Cytek Biosciences Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Cytek reported Q1 2026 revenue of $44.1 million, up 6% year-over-year, driven by a 32% rebound in the U.S., rising recurring revenue (reagents and service), and continued demand for the Aurora Evo as the installed base grew by 125 units to 3,789.
• Profitability was pressured as GAAP net loss widened to $18.9 million and adjusted EBITDA was a $9.1 million loss, with operating expenses up 13% and G&A rising 43% primarily due to patent litigation, though management expects seasonal improvement and positive adjusted EBITDA for full-year 2026.
• Management reaffirmed full-year revenue guidance of $205–$212 million and plans a Q3 reorganization into three customer-aligned business units to better target reagent, clinical, and mid‑tier instrument opportunities.

Cytek Biosciences NASDAQ: CTKB reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $44.1 million, up 6% from $41.5 million in the year-ago quarter, as strength in the U.S. and continued growth in recurring revenue helped offset softer results in EMEA and APAC. Management characterized the quarter as a “constructive start to the year” and pointed to what CEO Wenbin Jiang described as “a return to normal market conditions in the U.S.” despite ongoing challenges across the broader life science tools industry.

Revenue growth driven by U.S. rebound and recurring revenue

Jiang said Cytek’s performance reflected “continued positive momentum from the second half of 2025,” supported by secular growth in APAC excluding China, globally rising recurring revenue, and portfolio diversity. He also highlighted demand for the company’s Aurora Evo system, which launched last year, and said the installed base continues to drive expansion in service and leasing.

By geography, Cytek’s U.S. revenue rose 32% year-over-year to $24.4 million. Jiang said performance in the U.S. was “broad-based” and included sales to academic institutions and biopharma companies, with a high percentage of buyers having purchased at least one instrument in the prior four quarters. EMEA revenue fell 7% to $10.8 million, with Jiang attributing softer instrument revenue to disruption from the conflict in the Middle East and an end-of-quarter shipment delay in another region, partially offset by continued service growth. APAC, including China, declined 13% year-over-year due primarily to accelerated order timing in China in the first quarter of 2025, though Jiang said APAC excluding China delivered “very strong growth across instruments, reagents, and service.”

Recurring revenue continued to rise. Jiang said combined reagents and service revenue reached $18.4 million in the quarter and represented 35% of total revenue on a trailing 12-month basis, up 19% year-over-year. Service revenue grew 15% year-over-year to $15.4 million, which management linked to installed base growth and active instrument utilization. Jiang added that reagent revenue grew in the mid-teens year-over-year, also reflecting usage of the installed base.

Installed base expands; reagents and bioinformatics engagement grows

Cytek added 125 units in the first quarter, bringing total installed base to 3,789 units, according to Jiang. Total instrument unit volume increased 9% year-over-year, including a 3% increase in SSP instruments. Jiang said revenue for the Aurora category increased 8% year-over-year and that the Aurora Evo system has “consistently driven revenue and unit volume growth” since its introduction.

On the reagent side, Jiang reported 16% growth versus the first quarter of 2025, calling the strength “broad-based across regions.” He said APAC and the rest-of-world regions together grew reagent revenue by more than 40% year-over-year, with double-digit growth in the U.S. Jiang tied the performance to initiatives undertaken in 2025, including improved delivery times, expanded offerings, and a dedicated reagent sales team.

The company also pointed to continued adoption of its bioinformatics platform. Jiang said Cytek Cloud surpassed 26,000 users as of March 31, 2026, representing an average of eight users per installed Cytek SSP instrument, and said growing usage strengthens the value proposition of an integrated ecosystem.

Planned business unit reorganization targeted for Q3 completion

Jiang said Cytek plans to refocus operations into three customer-aligned business units, a change expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026. The new Solutions and Clinical business unit will include platforms such as reagents, Guava Muse Micro, and Northern Lights, while the Research Technology business unit will focus on high-parameter flow cytometry in the research-use-only market. A separate Service business unit is intended to support the installed base across both operating groups.

Jiang said the new structure is intended to better align marketing, sales, and R&D resources and to pursue opportunities including reagent consumables and low- to mid-tier instruments for QA/QC workflows, as well as an eventual replacement cycle for high-performance instruments. He also said Cytek sees “meaningful growth opportunities in the clinical research market,” noting that the increase is “already being reflected by an increase in reagent sales supporting clinical applications.”

