Ginkgo Bioworks NYSE: DNA reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $20 million, down 48% from the year-earlier period, as the company continued to shift its focus toward autonomous laboratory systems, contract research services and related software.
Chief Executive Officer Jason Kelly said the company’s priorities for 2026 remain investing in autonomous labs, expanding its Nebula autonomous laboratory in Boston, and pursuing new sales to biopharma companies, national laboratories and research universities.
The company also reaffirmed its full-year cash-burn guidance of $125 million to $150 million. Ginkgo ended the quarter with $302 million in cash and cash equivalents, along with $87 million of restricted cash designated for certain customers and operating activities, Kelly said.
Financial Results and Cash Burn
Chief Financial Officer Steve Coen said Ginkgo’s former Biosecurity business, which was divested in a transaction completed April 3, is classified as discontinued operations. Financial commentary for the quarter relates exclusively to continuing operations, which the company now reports as one segment.
Revenue totaled $40 million for the first six months of 2026, a 49% decline from the prior-year period. Coen noted that the first half of 2025 included $7.5 million of non-cash revenue related to the mutual termination of the BiomEdit agreement. Excluding that amount, first-half revenue declined about 42% year over year.
- Research and development expense was $30 million, down 4% from $31 million a year earlier.
- General and administrative expense was $12 million, down 26% from $16 million in the prior-year quarter.
- Net loss from continuing operations was $57 million, compared with a $53 million loss a year earlier.
- Adjusted EBITDA was negative $36 million, compared with negative $25 million in the second quarter of 2025.
- Second-quarter cash burn was $45 million, compared with $38 million a year earlier.
For the first half of 2026, cash burn was $93 million, down 3% from $96 million in the prior-year period. Coen said first-quarter cash burn included a $14 million payment to Google Cloud related to an amended 2025 commitment. The revised arrangement reduced future minimum commitments by more than $100 million and extended the commitment term to six years from three years, he said.
Adjusted EBITDA included $14 million in costs associated with excess leased space during the second quarter, up from $12 million a year earlier. Coen said those expenses consist of rent and related charges on unoccupied space, net of sublease income, and could potentially be reduced through additional subleasing.
Ginkgo raised $17 million through its at-the-market equity program during the quarter. The company excludes those proceeds from its cash-burn calculation.
Autonomous Lab Expansion
Kelly said Ginkgo expanded Nebula, its Boston autonomous lab, to 105 racks after adding roughly 50 racks during the quarter. He said the expansion was installed and operating within approximately three weeks after the racks had been manufactured.
The system uses a track-and-robotic-arm configuration to move samples among laboratory devices. According to Kelly, Nebula operates continuously and on an average day can run about 30 unique protocols submitted by scientists, with more than 100 protocol copies across the system’s devices.
Kelly said Ginkgo is working to move a majority of its internal laboratory work to Nebula over time. The company expects the system to improve the economics of its service offerings while serving as a demonstration platform for prospective autonomous-lab customers.
He contrasted the company’s autonomous-lab approach with more conventional laboratory work cells, which can automate repeated tasks but generally lack flexibility for new experimental protocols. Kelly said Ginkgo is seeking to combine the continuous operation of automated systems with the flexibility of manual laboratory benches.
Government and University Projects
Ginkgo said it is building an autonomous laboratory system for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Kelly said the company had previously installed the first 13 racks at the Department of Energy laboratory and expects the project to expand to a 97-rack system.
The company also said it was selected to build autonomous labs for MIT, Caltech, the University of Maryland and Northwestern University. Kelly said the Caltech, Maryland and Northwestern projects are part of a National Science Foundation program, while MIT’s project is funded through a separate grant.
Coen said revenue from large automation projects is generally recognized when equipment is delivered and installation is completed. He said the national laboratory project has generated some preliminary-contract revenue, but revenue from the larger installation will be recognized upon delivery and completion of installation.
In addition to equipment revenue, Coen said autonomous-lab contracts can include support, maintenance, custom work and software licensing revenue that may continue after installation.
Datapoints Services and Drug Discovery Offering
Ginkgo also highlighted its Datapoints contract research offerings, including a recently launched service called ADME-One. The service provides a panel of five assays used to assess absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion properties of small-molecule drug candidates.
Kelly said Ginkgo is offering the service for $199 per panel, compared with prices he cited of $2,000 to $5,000 from Western contract research organizations and $1,000 to $2,500 from Chinese providers. The offering includes partnerships with Inductive Bio for pharmacokinetic projections and Tangible Scientific for compound management, he said.
The company said it has conducted internal quality-control testing and comparisons with external vendors for the assays. Kelly also said Ginkgo plans to add plate-based chemistry, chemical purification and inert-atmosphere chemistry capabilities to its automated operations.
Coen said Datapoints revenue is recognized over time, similar to Ginkgo’s legacy services business. He said Datapoints projects are generally smaller than historical projects and typically run from three to nine months, though some can extend longer.
About Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA)
Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc is a synthetic biology company that designs custom microbes for customers across a range of industries. Utilizing a proprietary organism foundry platform, the company engineers cells to produce high-value chemicals, enzymes, and other biological materials. By integrating automation, data analytics and machine learning, Ginkgo Bioworks seeks to accelerate the development of biologically derived solutions at industrial scale.
The company's services span the entire development cycle, from genetic design and strain optimization to fermentation and downstream processing.
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