under framework contracts, with the prices to be determined at the time when specific sales orders are made. As of December 31, 2025, our major polysilicon customers included operating entities of major silicon wafer producers and vertical integrated solar manufacturers. Quarterly sales volume for polysilicon in 2025: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ First ​ ​ ​ Second ​ ​ ​ Third ​ ​ ​ Fourth ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Quarter ​ Quarter ​ Quarter ​ Quarter ​ FY 2025 Sales Volume ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Polysilicon (MT) 28,008 18,126 42,406 38,167 126,707 ​ Our Products We manufacture and sell high-purity polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufactures, who further process the polysilicon into ingots, wafers, cells and modules for solar power solutions. We offer ready-to-use polysilicon, packaged to meet crucible stacking, pulling, and solidification needs. Our annual production capacity for polysilicon increased from 35,000 MT to 70,000 MT in December 2019 and further increased to 305,000 MT in the third quarter of 2024. Our actual production volume of polysilicon in 2024 and 2025 was 205,068 MT and 123,652 MT, respectively. We are one of the best-quality polysilicon makers in China. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects-A. Operating Results-Components of Results of Operations-Revenues” for a breakdown of our net revenues by category of activity. ​ 43 Table of Contents Polysilicon Manufacturing Process Modified Siemens Process We use the modified Siemens process to produce polysilicon, which is outlined as follows: Chlorine generated via electrolysis in the caustic soda facility reacts with hydrogen in an HCl synthesis furnace to produce HCl. Following dehydration, the HCl is fed into a TCS synthesis reactor, where it reacts with MG-Si powder to form chlorosilanes. In parallel, a hydrochlorination unit converts MG-Si powder—together with STC, HCl, and hydrogen recovered from reduction off-gas—into chlorosilanes. Unreacted STC, HCl and hydrogen are separated and recycled back into the hydrochlorination loop. The crude chlorosilane mixture is subjected to multi-stage adsorption and distillation to separate high-purity TCS, DCS and STC. The purified TCS is vaporized, blended with purified hydrogen gas and DCS at a controlled ratio, and fed into the deposition reactor for vapor-phase deposition to form ultra-pure polysilicon rods. Off-gas from the reduction reaction is processed through condensation, compression, absorption, desorption, and adsorption to recover high-purity hydrogen, HCl and chlorosilanes, each of which is recycled separately. The polysilicon rods are then crushed and separated in the final-product processing section to produce polysilicon products of various grades and specifications. The diagram below describes our current general manufacturing process: ​ To further enhance manufacturing efficiency, we have installed a Distribution Control System, an advanced process control system, and a thermal energy recycling mechanism. The Distribution Control System and the advanced process control system together enable tight quality control, minimize process-related variations, and improve overall productivity. Our thermal energy recycling system captures heat generated by our deposition and hydrogenation reactors and redistributes it to other production areas, including distillation facilities for TCS purification and our refrigeration station, which supports a large number of condensers. ​ 44 Table of Contents Manufacturing Capacity The following table sets forth our major installed, approximate annual production capacity objectives as of the dates indicated and includes the expected date of initial commercial operation and fully ramped-up production of each expansion phase. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Approximate ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Annual ​ ​ ​ Commercial ​ Fully ​ ​ Production ​ Construction ​ Production ​ Ramped-up ​ ​ Capacity ​ Period ​ Period ​ Production Phase 2A facilities ​ 5,000 MT ​ Second quarter of 2011 – September 2012 ​ First quarter of 2013 – Present ​ March 2013 Capacity enhancement of Phase 2A facilities ​ 1,150 MT ​ July 2013 – January 2014 ​ January 2014 – Present ​ First quarter of 2014 Phase 2B facilities ​ 6,000 MT ​ April 2014 – June 2015 ​ July 2015 – Present ​ Third quarter of 2015 Phase 3A facilities 5,850 MT July 2015 – December 2016 First quarter of 2017 – Present First quarter of 2017 Phase 3B facilities 12,000 MT January 2018 – October 2018 December 2018 – Present December 2018 Debottlenecking project of Phase 3B facilities ​ 5,000 MT ​ April 2019 - June 2019 ​ June 2019 - Present ​ Second quarter of 2019 Phase 4A facilities 35,000 MT May 2018 – September 2019 September 2019 – Present December 2019 Phase 4B facilities ​ 35,000 MT ​ March – December 2021 ​ December 2021 – Present ​ February 2022 Phase 5A facilities ​ 100,000 MT ​ March 2022 – April 2023 ​ April 2023 – Present ​ June 2023 Phase 5B facilities ​ 100,000 MT ​ March 2023 – May 2024 ​ May 2024 – Present ​ N/A(1) Polysilicon for semiconductor ​ 1,000 MT ​ March 2022 – December 2024 ​ May 2024 – Present ​ N/A(1) ​ Note: (1) We currently do not have an expected ramp-up schedule for our Phase 5B facilities or our polysilicon project for the semiconductor industry, primarily due to adverse market conditions. We will adjust our production plans for these projects based on market conditions. 