Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (BIO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Lisa, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Bio-Rad's Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Ruben Argueta, Bio-Rad's Head of Investor Relations. You may begin.

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today, we will review the financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, and provide an update on key business trends for Bio-Rad. With me on the call today are Norman Schwartz, our Chief Executive Officer; Jon DiVincenzo, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Roop Lakkaraju, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin our review, I would like to remind everyone that we will be making forward-looking statements about management's goals, plans and expectations, our future financial performance and other matters. These statements are based on assumptions and expectations of future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from these plans, goals and expectations. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and I encourage you to review our filings with the SEC, where we discuss in detail the risk factors in our business. The company does not intend to update any forward-looking statements made during the call today. Finally, our remarks today will include references to non-GAAP financials, including net income and diluted earnings per share, which are financial measures that are not defined under generally accepted accounting principles. In addition to excluding certain atypical and nonrecurring items, our non-GAAP financial measures exclude changes in the equity value of our stake in Sartorius AG in order to provide investors with a better understanding of Bio-Rad's underlying operational performance. Investors should not -- investors should review the reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP results contained in our earnings release. We have also posted a supplemental earnings presentation in the Investor Relations section of our website for your reference. With that, I will now turn the call over to our Chief Operating Officer, Jon DiVincenzo.

Thanks, Ruben. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Total company revenue in the second quarter was approximately $651 million, essentially flat as reported and down 1.9% on a currency-neutral basis compared with the prior year. Sequentially, revenue was up 10%, reflecting improved performance as our teams overcame challenging end market dynamics in the first quarter. Clinical Diagnostics returned to modest currency-neutral growth, led by quality controls in our blood typing portfolio. In Life Science, results continue to be affected by softness in the academic research market. Excluding process chromatography, Life Science revenue was approximately flat on a currency-neutral basis, representing an improvement in the segment's underlying trend. Digital PCR was a particular area of strength, growing 6% in the quarter. In the academic and government market, demand remains below historical levels, particularly in Americas. NIH funding outlays have begun to increase year-over-year, but purchasing activity typically lags funding. The recent indicators are encouraging, but we need to see a more sustained pattern before concluding the market has entered a durable recovery. In biopharma, we are seeing early signs of stabilization, consistent with broader industry commentary. Improvement is most evident among later-stage and commercial scale biotech customers, where early-stage biotech companies remain more cautious as funding conditions have not yet fully normalized. Taken together, these indicators suggest the market is beginning a gradual recovery. Process chromatography, which represents less than 5% of Bio-Rad's total annual revenues, was sequentially up and declined year-over-year as expected. As a reminder, our current niche position in the polishing step of bioprocessing contributes to revenue concentration from a select number of commercial therapeutics and vaccines. For the remainder of the year, we expect the second half to mirror the first half. Turning to our regional performance. Americas remained soft, primarily due to continued pressure in the academic market. However, we saw improvement as we ended the quarter, and our teams are now cautiously optimistic as we enter the second half of the year. Asia Pacific, excluding China, grew 6% on a currency-neutral basis, with growth across most major product areas. China, which represents approximately 6% of Bio-Rad's total revenue, declined in the high teens, reflecting the timing of quality control orders and softer demand for life science instruments. For the remainder of the year, continued Life Science softness, coupled with order timing in clinical diagnostics are expected to create an approximate $4 million headwind. That impact is already incorporated into our full year guidance. We continue to adapt our business model to the changing market environment. Our in-China for-China manufacturing capability is operational, and we are now participating in a broader range of tenders. Over time, these actions should improve our competitive profile in the China market. EMEA returned to growth with Middle East revenue increasing 7% year-over-year. Channel partners began replenishing approximately $3 million in inventory during the quarter, although underlying customer demand has not yet stabilized. The continuing conflict in the region has driven higher fuel and transportation costs globally. We want to recognize our teams for navigating these challenges while continuing to support our customers and channel partners. Volatility in the region is expected to continue during the second half, which is reflected in our guidance. Moving beyond the Middle East, our digital PCR franchise continues to be an important strategic differentiator for Bio-Rad. Currency-neutral ddPCR revenue increased 6% year-over-year with instrument revenue growing more than 20%. The QX-700 continues to generate competitive wins and conversions from qPCR, supported by Bio-Rad's broad assay menu, industry-leading installed base and expanding body of scientific publications. Digital PCR consumables revenue was down slightly year-over-year, but increased sequentially. Consumables pull-through has not yet reached the level we ultimately expect. However, the strength in instrument sales is an encouraging indicator of customer demand and establishes a larger foundation for future recurring consumables revenue. We have also reached the first anniversary of our acquisition of Stilla Technologies. The expanded portfolio has accelerated revenue growth and is delivering margin performance ahead of our original expectations. The progress reinforces our approach to disciplined, focused M&A, acquiring differentiated commercial products that strengthen our portfolio, complement our existing capabilities and create durable value. Turning to our operational priorities. Since 2024, we have been working to make Bio-Rad a faster, more agile and efficient enterprise. Earlier this week, we announced the next phase of that work, including changes to our organizational structure, workforce and physical footprint. These actions are designed to reallocate resources toward the capabilities most important to our future. Cost savings are one outcome, but this is not simply a cost reduction program. We are reshaping the organization, strengthening critical capabilities, simplifying how work gets done and directing more of our resources towards innovation, customer needs and sustainable growth. Artificial intelligence is an important enabler of our transformation. Employees are using AI to accelerate analysis and decision-making, and we are seeing tangible results. For example, agentic AI enabled our product development teams to complete 12 months of software development in just 6 weeks. In another instance, our teams developed new cloud-based functionality in approximately one month, avoiding thousands of hours of conventional engineering work. In closing, the second quarter demonstrated meaningful sequential progress. Clinical diagnostics returned to growth, underlying Life Science trends improved and digital PCR delivered strong instrument performance. At the same time, we recognize that several end markets continue to evolve and that we must continue to improve how Bio-Rad operates. The organizational actions announced this week are the next step in an ongoing process to build a faster, leaner and more competitive company with resources and capabilities closely aligned to innovation, customer needs and growth. With that, I will turn the call over to Roop.

