Cibus Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Cibus said it is moving closer to commercialization in its rice and sustainable ingredients businesses, with management framing 2026 as an “execution” year focused on converting partnerships and product development into revenue.
• The rice program remains on track for a 2027 Latin American launch, led by progress with partner Interoc, while the U.S. launch timeline has slipped to 2029 because of a key herbicide registration step.
• Cost cuts and recent capital raises improved liquidity: Cibus ended Q1 with $30.3 million in cash and expects funding to last into late Q1 2027, while quarterly R&D and SG&A expenses both declined sharply year over year.

Cibus NASDAQ: CBUS reported first-quarter 2026 results and said it is advancing toward commercialization across its rice and sustainable ingredients programs, while also reducing expenses and extending its cash runway into late in the first quarter of 2027.

Peter Beetham, Cibus’ co-founder, interim chief executive officer, president and chief operating officer, characterized the quarter as one focused on “execution,” citing approximately $37 million in gross proceeds raised through two public offerings and progress in moving edited materials to customers.

“We have immediately put that capital to work, advancing our commercial objectives for our priority programs,” Beetham said. He said 2025 was focused on building a foundation through seed company customer sign-ups, material transfer agreements and pre-commercial pilot runs, while 2026 is centered on converting the pipeline into revenue-generating opportunities.

Rice Program Moves Ahead in Latin America, U.S. Timeline Shifts

Cibus said it remains on track for an initial Latin American commercial launch of its herbicide-tolerant rice traits in 2027. Beetham said the company has seven active rice seed company customer relationships across Latin America and the United States and is in discussions with additional seed companies in markets including Brazil and Argentina. He also said the company continues to explore opportunities in India with support from RTDC and AgBio.

Beetham said Latin America represents the primary near-term opportunity for the rice business and the bulk of what the company has described as a $200 million annual addressable royalty opportunity across the Americas, with 5 million to 7 million peak addressable acres.

The company highlighted progress with Interoc, one of its lead Latin American seed partners. In January, Cibus executed a non-binding letter of intent with Interoc that established a framework for commercializing co-developed herbicide-tolerant rice traits across key Latin American markets. In March, Interoc received an additional import permit allowing the transfer of material bearing Cibus’ HT traits. In May, Cibus delivered completed gene-edited materials in Interoc’s elite rice germplasm.

Beetham said that transfer allows Interoc to begin production steps needed for commercialization. In response to an analyst question, he said the next 18 months are expected to include milestones related to registered seed and certified seed, leading to a launch in 2027.

In the United States, Cibus said its estimated rice launch has shifted from 2028 to 2029. Beetham attributed the change to the registration process for use of Orbar’s clethodim herbicide in rice, calling it a key gating item for the U.S. launch. He emphasized that the U.S. opportunity is smaller in acreage than Latin America, though higher in dollars per acre, and said the U.S. registration timeline does not constrain other platform initiatives.

Sustainable Ingredients Program Advances Toward Scale-Up

Cibus also provided updates on its sustainable ingredients portfolio, including biofragrances and crop-based lauric oils. Beetham said the company received its first customer payment in the fourth quarter and continued receiving customer payments in the first quarter, supporting what he described as a commercial ramp-up phase.

He said current discussions with the company’s consumer packaged goods partner include scale-up schedules, production volumes, pricing terms and final product formulations. Cibus expects additional scale-up orders for its initial biofragrances in the second half of 2026, while development of additional fragrance products is underway using the same yeast platform.

Beetham said the global fragrance market is estimated at more than $65 billion and that, when fully commercialized, Cibus believes its natural biofragrances partnerships could represent a $20 million to $40 million annual royalty opportunity. He said the initial biofragrances royalties may serve as a near-term revenue bridge as the rice royalty stream builds toward the planned 2027 Latin American launch.