45 Table of Contents We completed the construction and installation of Phase 3A at the end of 2016 and commenced initial production in the first quarter of 2017. By the end of February 2017, we achieved full production capacity of 18,000 MT per annum. In August 2017, our board of directors approved the Phase 3B expansion project. We completed the construction and installation of Phase 3B and commenced pilot production by October 2018. The Phase 3B facility ramped up to full production capacity and increased our total production capacity to 30,000 MT in December 2018. In addition, we completed a debottlenecking project and increased our total production capacity to 35,000 MT in June 2019. Our Phase 4 expansion plan comprises Phase 4A and Phase 4B, which each increased our production capacity by 35,000 MT. We completed the Phase 4A project and began pilot production in September 2019. We reached full capacity of 35,000 MT in December 2019, which increased our total production capacity to 70,000 MT. Following the full operation of our Phase 4A expansion project, we further reduced our production cost to $6.38/kg in the fourth quarter of 2019, benefiting from low cost of electricity, new production processes and equipment with higher efficiencies, and greater economies of scale. We began our Phase 4B project in March 2021 and completed the construction of the project in December 2021. We ramped it up to its full capacity of 35,000 MT and increased our total annual production capacity to 105,000 MT in January 2022. We began the construction of our Phase 5A project in March 2022 and completed it in April 2023. We ramped it up to its full capacity in June 2023, which increased our total annual production capacity of polysilicon for the solar industry to 205,000 MT. We began the construction of our Phase 5B project in March 2023 and began production in May 2024, which increased our total annual production capacity of polysilicon for the solar industry to 305,000 MT. In addition, we began the construction of a 1,000 MT polysilicon project for the semiconductor industry in March 2022 and began trial production in May 2024. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Our future success depends substantially on our ability to significantly expand our polysilicon production capacity and output, which exposes us to a number of risks and uncertainties” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—If we are unable to manage our expansion effectively, our business and financial results may be adversely affected.” Materials and Inputs Used in Production Polysilicon Raw materials required for our polysilicon manufacturing process primarily include metallurgical grade silicon, which is silicon of 95% to 99% purity, and liquid chlorine, two widely available industrial raw materials used in our in-house production of TCS, electricity and other utilities, and other significant inputs for production, such as argon gas, caustic soda and graphite parts. We produce liquid chlorine in our in-house facilities. This provides us with a reliable supply of liquid chlorine and also helps us to further reduce material costs. The costs of electricity are significant in the production of polysilicon. The electricity costs in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia are significantly lower than those in coastal areas of China and in developed countries due to their abundant coal resources. Shihezi, where our Xinjiang polysilicon facilities are located, enjoys additional advantages in the costs of electricity due to the independent regional electricity grid. We also use other utilities, such as steam, water and natural gas, for our manufacturing process. Steam supply is important to the production of polysilicon. We use both a local supplier and our in-house capabilities to produce steam. Equipment The major polysilicon production equipment includes hydroelectrolysis devices, hydrochlorination synthesis furnaces, TCS synthesis furnaces, distillation towers, polysilicon deposition reactors, hydrogenation reactors, exhaust gas recovery units and distribution control systems. We have close relationships with several of the world’s leading equipment manufacturers and work closely with selected equipment manufacturers to develop and build our production lines. In addition, we developed technical specifications for the design of our power supply systems and reactors and have engaged manufacturers to construct the equipment in accordance with our specifications. Our engineers work closely with our equipment suppliers to design our production facilities. Furthermore, to lower costs, we have purchased and will continue to purchase equipment that can be appropriately designed and manufactured by China-based suppliers. Our technical team is responsible for overseeing the installation of our manufacturing lines to optimize the interaction between the various individual components of the entire production process. They work together with our equipment suppliers’ technical teams on site at the time of installation. 46 Table of Contents Quality Assurance We apply our quality control system at each stage of our manufacturing process, from raw materials procurement to production and delivery, in order to ensure consistent quality of our products. We systematically inspect raw materials from our suppliers, such as MG-Si, liquid chlorine and various consumables for our polysilicon business. We also test our inputs in each stage of our production process to ensure the inputs meet all technical specifications. We sample each lot of polysilicon harvested from the deposition reactors and keep the samples for product quality tracking purpose. We also set up a product tracking system to trace back all shipped products to the samples we keep and to our database, which contains detailed information of each shipment. We received the ISO 9001:2008 certification for our quality assurance system for our Xinjiang plant, which we believe demonstrates our technological capabilities and inspires customer confidence. In 2014, Xinjiang Daqo was first recognized as a high and new technology enterprise. We have successfully renewed this certificate for Xinjiang Daqo to November 2026. In 2024, Inner Mongolia Daqo New Energy was also recognized as a high-tech enterprise, effective for three years. We will continue to apply for renewal of the certificates upon their expiration. In addition, in 2014, Xinjiang Daqo was recognized for its compliance with the “Photovoltaic Manufacture Industry Standard” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the PRC. In order to facilitate our production of photovoltaic products and ensure the quality of the finished product, we conduct analysis for raw materials, in-process products and finished products and monitor the environmental impact and safety throughout the production process. Customers and Sales We currently sell polysilicon to China-based photovoltaic product manufacturers. As of December 31, 2025, our major polysilicon customers included operating entities of major silicon wafer producers and vertical integrated