Thank you, Jon, and good afternoon. I'd like to start with a review of the second quarter 2026 results, then move to guidance. Overall, net sales for the second quarter of 2026 were approximately $651 million on a reported basis versus $652 million in Q2 of 2025. On a currency-neutral basis, this represents a 1.9% year-over-year decrease and was driven by lower sales in the Life Science segment. Life Science sales in the second quarter of 2026 were $252 million, a decrease of 4.1% compared to Q2 of 2025 on a reported basis and a 5.1% decrease on a currency-neutral basis. This was primarily driven by ongoing challenges in the academic research market and a tough process chromatography year-over-year comparison. Currency-neutral sales decreased in Americas and Asia Pacific, partially offset by increased sales in EMEA. Clinical Diagnostics sales in the second quarter of 2026 were approximately $399 million compared to $389 million in Q2 of 2025, an increase of 2.6% on a reported basis and 8.3% on a currency-neutral basis. Regionally, growth in Americas was offset by revenue declines in the broader Asia Pacific region. Ex China, the Asia Pacific region grew 6% and EMEA was roughly flat as the Middle East region rebounded 7% growth. Turning to gross margin. Consolidated gross margin was 53.1% for the second quarter of 2026 compared to 53% in Q2 2025. On a non-GAAP basis, second quarter gross margin was 53.9% versus 53.7% in the year ago period. Non-GAAP gross margin improved sequentially from 53.1% in the first quarter due to favorable manufacturing absorption and partially offset by an unfavorable product mix and elevated logistics costs. SG&A expense for the second quarter of 2026 was $212 million or 32.6% of sales compared to $208 million or 31.9% in Q2 of 2025. Second quarter non-GAAP SG&A expense was $209 million versus $201 million in the year ago period. The increase in SG&A expense is primarily due to higher employee-related costs. Research and development expense on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis in the second quarter of 2026 was $61 million or 9.4% of sales compared to $61 million or 9.3% of sales in Q2 of 2025. Q2 operating income was approximately $73 million compared to approximately $77 million in Q2 of 2025. On a non-GAAP basis, second quarter operating margin was 12.5% compared to 13.6% in Q2 of 2025, and this represents a sequential improvement from 6.6% in the first quarter of 2026. Second quarter 2026 non-GAAP net income, which excludes the impact of the change in equity value of the Sartorius shares was $70 million or $2.62 diluted earnings per share versus $71 million or $2.61 diluted earnings per share for Q2 of 2025. For full details on the balance sheet, cash flow, tax and Sartorius valuation, please refer to our earnings presentation, press release and 10-Q filed today, all available on our Investor Relations website. During the second quarter of 2026, we repurchased approximately 110,000 shares through our buyback program at a total cost of approximately $32 million at an average price of $281.57. Moving on to our non-GAAP guidance for 2026. While we made progress in the second quarter on both revenue and margin, we are taking a measured view of the back half of 2026, given a few items that we are watching closely. First, we are encouraged by early signs of improvement in the academic and government end markets, but we want to see a more sustained pattern before treating it as a recovery. Second, we continue to actively manage the China dynamics discussed, which represent an estimated $4 million headwind for the remainder of the year. Third, our opportunity funnel remains healthy, though a tougher process chromatography comparison from the prior year will be a modest drag on third quarter growth. And fourth, in the Middle East, one of our previous higher growth markets, our local teams are actively working to keep product flowing to the region. Collectively, these actions add some near-term variability to both revenue and margin. Based on these considerations, we reaffirm the full year non-GAAP guidance framework. We continue to expect full year currency-neutral revenue growth to be between minus 3% and plus 0.5%. We expect the Life Science segment's currency-neutral growth to be between minus 3% and minus 1% and the Clinical Diagnostics segment's currency-neutral revenue growth to be between minus 3% and plus 1%. Sequentially, we expect third quarter revenue to be flat to Q2, which is our typical pattern. We model a sequential mid-single-digit revenue percentage ramp from Q3 to Q4, reflecting continued growth in Life Science from ddPCR as well as improvement in clinical diagnostics from quality controls and blood typing products. We continue to expect full year non-GAAP gross margin to be between 53% and 54%. The following dynamics influence our outlook. The Americas academic end market continues its gradual recovery. China Life Science continues to be soft and the Middle East continues to see intermittent volatility, which is globally impacting our freight and logistics. Our product mix has skewed more towards instrument revenue, which carries a lower margin profile than consumables. We have factored all of these variables into our gross margin guidance. In OpEx, we expect a modest sequential step-up in SG&A and R&D in Q3 to support investments in product innovation. Now I'd like to provide further color on the actions that Jon mentioned. The restructure within the functional OpEx areas involves headcount reductions, facility rationalization and adding critical skills in support of growth and innovation. This announced restructuring is already underway and expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2027. On an annualized basis, we expect to achieve $30 million to $35 million of net cost savings after reinvestment with most of this realized by the end of 2027. Due to the timing of the actions, we expect minimal savings in 2026. And in 2027, we estimate approximately 40 to 50 bps of operating margin expansion. We continue to evaluate opportunities to optimize our operating model and expect to share more in the future. We expect full year non-GAAP operating margin to be between 10% and 12%. We are reaffirming our 2026 full year free cash flow estimate to be in the range of approximately $290 million to $340 million. Finally, we will continue to be opportunistic with our share repurchases. And as of June 30, we have approximately $206 million available for additional buybacks under the current Board authorized program. I'll now turn the call over to Norman.

