Alpha Teknova NASDAQ: TKNO Chief Financial Officer Matt Lowell said the provider of laboratory and bioprocessing reagents is seeing renewed growth, reporting record second-quarter revenue and raising its full-year outlook as biopharma funding and life-science end markets improve.
Speaking at the Sidoti & Company August Investor Conference, Lowell said Teknova generated $12.2 million in second-quarter revenue, its highest quarterly revenue total in company history and an 18% year-over-year increase. The company raised its full-year revenue guidance to $45 million to $47 million, from a prior range of $42 million to $44 million.
Lowell said the company had 7% revenue growth in 2025 and has continued to improve financial metrics alongside its sales growth. Adjusted EBITDA and free-cash use were each less than $1 million during the second quarter, he said. Teknova also reduced its 2026 cash-use guidance to less than $8 million from less than $10 million.
Reagent portfolio supports research and clinical customers
Teknova supplies consumable reagents used in laboratory and bioprocessing workflows for therapy discovery, development and commercialization. Its portfolio includes agar plates, microbial culture media, supplements and molecular biology reagents offered in formats including plates, bottles, bags and tubes.
The company reports its revenue across two categories: Lab Essentials, which are research-use-only products, and Clinical Solutions, which are manufactured under good manufacturing practices, or GMP, quality standards. In 2025, approximately 75% of revenue came from Lab Essentials and about 20% came from Clinical Solutions, according to Lowell.
Lab Essentials revenue is primarily derived from catalog products, while Clinical Solutions is mostly custom work. Lowell said the combination of catalog and custom offerings helps Teknova manage factory utilization, as catalog production can be shifted into inventory when custom-order demand is lower.
About half of Teknova’s business comes from biopharma companies, including contract manufacturers serving those customers. Another 30% comes from life-science tools and diagnostics companies, while 15% is generated in other markets, Lowell said.
The company serves more than 3,000 research customers annually, and its five largest customers in that category account for only 12% of total revenue, he said. Teknova’s research-grade business has grown at an 11% rate since 2008, according to the presentation.
Clinical customer progression seen as a growth driver
Lowell highlighted the potential value of customers progressing from catalog products to custom and GMP-grade products. Customers that buy GMP products spend 44 times more than catalog-only customers, he said, while customers purchasing custom research products spend 25 times more than catalog-only buyers.
As of the end of last year, 60 customers were purchasing Teknova’s clinical products, including 50 biopharma companies and mostly diagnostics companies among the remainder. Those biopharma customers were supporting about 70 therapies in clinical trials, Lowell said.
Teknova expects its first commercial therapy customer by the end of next year. A commercial customer is expected to spend about 30 times more with Teknova than it spent during a Phase I trial, according to Lowell. The company has reported a 95% customer retention rate.
“We’re close to this inflection point where we have these Clinical customers that are moving towards that commercial stage and later stage,” Lowell said during the question-and-answer session.
Funding recovery and commercial investment
Lowell said biopharma funding has strengthened over the past three quarters, which the company considers a favorable indicator for future custom-product demand. Teknova has historically experienced a lag of roughly three to four quarters between changes in biotech funding and the effect on customer purchasing activity.
He said the funding trend could begin to affect results late this year or in 2027, but Teknova has not included a contribution from that potential tailwind in its guidance.
The company also began investing an additional $2 million in commercial capabilities in 2026, including field-team additions, greater brand awareness efforts, trade-show participation and tools for lead generation and qualification. Lowell said early commercial metrics, including lead volumes, lead quality and customer meetings, have moved in a positive direction.
Teknova could consider another incremental commercial investment during its 2027 budgeting process, though Lowell said it would not likely be a large expansion. He suggested any increase could be approximately $1 million rather than a substantially larger commitment.
Capacity, profitability and AI initiatives
Teknova expects to become adjusted EBITDA-positive during 2027 at an annualized revenue range of $52 million to $57 million, equivalent to quarterly revenue of approximately $13 million to $14 million. Lowell said cash-flow positivity should follow shortly thereafter, potentially by the end of 2027.
The company believes its existing operational footprint can support approximately $200 million in revenue capacity. Lowell said Teknova does not anticipate needing major facility investments as it grows, although it may add personnel and equipment over time.
Teknova recently launched Build-Tek, an AI-based custom-product configurator intended to help customers move more quickly through the product-design and ordering process. Lowell said early feedback has been positive, though the platform had officially launched only two weeks before the conference presentation.
He also said Teknova believes customers are increasingly using AI in drug discovery, which could provide a modest industry tailwind by enabling them to work faster. The company has not quantified that potential impact and does not have specific AI-related customer alliances, he said.
Looking beyond organic growth, Lowell said Teknova is evaluating potential bolt-on acquisitions, generally targeting reagent companies with $5 million to $25 million in revenue. An acquisition could also offer a path to international expansion, as approximately 95% of Teknova’s revenue has historically been generated in the U.S.
About Alpha Teknova (NASDAQ:TKNO)
Alpha Teknova, Inc NASDAQ: TKNO is a life science tools and reagents company that develops, manufactures and distributes proprietary products to support research, drug discovery and biomanufacturing. Its offerings target academic institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, and diagnostic developers, with a focus on high-purity reagents and optimized workflows designed to accelerate molecular biology and protein science applications.
The company's portfolio includes molecular biology reagents, cell culture buffers, in vitro translation kits, custom recombinant proteins, high-throughput screening buffers and other specialized formulations.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Continue following MarketBeat
Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.
Before you consider Alpha Teknova, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alpha Teknova wasn't on the list.
While Alpha Teknova currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Click the link to see MarketBeat's list of seven stocks and why their long-term outlooks are very promising.
Get This Free Report