solar manufacturers. We sell a substantial portion of our polysilicon to a limited number of customers. Our top three customers in aggregate accounted for 64.4%, 53.8% and 63.5% of our continuing operations’ total revenues in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The majority of our polysilicon sales are made under framework contracts. The framework contracts typically provide binding terms for the sales volumes of our polysilicon. The pricing terms are typically agreed upon between us and our customers based on the prevailing market prices when specific sales orders are made. We have established nationwide marketing capability through our sales team in China. Each member of our sales team is dedicated to a particular region. Our sales team attends domestic and international industrial conferences and trade fairs and organizes advertising and public relations events. Our sales and marketing team works closely with both our research and development team and our production team to coordinate our ongoing supply and demand planning. Research and Development We believe that the continual development of our technology will be vital to maintaining our long-term competitiveness. We have one of the leading research and development teams among polysilicon manufacturers in China. Our research and development team consists of 968 experienced researchers and engineers. Our senior management team spearheads our research and development efforts and sets strategic directions for the advancement of our products and production processes, focusing on efforts to improve product quality, reduce manufacturing costs and broaden our product markets. In 2025, we completed 68 research and technology or process improvement projects to enhance our polysilicon manufacturing process, and successfully registered 99 patents with the State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC. Intellectual Property Our intellectual property is an essential element of our business. We rely on patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property laws, as well as non-competition and confidentiality agreements with our employees, business partners and others, to protect our intellectual property rights. 47 Table of Contents As of December 31, 2025, we held 510 patents and had 179 additional pending patent applications covering different aspects of the polysilicon and wafer manufacturing process. We also rely heavily on a combination of proprietary process engineering, trade secrets and employee contractual protections to establish and protect our intellectual property, as we believe that many crucial elements of our production processes involve proprietary know-how, technology or data that are not covered by patents or patent applications, including technical processes, equipment designs, algorithms and procedures. We have taken security measures to protect these elements. All of our research and development personnel have entered into confidentiality and proprietary information agreements with us. These agreements address intellectual property protection issues and require our employees to assign to us all of the inventions, designs and technologies that they develop when primarily utilizing our resources or when performing their duties during their employment. While we continue to develop and pursue patent protection for our own technologies, we expect to continue implementing third party license arrangements on certain key aspects of our operation. In August 2011, Chongqing Daqo entered into a Technology License and Transfer Agreement with GTAT Corporation, a Delaware company, under which GTAT granted us a license to use its Hydrochlorination TCS Production Technology and Chlorosilane Recovery/Waste Neutralization Technology for our current polysilicon production and future polysilicon production expansions. We had paid off the consideration for the transfer of this technology in January 2016. Most of our equipment supply contracts with international suppliers include an indemnification provision under which the supplier undertakes to indemnify us against actions, claims, demands, costs, charges, and expenses arising from or incurred by reason of any infringement or alleged infringement of patent, copyright, trade mark or trade name by the use of the equipment provided by the supplier. However, it is unclear whether we will be entitled to such indemnification in the event that we use the equipment supplied by such supplier in conjunction with other equipment not supplied by such supplier. In addition, many of our equipment supply contracts with China-based suppliers do not provide any intellectual property indemnification provisions. See “Item 3. Key Information-D. Risk Factors-Risks Related to Our Business-We may be exposed to infringement or misappropriation claims by third parties, which, if determined adversely to us, could cause us to pay significant damage awards.” Competition We face competition in China and in the international markets in which we have sales. The photovoltaic market is dominated by a few major manufacturers with a large number of small manufacturers competing for the remaining small portion of the market. We face competition mainly from top manufacturers who have succeeded in establishing a strong brand name and relationships with solar companies. For our polysilicon business, our major international competitors include Wacker, OCI and Hemlock, and our major competitors in China include GCL-Poly, Xinte Energy, Tongwei Yongxiang, Asia Silicon, and Xinjiang East Hope New Energy. There are also new entrants into the polysilicon manufacturing market in China, such as Lihao Semiconductor and Xinjiang Jingnuo New Energy. In addition, some solar cell and module manufacturers might have the intention of establishing polysilicon production or affiliate relationships with manufacturers of polysilicon. We compete with these in-house capabilities, which could limit our ability to expand our sales. Furthermore, the demand for our polysilicon may be adversely affected by alternative technologies in cell manufacturing. The vast majority of silicon-based photovoltaic cell manufacturers currently use chunk or granular polysilicon. However, alternative technologies that use little to no silicon in the production of solar cells are being