Thank you, Roop. So Jon and Roop have covered the quarter's mechanics well. So I wanted to spend some time on the key areas of focus for us. First, I wanted to talk about how our team is approaching the evolution of our business. We have organized around 2 distinct actions: improving execution and sharpening capital allocation. And I would emphasize the word organized. It's not been one action. It's been a series of deliberate steps building on each other over the past 2 years. And what you're now seeing are those pieces starting to come together. In 2024, we began our review of the broader portfolio and strategy. Then in '25, we took action to rationalize parts of our portfolio, pivoting towards higher return areas like digital PCR, and we've completed a restructuring program, which is reflected in our current cost structure. Our reprioritization has been paired with a deliberate push to improve product vitality, which has been foundational. What we're focused on this year is a performance culture, which includes clearer accountability, tighter operating rigor and better forecasting discipline. All of this is intended to accelerate revenue growth and improve profitability. On capital allocation, again, discipline has shaped how we're deploying capital. Our acquisition of Droplet Digital PCR company Stilla Technologies is a good example of the kind of transaction we want to keep doing, focused-growth and margin-accretive business that strengthens our portfolio. And also on capital allocation, just to reinforce the point on Sartorius, consistent with previous quarters, our view has not changed. We see it as a valuable asset that provides us with optionality and it is monetizable at the right time and price. So Jon and Roop spoke earlier about the restructuring program we announced this week. I do see this as a necessary part of our evolution as markets continue to move faster and demand more agility. The program is about shaping our workforce around the skills that we need to continue to be competitive in the longer term. And we do believe the capabilities we're building will underpin our path to robust growth and profitability. I do want to emphasize that this is not the end of our work. Bio-Rad's evolution is, of course, ongoing, and we'll keep acting deliberately and with urgency on the opportunities to see -- to strengthen the business and to create durable value for all stakeholders. So finally, before we take questions, let me just briefly address our engagement with Elliott Management. We have been in active, I would say, constructive dialogue, helping them to understand the journey that we are on. We believe that we are broadly aligned on the objectives including improving execution, sharpening capital allocation and closing the gap between Bio-Rad's value and its share price. And we do look forward to continuing those conversations. So maybe with that, operator, I think we'll now open up the line for questions.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Jack Meehan, Operon Research.

