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Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.: Q1 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q1 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 7 May 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Consumables grew, instruments and service fell: Consumable revenue rose to $21.8 million from $20.1 million. Instrument revenue fell to $9.7 million from $11.0 million, and service and other revenue to $5.6 million from $6.0 million. Total revenue was $37.2 million in both periods. Source
  • Revio placements up, Vega placements flat: Revio system placements were 15, against 12 a year earlier. Vega system placements were 27, against 28. Source
  • Non-GAAP gross margin fell to 37%: Non-GAAP gross margin was 37%, against 40% a year earlier. Management cited higher computing component costs, temporary first-quarter Vega promotions, and inventory and warranty-related adjustments and charges. Source
  • SPRQ-Nx beta program widened: The SPRQ-Nx beta program was expanded to more customers domestically and internationally, following feedback from initial users. Source
  • Cash fell to $276.0 million: Cash, cash equivalents and investments ended the quarter at $276.0 million, against $343.1 million a year earlier and $279.5 million at December 31, 2025. Source
  • Gain on asset disposal recorded: Operating expenses included a gain on disposal of assets of about $45.8 million, tied to the short-read sequencing business sale. Source
  • Settlement charges and legal fees: Litigation settlement charges and related legal fees were $16.3 million in the quarter. Source

“We continue to see increasing clinical adoption of HiFi which contributed to another record quarter for consumable revenue.”

Christian Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Trillion Gene Atlas samples Sourcenot statedapproximately 100,000 samplesNew

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $165 million to $175 million was given. The prior release had no 2026 revenue figure. Source
  • New: Basecamp Research selected PacBio to power its Trillion Gene Atlas, a project not in the prior release. Source
  • New: A binding term sheet was entered with Personal Genomics of Taiwan, Inc. during the quarter, covering litigation settlement. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Consumables grew, instruments and service fell: Consumable revenue rose to $21.8 million from $20.1 million. Instrument revenue fell to $9.7 million from $11.0 million, and service and other revenue to $5.6 million from $6.0 million. Total revenue was $37.2 million in both periods. Source
  • GAAP gross profit turned positive: GAAP gross profit was $12.8 million, or 35% of revenue, compared with a GAAP gross loss of $1.4 million a year earlier. Source
  • Net loss narrowed sharply from last year: GAAP net loss was $8.3 million against $426.1 million a year earlier, and GAAP loss per share was $0.03 against $1.44. Non-GAAP net loss was $35.9 million against $44.4 million. Source

Segments and products

  • EMEA revenue rose 17%: EMEA revenue grew 17% year over year. Management linked it to higher consumables demand from account expansion and higher utilization, particularly in clinical settings. Source
  • Revio placements up, Vega placements flat: Revio system placements were 15, against 12 a year earlier. Vega system placements were 27, against 28. Source
  • Revio pull-through per system eased: Annualized Revio pull-through per system was about $229,000, against about $236,000 a year earlier. Source

“However, instrument revenue, particularly Vega, was lower than we had expected,”

Christian Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer

Costs and margins

  • Non-GAAP gross margin fell to 37%: Non-GAAP gross margin was 37%, against 40% a year earlier. Management cited higher computing component costs, temporary first-quarter Vega promotions, and inventory and warranty-related adjustments and charges. Source
  • Share-based compensation eased: Non-GAAP operating expenses were $49.9 million, against $61.7 million. Non-cash share-based compensation in operating expenses was $3.8 million, against $8.0 million. Source
  • No restructuring charges this quarter: The reconciliation shows no restructuring adjustment for the first quarter of 2026, against $381.8 million of restructuring-related operating expenses in the first quarter of 2025. Source

Demand, customers and partners

  • SPRQ-Nx beta program widened: The SPRQ-Nx beta program was expanded to more customers domestically and internationally, following feedback from initial users. Source
  • DNAstack federated HiFi dataset: PacBio announced a collaboration with DNAstack to power the first global federated HiFi whole genome dataset. Source
  • Lucid Genomics named compatible partner: Lucid Genomics was named a PacBio Compatible partner for tertiary analysis of data from PacBio long-read instruments. Source

Cash and balance sheet

  • Cash fell to $276.0 million: Cash, cash equivalents and investments ended the quarter at $276.0 million, against $343.1 million a year earlier and $279.5 million at December 31, 2025. Source
  • Convertible notes and equity: Convertible senior notes, net, were $644.1 million and stockholders' equity was $2.4 million at March 31, 2026. Source
  • Receivables fell, inventory rose: Accounts receivable fell to $29.4 million from $35.4 million at year-end, while inventory rose to $51.0 million from $49.3 million. Source

Disposals and settlement charges

  • Gain on asset disposal recorded: Operating expenses included a gain on disposal of assets of about $45.8 million, tied to the short-read sequencing business sale. Source
  • Short-read sale net cash proceeds: The short-read sequencing asset sale produced net cash proceeds of about $48.1 million, which management said strengthens the balance sheet. Source
  • Settlement charges and legal fees: Litigation settlement charges and related legal fees were $16.3 million in the quarter. Source

Coming up, as management said on 7 May 2026

  • SPRQ-Nx rollout to all Revio customers: Management plans a broad commercial rollout of SPRQ-Nx to all Revio customers later this month, expected to lift consumable growth and Revio instrument demand. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Revio system placements Source15
Vega system placements Source27
Annualized Revio pull-through per system Source~$229,000

Risks management discussed

  • Operational: Component cost increases, temporary Vega promotions, and inventory and warranty adjustments pressured gross margin, according to management. Source
  • Demand: Instrument revenue fell short of management's expectations, particularly for Vega. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: The prior release referred to an upcoming SPRQ-Nx launch; this release describes an expanded beta program and a planned broad rollout.

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.