developed in cell manufacturing. One example of such technology is thin-film cell production. We believe that the solar cells made using thin-film technologies generally tend to have lower energy conversion efficiency than silicon-based solar cells. In addition, the manufacturing cost of silicon-based cells has been significantly reduced recently, which largely reduces or eliminates the historical cost advantage of thin-film cells. Another example of such technologies is the perovskite solar cell, which we believe is challenged by its low stability and currently cannot achieve large-scale production. Based on our management’s industry knowledge, we believe silicon-based cells will remain the most widely used solar photovoltaic cells in the near future. We believe that the key competitive factors in the market for photovoltaic products include: ● product quality; ● price and cost competitiveness; ● manufacturing technologies and efficiency; ● manufacturing reliability; ● economies of scale; and 48 Table of Contents ● reputation. We believe we differentiate ourselves from our competitors and capture market share in the polysilicon markets through our cost and price competitiveness, product quality, and manufacturing technologies and efficiency. Regulation This section sets forth a summary of the most significant regulations or requirements that affect our business activities in China. Renewable Energy Law and Other Government Directives China enacted the Renewable Energy Law in February 2005 and amended the law in December 2009. The amended Renewable Energy Law sets forth the national policy to encourage and support the development and use of solar and other renewable energy and its use for on-grid generation. The law also sets forth the national policy to encourage the installation and use of solar technologies in water-heating systems, heating and cooling systems, power generation systems and other energy utilization systems. In addition, the law provides financial incentives, such as national funding, preferential loans and tax preferences for the development of renewable energy projects. In January 2006, the National Development and Reform Commission, or the NDRC issued two implementing rules relating to the Renewable Energy Law and the Price Law that, among other things, provide general policies regarding the pricing of on-grid power generated by solar and other renewable energy. In September 2006, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (formerly the Ministry of Construction) and the Ministry of Finance also promulgated the Circular of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction, on Printing and Issuing the Interim Measures for Administration of Special Fund for Construction Applied Renewable Energy Resources, which also emphasize the use and administration of the special fund for supporting renewable energies in construction industry. On March 8, 2011, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly promulgated the Notice on Further Application of Renewable Energy in Building Construction, which aims to raise the percentage of renewable energy used in buildings. In August 2007, the NDRC promulgated the Medium and Long-Term Development Plan for the Renewable Energy Industry. This plan sets forth national policy to provide financial allowance and preferential tax regulations for the renewable energy industry. A similar demonstration of the PRC government’s commitment to renewable energy was also set forth in the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, which was promulgated by the NDRC in December 2016. The Outline of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the PRC, which was approved by the National People’s Congress in March 2016, also demonstrates a commitment to promote the development of renewable energy to enhance the competitiveness of the renewable energy industry. On July 24, 2011, the NDRC issued the Circular on Improving the On-Grid Price Policy for Photovoltaic Power, which aims to stimulate the photovoltaic power industry by regulating the price of photovoltaic power. On July 4, 2013, the General Office of the State Council of China issued “Several opinions on promoting healthy development of Solar PV industry” which increased the aggregated target for PV installations as of 2015 from the previously announced 21 GW to 35 GW. On September 16, 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued “Regulatory Requirements For the Solar PV Manufacturing Industry” and amended the Regulatory Requirements in March 2015, in January 2018 and in February 2021, respectively. The latest Regulatory Requirements require PV manufacturing enterprises and projects should comply with the national resource development and utilization, environmental protection, energy conservation management and other laws and regulations, comply with the national industrial policy and relevant industrial planning. The latest Regulatory Requirements also provide that PV enterprises must further strengthen technology innovation, improve product quality and reduce production costs. In January 2014, the National Energy Administration of China, or the NEA, announced the PV installation target for 2014 to be 14 GW, which includes 8 GW for distributed PV systems and 6 GW for large scale PV power plants. 49 Table of Contents In March 2015, the NEA announced the PV installation target for 2015 to be 17.8 GW. In December 2015, the NDRC announced that it would cut the solar power tariffs in resource zones I, II and III to RMB 0.80/kWh, RMB 0.88/kWh and RMB 0.98/kWh from current RMB 0.90/kWh, RMB 0.95/kWh and RMB 1.00/kWh, respectively, representing reductions of 2% to 11%, effective January 1, 2016. At the same time, China Renewable Energy Fund surcharge fee increased from RMB 15/MWh to RMB 19/MWh. On June 1, 2015, the National Energy Administration, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, State Supervisory Commission of China issued “Opinions on Promoting the Application and Industrial Upgrade of Advanced Photovoltaic Technology Products,” which accelerated the elimination of backward technologies and supported products with advanced technologies to expand their market shares. In December 2016, the NDRC announced the solar power tariff revisions for 2017 as follows. First, in 2017, for solar