I had a few questions around the quarter and then I wanted to ask about the engagement at the end. The first is the digital PCR instrument growth over 20% in the quarter. How much -- was there anything onetime or stocking might not be the right word, but like anything onetime-ish that helped the results? Or was this the comp dynamic or something else going on in terms of market growth that you would flag?

Jack, Jon DiVincenzo here. It really is broad-based. We're very proud that right out of the gate, when we closed the acquisition at the end of June last year, we're well prepared to make the transition from our legacy portfolio to include these new systems from Stilla. We worked very quickly to move and qualify our catalog of assays onto that platform. In fact, we accomplished it ahead of time. And it was very motivational for our commercial team to have this broader portfolio and to go out and take some share from qPCR, have some competitive wins, and we saw wins across the board in all the geographies we operate in. So a lot of our business is in the academic market, which is not the strongest, but we still grew significantly in both academic and biopharma segments.

Great. And then on the engagement with Elliott, I appreciate the color on that. One question we get a lot, and I feel like where some of the uncertainty around the value of the Sartorius stake is if this is truly monetizable, how you treat the tax effect, if any, related to that. I was wondering if there was anything you could comment that if there were a monetizable event related to that, like what structures you might have considered and what structures you could put in place to minimize any tax leakage related to that?

Jack, it's Roop. I'll try and give some thought to that. In terms of the possible tax efficiency of monetizing it, it's going to depend upon the particular situation as to what creates the monetizable event, if you will. So that's one thing to keep in mind. The second thing to keep in mind, and so that's again a case by case. The second aspect is from a P&L standpoint, we do accrue the tax effect of the Sartorius shares today on our balance sheet. So there is a deferred tax liability there. Obviously, that's a P&L effect. The cash flow will still leave the company to pay for those taxes, but at least the P&L is taken into account.

Okay. And then the last one, and I'll go back in the queue is, I was just one thing that didn't come up was related to just succession planning as it pertains to CEO. Norman, I didn't know if there was anything more you could add in terms of what's in place in terms of a formalized CEO succession plan and time line related to that and whether you -- who's on the list in terms of internal versus external candidates?