During the question-and-answer session, Matthew Venezia of Alliance Global Partners asked about an amendment to the company’s sustainable ingredients contract. Beetham said the amendment relates to soybean lauric oils, not biofragrances, and reflects expanded activity in that program. Carlo Broos, Cibus’ interim chief financial officer, said additional work in the prior quarter was recognized by the partner, leading to a catch-up payment and increased revenue.

Pipeline Includes Nutrient Efficiency, Canola, Wheat and Soybean Work

Greg Gocal, Cibus’ co-founder, chief scientific officer and executive vice president, said scientific progress is supporting the company’s commercialization efforts. In rice, he said the company achieved an order-of-magnitude improvement in editing efficiency in the prior fiscal year through optimization across reagents, cell culture conditions, delivery mechanics and regeneration.

Gocal said Cibus is also using artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate target identification and improve predicted edit outcomes, while semi-automated workflows and robotic assistance have increased throughput.

Gocal highlighted several opportunity pipeline programs:

• Nutrient use efficiency: Cibus is collaborating with the John Innes Centre on traits intended to improve nitrogen uptake, with potential applications in rice, wheat and canola.
• Canola: Work is underway in a Defra-funded consortium under the U.K. Farming Innovation Programme to develop durable resistance to light leaf spot disease in oilseed rape. Cibus also plans to plant pod shatter reduction work in the U.K. this fall under the Precision Bred Organisms framework.
• Wheat: Cibus previously regenerated plants from single cells in a wheat cultivar, which Gocal said opens the way for the company’s RTDS editing capability in the crop.
• Soybean: The company continues work following a successful edit for the HT2 trait and is advancing soybean platform development in conjunction with the sustainable ingredients program.

Regulatory Developments Support Commercial Discussions

Beetham said the regulatory environment continues to be favorable for precision breeding. He cited progress in the European Union on New Genomic Techniques legislation, determinations in Ecuador and Peru that Cibus’ HT1 and HT3 rice traits are equivalent to those developed through conventional breeding, and 17 positive USDA APHIS determinations in the United States.

“Regulatory harmonization across these jurisdictions is not just a policy headline,” Beetham said. “It is what is driving the commercial conversations we are having right now with seed companies across three continents.”

Expenses Decline as Cash Runway Extends

Cibus ended the quarter with $30.3 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2026. Broos said the company raised $22.3 million in gross proceeds in January and approximately $15 million in gross proceeds in March. Including those proceeds and cost-saving initiatives, Cibus expects its cash and equivalents to fund planned operating expenses and capital expenditures into late in the first quarter of 2027.

Research and development expense was $8.7 million, down from $11.8 million a year earlier. Selling, general and administrative expense was $5.1 million, down from $9.9 million in the year-ago period. Broos said the SG&A decline was due in part to a $3 million litigation expense in the first quarter of 2025, as well as cost reductions.

Net loss was $21.2 million, compared with $49.4 million a year earlier. Net loss per Class A common share was $0.33, compared with $1.34 in the prior-year period. Broos said the year-over-year improvement was driven primarily by a non-cash goodwill impairment in the prior year, cost-reduction initiatives and an increase in weighted average shares outstanding.

Broos said Cibus remains on target to deliver annual net cash usage of approximately $30 million or less in 2026. In response to a question about burn rate, he said the company expects burn to decline from the first quarter to the second quarter and to be closer to its target in the third and fourth quarters.

Beetham closed the call by reiterating that 2026 is focused on execution, including advancing toward a definitive agreement with Interoc, expanding sustainable ingredients partnerships, pursuing regulatory progress and maintaining cost discipline.

About Cibus NASDAQ: CBUS

Cibus, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in precision gene editing for agricultural applications. Leveraging its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS), Cibus develops improved crop traits without the introduction of foreign DNA. The company's platform enables targeted modifications to plant genomes, allowing for enhanced disease resistance, herbicide tolerance and yield optimization in key row crops.

The company's core business centers on trait development services and licensing partnerships.

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