power plants in resource zones I, II and III, the benchmark FIT will be lowered from RMB0.80/0.88/0.98/kWh in 2016 to RMB0.65/0.75/0.85/kWh, or by 19%/15%/13%. Second, the subsidy for distributed-generation solar power projects will remain unchanged at RMB0.42/kWh. Third, for solar power projects registered prior to 2017 and eligible for fiscal subsidies, the FIT at the 2016 level will remain applicable if they are connected to the grid and in operation by June 30, 2017. Fourth, future solar power tariffs will be revised annually based on cost changes. In December 2017, the NDRC announced the solar power tariff revisions for 2018. In 2018, for solar power plants in resource zones I, II and III, the benchmark FIT will be lowered from RMB0.65/0.75/0.85/kWh in 2017 to RMB0.55/0.65/0.75/kWh, or by 15%/13%/12%. The new rate for distributed-generation solar power projects will be RMB0.37/kWh, which is about RMB 0.05/kWh lower than in 2017. However, the FIT rate will remain the same for all solar projects built under the Chinese government’s program to alleviate poverty in rural areas, at RMB0.42/kWh. On April 2, 2018, the NEA issued the Circular on Matters Concerning Easing the Burden of Enterprises in Renewable Energy Sector, which emphasized the strict implementation of the Renewable Energy Law to ensure the sound development of the renewable energy sector and promote the optimization of investment environment to reduce costs of renewable energy exploitation. On May 31, 2018, the NDRC, the NEA and the Ministry of Finance jointly promulgated the Circular on Relevant Matters Concerning Photovoltaic Power Generation in 2018, or the Circular 823. The Circular 823 stipulates that there will be no arrangement on the installation target of ordinary solar power plants for 2018 on a temporary basis, and the installation target of distributed-generation solar power projects for 2018 is 10GW. In addition, starting from May 31, 2018, for solar power plants newly put into operation in resource zones I, II and III, the benchmark FIT will be lowered from RMB0.55/0.65/0.75/kWh in 2017 to RMB0.5/0.6/0.7/kWh, or by 9%/8%/7%, and the new rate for distributed-generation solar power projects will be lowered from RMB0.37/kWh to RMB0.32/kWh. The FIT rate will remain the same for all solar projects built under the Chinese government’s program to alleviate poverty in rural areas, at RMB0.42/kWh. However, for ordinary solar power projects registered in or prior to 2017, the FIT at the 2017 level will remain applicable if they are connected to the grid and in operation by June 30, 2018, according to a following notice promulgated by the NDRC, the NEA and the Ministry of Finance effective on October 10, 2018. On January 7, 2019, the NDRC and the NEA jointly promulgated the Circular on Actively Promoting Subsidy-free Grid Price Parity for Wind Power and PV Power, which set forth several measures regarding project organization, construction, operation and supervision to promote PV power generation power projects with grid price equivalent to or below the benchmark grid price of coal-fired power units. On April 28, 2019, the NDRC promulgated the Notice on Improving Several Issues of the On-grid Price Mechanism for PV Power Generation, or Notice 761, which aims to improve the grid-price mechanism for centralized PV projects and changes the on-grid electricity price for centralized PV power plants from benchmark prices to guidance prices. Notice 761 stipulates that the guidance prices for new centralized PV power plants in resource zones I, II and III that are included in the scope of national financial subsidies are determined as RMB0.40/0.45/0.55/kWh, while for the village-level PV poverty alleviation power stations included in the national renewable-energy-electricity-price additional funds subsidy catalog, the corresponding I-III resource area on-grid electricity prices remain unchanged as RMB0.65/0.75/0.85/kWh. On May 10, 2019, the NDRC and the NEA jointly promulgated the Notice on Establishing and Perfecting Renewable-Energy-Power Consumption Guarantee Mechanism, and decided to set the weight of renewable-energy-power consumption responsibility for each provincial administrative region, and establish and improve the renewable energy power consumption guarantee mechanism, with an effective period of 5 years. 50 Table of Contents On May 28, 2019, the NEA issued the Notification on Matters Regarding the Construction of Wind and PV Power Generation Projects in 2019, in order to further lower the benchmark of the FIT for electricity generated by PV plants, and further promote the construction of PV power generation projects, by launching a construction work plan in 2019. On January 20, 2020, the NDRC, the NEA and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the Notice on Printing and Distributing the Measures for the Administration of Additional Funds for Renewable Energy Electricity Prices, which aims to promote the development and utilization of renewable energy, to standardize the management of additional funds for renewable energy electricity prices and to improve the efficiency of capital use. On the same day, the NDRC, the NEA and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the Several Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of Non-aqueous Renewable Energy Power Generation, or the Opinion, in order to promote the healthy and stable development of non-aqueous renewable-energy power generation. On September 29, 2020, the NDRC, the NEA and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the supplementary Notice to the Opinion, which provides the subsidy criteria when settle the government subsidies for the renewable energy power price. On March 31, 2020, the NDRC issued the Circular on Matters Concerning the On-Grid Price Policies for Photovoltaic Power Generation, which became effective on June 1, 2020, providing the guide price and the subsidy criteria for the photovoltaic power in 2020. On June 12, 2020, the Ministry of Finance issued the Interim Administrative Measures for Special Funds for the Development of Clean Energy, or the Interim Measure, replacing the Interim Measures for Administration of Special Fund for the Development of Renewable Energies and its supplementary notice. According to the Interim Measures, the Chinese government