Yes. So this is obviously kind of a standing responsibility of the Board at the end of the day, which is reviewed on an annual basis as part of its kind of regular kind of governance process. And I think when the time comes, I would expect the Board will run a process evaluating both internal and external candidates with the idea of obviously, mid-cap public company experience and the relevant qualifications to really to continue to drive the company. I think that will be grounded in all of that.

Your next question comes from Tycho Peterson, Jefferies.

I think I'll start with the restructuring. You said restructuring add 40 to 50 basis points next year. I just want to make sure that's incremental and additive on top of underlying margin expansion. There was some confusion about that based on my inbounds. And then can you just talk about the pacing of these actions as we think about building from the 10% to 12% from this year? And any more kind of granularity you can provide on -- is this more SG&A-focused R&D? Just give us a little bit of a sense of where you think you might get the leverage.

Tycho, it's Roop. So it is incremental to -- from a margin expansion standpoint. So that's number one. The predominance of the actions, which are phased over time, and that's why we won't see the full realized savings until the end of 2027 is primarily in the OpEx areas. There is some facility aspects to it that also contribute to it, which also take time through -- between now and throughout 2027.

Okay. And then how are you thinking about, I guess, input costs in the meantime? You mentioned shipping materials costs. That was in kind of the context of the Middle East comments, I think. But just how are you thinking about input costs here?

Yes. I think, obviously, we're in the middle of '26, still, right? And so we've still got a planning process to go through in '27. As we think about it, we understand the need to drive margin expansion over time and especially towards kind of that mid-teens number that we've spoken about recently. So with that said, beyond these actions, things like the freight costs, logistics costs are current headwinds. We are taking actions to try and mitigate some of that, which we'll continue to do that could be opportunity for us to help support margin expansion. The other aspect is continued operational execution both from an absorption standpoint, but also from a procurement leverage standpoint over time that we'd be able to drive. And then as we continue to evaluate other efficiencies that we can drive, Jon spoke about AI and how that's enabling things, we think that there's opportunities potentially there as well. So this is -- the incremental actions from the restructuring are intended to be additive, but we're still thinking through additional ways to drive margin expansion beyond this restructuring action.

Yes. And Tycho, it's Jon. Maybe just to add to that a little bit, we're looking across the board in the P&L for cost reduction. So above the gross margin line, we're actively pursuing some product cost reductions. Also the new products coming online between now and the end of '27 will be of a higher margin overall. So we're driving in kind of improved cost structure in the product portfolio as well as managing the mix and then where we can, as Roop said, looking for ways to leverage our existing OpEx and grow the top line.

Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe pivoting to end markets. China, I'm curious, down mid-teens. Obviously, it's been a tough market that's known. Did something get worse here in the quarter? And how are you thinking about it for the remainder of the year?

Not from a reimbursement standpoint from a diagnostic standpoint. So it's just, I think, softness that we saw within the life science portfolio. We did start manufacturing product locally there, as we said, that helps us participate in some tenders that are mandating a certain percentage of the products are built in China. We'll expand that over time. But for us, it was more pressure in the academic market for life science instruments, softness and overall kind of status quo, if you will, for diagnostics.

And Tycho, maybe just one additional thing to add to Jon's, it's order timing of things like quality controls and some of our other products there on the diagnostics side. So a little bit of order timing there that we think comes through later in the year.

Okay. Last one, just the inventory restock, you said $3 million. I guess, is that drag completely over? Or how do you think about incremental catch-up on any restocking there?

Yes. We don't necessarily see it catching up through the year. We actually see the Middle East being somewhat consistent with Q2 levels. Obviously, there was that immediate restock that we expected to see from a safety stock replenishment standpoint, and that played out as we thought. The rest of the year in the Middle East and all of that is specific to the Middle East in terms of that restock, is relatively consistent quarter-to-quarter between Q2, Q3 and Q4.

Your next question comes from Dan Leonard, RBC Capital Markets.

I wanted to follow up on the organizational actions first, both on magnitude as well as timing. I think you said $30 million to $35 million in savings with a $90 million onetime cost number associated with that, so about a 3-year payback. Is that a conservative estimate? Or do you think that's the right number?