Cytek Biosciences NASDAQ: CTKB reported second-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 6% year over year, supported by double-digit gains in the United States and China, while continued weakness in Europe and parts of Asia-Pacific limited overall growth.
Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was $48.1 million, compared with $45.6 million a year earlier. CEO Wenbin Jiang said performance was driven by U.S. and China growth, gains in the company’s full spectrum profiling, or FSP, instrument portfolio, and continued expansion in service revenue.
U.S. Growth Offset Regional Pressure
U.S. revenue rose 18% from the prior-year period to $28.2 million, marking record second-quarter revenue in the region, according to CFO Bill McCombe. The growth reflected increased instrument sales to academic and government customers as well as service-business growth.
Revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa totaled $11.3 million, down about 8% year over year. Management attributed the decline to budgetary constraints tied to regional geopolitical dynamics and shifting government spending priorities. McCombe said European government research-and-development funding remained under pressure, including as governments prioritized areas such as defense.
Total APAC revenue, including China, was $7.9 million and was flat year over year. China delivered strong double-digit growth against a modest comparison period, but that performance was offset by softness elsewhere in the region. McCombe said purchasing patterns in APAC excluding China were lower following a strong first quarter.
By customer category, revenue from biopharma, distributors and contract research organizations rose approximately 22% to $29 million, aided by growth in EMEA and China. Academic and government revenue declined approximately 12% to $19.1 million, as U.S. growth was more than offset by declines in EMEA and other APAC markets.
Installed Base and Recurring Revenue Expand
Cytek added 142 instrument units during the quarter, increasing its global installed base to 3,933 units. Its high-end FSP portfolio grew 11% year over year, led by the Aurora Evo Analyzer and Aurora CS Cell Sorter.
Product revenue, which includes instruments and reagents, increased 4% to $32.6 million. Sales of high-end instruments rose by a mid-teens percentage during the quarter, the company said.
Recurring revenue continued to account for a larger share of the company’s business. Combined reagent and service revenue reached $18.5 million, up 8% year over year, and represented 35% of revenue over the trailing 12 months, compared with 32% in the comparable prior-year period.
Service revenue increased 10% to $15.6 million, supported by the larger installed base and active utilization of instruments globally. Jiang said the company expects recurring revenue to become a greater percentage of total revenue over time.
The company also said Cytek Cloud, its bioinformatics platform, surpassed 28,000 users as of June 30, up 15% since the start of the year. Jiang said the platform supports researchers developing experiment workflows and can contribute to customer engagement and adoption of Cytek’s reagent and service offerings.
New Product Launches Target Automation and Higher-Parameter Analysis
Cytek introduced the Borealis, which it described as the industry’s first 60-color, seven-laser, full spectral-flow cytometer. The system is designed to enable analysis of 60 unique colors in one sample run and can analyze nanoparticles, operate at higher flow rates and support enhanced automation, according to the company.
Jiang said the Borealis has also been designed to support future integration of onboard high-parameter cellular imaging capabilities. He said feedback from early-access customers has been “very strong,” with broader commercial availability expected to progress over time.
The company also launched new Aurora Evo configurations with expanded automation functions, including remote operation of certain instrument functions and an application programming interface for automated plate-handling systems. Management said those capabilities are particularly relevant to biopharma organizations and CROs seeking efficiency, reproducibility and laboratory-system integration.
During the question-and-answer session, Jiang said the annual market placement opportunity for flow cytometers is between 7,000 and 10,000 units, based on market reports. He said customers have increasingly shifted toward full spectral technology and that Cytek believes it is gaining share in the higher-end research segment.
Loss Widens Despite Tariff Refund; Revenue Outlook Raised
GAAP gross profit was $28.3 million, or a 59% gross margin, including a one-time $2.8 million tariff refund. Excluding the refund, gross margin would have been 53%, compared with 52% in the year-earlier quarter. Service gross margin improved to 56% from 52%, which management attributed to lower material costs.
Operating expenses increased 15% to $39.7 million. General and administrative spending rose 24%, primarily because of legal expenses related to previously disclosed patent litigation, severance costs and other personnel expenses.
The company reported a GAAP net loss of $12.2 million, compared with a $5.6 million net loss a year earlier. McCombe cited a higher operating loss, lower other income, foreign-exchange losses, a $1.6 million non-recurring write-off of an investment in an early-stage technology company, and tax expense versus a prior-year tax benefit.
Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $1.5 million, compared with positive adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 million in the prior-year quarter. Management expects adjusted EBITDA to improve in the second half as revenue follows its typical seasonal pattern and operating-expense growth moderates. Cytek continues to expect roughly breakeven adjusted EBITDA for full-year 2026.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $262 million as of June 30, essentially unchanged from $262.2 million at March 31. Free cash flow was approximately neutral for the quarter.
Cytek raised the low end of its full-year revenue outlook and now expects 2026 revenue of $207 million to $212 million, increasing the midpoint by $1 million. The outlook assumes no currency-rate changes and calls for fourth-quarter revenue to be significantly higher than third-quarter revenue, consistent with the company’s historical seasonal pattern.
The company is also implementing an organizational structure during the third quarter centered on three customer-aligned units: Solutions and Clinical, Research Technology, and Service. McCombe said the primary expected benefit is improved top-line growth and deeper market penetration, though he said the effects will take time and are already incorporated into the company’s 2026 guidance.
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.
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.
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