will provide certain government subsidies and financial incentives to support the development of the clean energy industry, including the solar energy industry. On February 23, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued “Regulatory Requirements for the Solar PV Manufacturing Industry.” The latest Regulatory Requirements require strict control of new PV manufacturing projects that solely expand production capacity and provide adjustments on industrial regulatory requirements of several PV projects and products in order to guide PV enterprises to further strengthen technology innovation, improve product quality and reduce production costs. On May 31, 2021, the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission and the General Department of the National Energy Administration issued the “Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Investment and Construction of New Energy Supporting Projects,” emphasizing the impact of power supply projects on new energy. In March 2023, the National Energy Administration and other three departments jointly issued the “Notice on Organizing and Carrying out the Construction of Pilot Counties for Rural Energy Revolution,” aiming to promote the development and utilization of renewable energy power generation in rural areas. In November 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China issued the revised versions of the “Conditions for Photovoltaic Manufacturing Industry” and the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Photovoltaic Manufacturing Industry Standard Announcement,” providing stricter guidelines for local authorities to strategically plan photovoltaic manufacturing projects while encouraging photovoltaic companies to focus on technological innovation, product efficiency, and production cost controls. On November 8, 2024, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China, which became effective on January 1, 2025. The Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China emphasizes promoting the development and utilization of wind energy and solar energy, adhering to both centralized and distributed development, accelerating the construction of wind power and photovoltaic power generation bases, supporting the nearby development and utilization of distributed wind power and photovoltaic power generation, developing offshore wind power in a reasonable and orderly manner, and actively developing solar-thermal power generation. On October 31, 2025, the National Energy Administration promulgated the Guiding Opinions of the National Energy Administration on Promoting Integrated and Synergistic Development of New Energy, which aims to transform the development, construction, and operation models of new energy and to achieve integrated and synergistic development. On November 28, 2025, the National Energy Administration promulgated the Implementing Rules for the Administration of Renewable Energy Green Electricity Certificates (Trial), which apply to the issuance, transfer, cancellation, and related management of green electricity certificates corresponding to the electricity generated by renewable energy projects within the territory of PRC. 51 Table of Contents On December 31, 2025, the China National Intellectual Property Administration and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued Opinions on Further Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection in the Photovoltaic Industry, which aim to fully leverage the value and function of intellectual property in protecting and incentivizing innovation, effectively address improper competition, continuously foster a fair and orderly market environment, and promote the healthy development of the photovoltaic industry. Environmental and Safety Regulations We use, generate and discharge toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals and wastes in our research and development and manufacturing activities. China enacted the Environmental Protection Law effective December 1989, which was also amended in 2014. In addition to the Environmental Protection Law, we are subject to a variety of specific laws and regulations in China related to the storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, including laws and regulations governing water pollution, air pollution, solid waste pollution, noise pollution, hazardous chemicals, pollutant discharge fees and environmental impact appraisals. We are also subject to laws and regulations governing worker safety, work safety permits and occupational disease prevention. Our operation is subject to regulation and periodic monitoring by local environmental protection and work safety authorities. Foreign Currency Exchange Under various rules and regulations issued by SAFE and other relevant PRC government authorities, the RMB is convertible for current account items, such as trade related receipts and payments, interest and dividends. Capital account items, such as direct equity investments, loans and repatriation of investment, require the prior approval from SAFE or its local counterpart for conversion of RMB into a foreign currency, such as U.S. dollars, and remittance of the foreign currency outside the PRC. Payments for transactions that take place within the PRC must be made in RMB. Unless otherwise approved, PRC companies must repatriate foreign currency payments received from abroad. Foreign-invested enterprises may retain foreign exchange in accounts with designated foreign exchange banks subject to a cap set by SAFE or its local counterpart. Unless otherwise approved, domestic enterprises must convert all of their foreign currency receipts into RMB. Recently, China is strengthening the supervision on foreign currency exchange control. Admission of Foreign Investment On March 15, 2019, the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC was issued by the National People’s Representative Meeting and took effect on January 1, 2020, pursuant to which the foreign investments in industries outside the Negative List, or the Special Administrative Measures on the Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) jointly issued by the NDRC and the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC with the latest version amended on September 6, 2024 and enforced on November 1, 2024, are able to enjoy national treatment. The principal regulation governing foreign ownership of solar power businesses in the PRC is Catalogue of Industries for Encouraged Foreign Investment (2025 Edition). Under the Encouraged Catalogue 2025, effective from February 1, 2026, the solar power related business is classified as an “encouraged foreign investment industry.” Companies that operate in encouraged foreign investment industries and satisfy applicable statutory requirements are eligible for preferential treatment, including tariff exemption on imported equipment, lower corporate income tax for foreign invested enterprises in encouraged industries in the western region and priority consideration in obtaining land use rights. 