Margins and expenses: gross margin slightly lower; G&A increases on litigation costs

CFO Bill McCombe reiterated first-quarter revenue of $44.1 million and said growth was led by strong U.S. instrument performance alongside double-digit growth in global services and reagents, partially offset by EMEA disruption and APAC order timing. Product revenue (instruments and reagents) totaled $28.8 million, up about 2% year-over-year, while service revenue was $15.4 million, up 15%.

GAAP gross profit was $21.3 million, and gross margin was 48%, down from 49% a year earlier. McCombe said product gross margin was flat, while service gross margin was “slightly lower due to higher labor costs.” Adjusted gross margin was 51% compared with 52% in the prior-year quarter. Looking ahead, McCombe said the company expects gross margins to increase in subsequent quarters as revenue rises “consistent with our typical seasonal pattern.”

Operating expenses increased 13% year-over-year to $39.7 million. R&D declined 1% to $9.6 million due to lower compensation expenses, and sales and marketing fell 7% to $11.6 million, also tied to lower compensation and selling commissions. General and administrative expense rose 43% to $18.5 million, driven primarily by “higher legal expenses associated with a previously disclosed patent litigation case,” outside consulting expenses, and bad debt reserves.

Loss from operations was $18.5 million versus $15.0 million a year earlier. GAAP net loss widened to $18.9 million from $11.4 million, which McCombe attributed to higher operating expenses, a $1.2 million foreign exchange loss versus a $1.3 million gain in the prior-year period, and higher tax expense. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $9.1 million compared with a $3.3 million loss in the first quarter of 2025. McCombe said the company expects adjusted EBITDA to improve in later quarters with seasonally higher revenue and reiterated an expectation of positive adjusted EBITDA for full-year 2026.

Cytek ended the quarter with $262.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, compared with $261.5 million at the end of 2025, which McCombe said provides flexibility to invest in growth priorities.

Guidance reaffirmed; Q&A addresses instrument outlook, customer mix, and NIH funding

Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $205 million to $212 million, assuming no change in currency exchange rates. McCombe said the outlook reflects recent positive growth in the U.S. and APAC and “some stabilization in the EU.”

In response to a question from Stephens’ Mason Carrico about achieving the high end of the growth range, McCombe said the framework assumes continued growth in services and reagents consistent with recent quarters, “flat to modest growth in instruments,” and a contingency for macro risks. He said the company feels “very comfortable” with services and reagents and added that the first quarter showed positive instrument growth.

McCombe also provided customer mix for the quarter, saying the overall mix was 62% biopharma/distributor/CRO and 38% academic and government, compared with 58%/42% for full-year 2025. Asked about Aurora Evo specifically, he said the company does not typically report mix at that level but described the product as designed for pharma customers due to “higher throughput,” while also seeing strong reception across segments. Jiang added that the system includes “integrated intelligence,” automatic shutdown and turn-on features for scheduling, and “integrated nanoparticle detection.”

Piper Sandler’s David Westenberg asked about NIH funding uncertainty and its impact on U.S. academic and government demand. McCombe said U.S. academic and government performance in the quarter “was up substantially” and represented Cytek’s “strongest first quarter in U.S. academic and government” in years, potentially ever. He noted that the NIH budget is still under discussion in Congress and said the administration’s initial proposal was “not as draconian” as the prior year’s initial proposal.

On sales and marketing investment, McCombe said the first-quarter decline in sales and marketing expense was “more of a quarterly blip than a trend,” adding that Cytek expects to continue investing “aggressively” for the balance of the year.

About Cytek Biosciences NASDAQ: CTKB

Cytek Biosciences is a biotechnology company specializing in innovative cell analysis solutions. The firm develops and commercializes advanced spectral flow cytometry instruments and associated reagents designed to enable high-parameter single-cell analysis. Its technology platform offers researchers and clinicians enhanced sensitivity, resolution and flexibility compared to traditional flow cytometry methods.

The company's core product portfolio includes the Aurora and Northern Lights spectral cytometry systems, which support simultaneous detection of up to 64 fluorescence parameters.

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