52 Table of Contents Foreign Exchange Registration of Offshore Investment by PRC Residents Pursuant to SAFE Circular 75, issued in October 2005, and a series of implementation rules and guidance, including the circular relating to operating procedures that came into effect in July 2011, PRC residents, including PRC resident natural persons or PRC companies, must register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment in an overseas special purpose vehicle, for the purposes of overseas equity financing activities, and to update such registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to that offshore company. SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, on July 4, 2014, which replaced the SAFE Circular 75. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in SAFE No. Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” The term “control” under SAFE Circular 37 is broadly defined as the operation rights, beneficiary rights or decision-making rights acquired by the PRC residents in the offshore special purpose vehicles or PRC companies by such means as acquisition, trust, proxy, voting rights, repurchase, convertible bonds or other arrangements. SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any changes with respect to the basic information of the special purpose vehicle, such as changes in a PRC resident individual shareholder, name or operation period; or any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC individuals, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. If the shareholders of the offshore holding company who are PRC residents do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches, the PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to the offshore company, and the offshore company may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital to its PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with SAFE registration and amendment requirements described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions. On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, or SAFE Notice 13, which became effective on June 1, 2015. Pursuant to SAFE Notice 13, entities and individuals are required to apply for foreign exchange registration of foreign direct investment and overseas direct investment, including those required under the SAFE Circular 37, with qualified banks, instead of SAFE. The qualified banks, under the supervision of SAFE, directly examine the applications and conduct the registration. The failure or inability of our PRC resident shareholders to comply with the registration procedures may subject the PRC resident shareholders to fines and legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, or limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to or obtain foreign exchange-dominated loans from our company. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Chinese regulations relating to offshore investment activities by Chinese residents may increase the administrative burden we face and may subject our Chinese resident beneficial owners or employees to personal liabilities, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, limit our ability to inject capital into our Chinese subsidiaries, or may otherwise expose us to liability under PRC laws.” Regulations on Employee Stock Options Plans In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notice on the Administration of Foreign Exchange Matters for Domestic Individuals Participating in the Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Listed Companies, or the Stock Option Notice. According to the Stock Option Notice, a PRC domestic qualified agent or the PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company must file an application with SAFE or its local counterpart on behalf of PRC resident individuals who participate in stock incentive plans of overseas publicly-listed companies to obtain approval for an annual allowance with respect to the purchase of foreign exchange in connection with the stock holding or share option exercises. Our company is an “overseas publicly-listed company,” and therefore, we and participants of our share incentive plan who are PRC individuals are subject to these regulations. We have completed the registration for the options granted as of the date of this annual report. Seasonality Our operating results, profitability and operating cash flows are subject to variations due to seasonal demand patterns. The solar PV end-markets have seen seasonal patterns in solar PV installations, particularly in recent years. For certain end-markets such as Europe, PV installation activity is generally lower in winter, recovers in spring, reaches its peak from summer to late fall, and then slows down in winter. This is partially because that the snow during winter makes residential rooftop installations difficult or even impossible and also makes fieldwork for ground-mounted projects difficult, leading to decreased installation activity in winter. Meanwhile, as ground-mounted projects generally need to be completed and connected to the grid before the onset of winter, installation activity typically increases in summer until late fall. 53 Table of Contents Similar seasonal patterns have also been observed in China, currently the world’s largest end-market for solar PV. End-market installation activity in China is typically lower in the beginning of the year through the Chinese New Year, which is a week-long holiday typically in February. Installation activity and end-market customer orders typically recover in spring, continue to increase in summer and fall, and reach their peak during November and December when solar projects rush to meet grid-connection deadlines, which are typically the end of the year. As a result of the seasonal fluctuations, our customers may decide to adjust their production volume and manufacturing capacity utilization based on the anticipated or actual effect of the seasonal demand patterns in solar PV end-markets, and as a result may increase or decrease their polysilicon orders. This may have a significant impact on our customer demand and orders, as well as on our polysilicon product pricing and margins. This pattern may change, however, as a result of industry growth, government policy changes, new market opportunities, or new product introductions. Moreover, besides seasonality, there are many other factors that may affect our customers’ order patterns, including expectations of future price movements, inventory adjustments, grid-connection deadlines, subsidy deadlines for grid-connection, government policy changes and import tariff changes. These factors may reduce or strengthen the impact of seasonal fluctuations in solar PV installations in end-markets. C.Organizational Structure The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure, including our principal subsidiaries, as of March 31, 2026. ​ ​ Notes: (1) As of March 31, 2026, individual owners of Daqo Group that are affiliated to us, including Messrs. Xiang Xu, Guangfu Xu, Dafeng Shi, Fei Ge and Ms. Xiaoyu Xu, beneficially hold equity interests in Daqo Cayman directly and through three personal holding companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—E. Share Ownership.” (2) Indicates jurisdiction of incorporation. (3) Indicates companies within the listing group. D.Property, Plants and Equipment Our Phase 2A, Phase 2B, Phase 3A, Phase 3B, Phase 4A and Phase 4B production facilities in Shihezi Xinjiang had approximately 1,221,044 square meters of office and manufacturing space in total as of December 31, 2025. As of the same date, we had been granted land use rights to approximately 1,221,044 square meters of land where our plants and offices are situated. These land use rights are usually valid for a period of fifty years, starting from the date of grant from the local government in Xinjiang. 54 Table of Contents Our Phase 5A, Phase 5B and semi-grade polysilicon facilitates are located in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, with approximately 2,134,406 square meters of office and manufacturing space in total as of December 31, 2025. As of the same date, we had been granted land use rights to approximately 2,134,406 square meters of land where our plants and offices are situated. These land use rights are usually valid for a period of fifty years, starting from the date of grant from the local government in Baotou. We believe that our existing facilities, together with our facilities under construction, are adequate for our current and foreseeable requirements. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects-B. Liquidity and Capital Resources-Capital Expenditures” for a discussion of our capital expenditures. Environmental and Safety Matters Our manufacturing processes generate noise, waste water, gaseous wastes and other industrial wastes. We believe we are in compliance with all present national and local environmental protection and emission requirements in all material respects and have all the necessary environmental permits to conduct our business in China. We process all our waste water and waste gas through various treatments so that they meet the respective national discharge standard and to achieve zero discharge of waste water. In addition, according to the professional appraisal, most of our solid waste is identified as general industrial solid waste that contains no toxins and can be recycled and reused. We have established a comprehensive pollution control system and installed various types of anti-pollution equipment in our facilities to reduce, treat, and where feasible, recycle the waste generated in our manufacturing process. We have also established a comprehensive emergency response system and carry out emergency drills to effectively manage various kinds of environmental incidents. However, we cannot assure you that our pollution controls will always be effective. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks related to Our Business—Compliance with environmental regulations can be expensive, and non-compliance with these regulations may result in adverse publicity and potentially significant monetary damages and fines.” We are required to undergo environmental protection and work safety acceptance inspections and obtain approval from relevant governmental authorities before our manufacturing lines are permitted to commence full production. Our production facilities are subject to various pollution control regulations with respect to noise and air pollution and the disposal of waste and other hazardous materials. In addition, we hold valid permits such as the Pollutant Discharge Permit and Work Safety License. Our installed atmospheric pressure containers and special equipment generally have been registered for inspection with regulatory authorities and have obtained relevant inspection reports and operation permits. Insurance We maintain various insurance policies to safeguard against risks and unexpected events. We purchased property insurance and project construction insurance policies covering our inventory, equipment, vehicles, facilities, buildings and buildings under construction. These insurance policies cover losses due to fire, explosion and a wide range of human accidents. We also provide social security insurance including pension insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance and medical insurance for our employees. We do not maintain business interruption insurance or general third-party liability insurance. We also do not have product liability insurance or key-man life insurance. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We have limited insurance coverage. In particular, we do not have any product liability insurance or business interruption insurance.” We consider our insurance coverage to be in line with that of other manufacturing companies of similar size in China. ​ 55 Table of Contents