Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. (NAUT) Earnings
Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. is expected to report next earnings on October 27, 2026 (in NaN days), with a consensus EPS estimate of $-0.14. NAUT has beaten EPS estimates in 12 of its last 12 reported quarters (average surprise +17.7% over the last four).
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2026 | $-0.14 | $-0.11 | +18.5% | $190000 | +90.0% |
| Apr 28, 2026 | $-0.14 | $-0.12 | +17.2% | — | — |
| Jul 31, 2025 | $-0.15 | $-0.12 | +22.6% | — | — |
| Feb 26, 2025 | $-0.16 | $-0.14 | +12.5% | $10M | — |
| Apr 30, 2024 | $-0.16 | $-0.15 | +6.3% | — | — |
| Feb 28, 2024 | $-0.16 | $-0.14 | +12.5% | $8M | — |
| Oct 31, 2023 | $-0.18 | $-0.13 | +27.8% | — | — |
| Aug 2, 2023 | $-0.17 | $-0.13 | +23.5% | — | — |
| May 2, 2023 | $-0.16 | $-0.12 | +25.0% | — | — |
| Feb 23, 2023 | $-0.15 | $-0.11 | +26.7% | — | — |
| Nov 1, 2022 | $-0.14 | $-0.11 | +21.4% | — | — |
| Aug 2, 2022 | $-0.17 | $-0.12 | +29.4% | — | — |
Source: company filings + earnings calendar. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Earnings call summary
Q2 FY2026 · July 28, 2026
AI summary of management’s prepared remarks and analyst Q&A. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Management highlights
### Strategic Realignment - The company is shifting the majority of application-specific R&D resources from its broad-scale broad proteome program to its proteoform application program, driven by faster-than-expected technical maturation of proteoform capabilities and stronger customer demand for this offering. The broad-scale program will retain a small focused team to continue advancing core technology and reducing key technical risks. - The shift follows Q2 testing that confirmed recent assay configuration changes did not deliver sufficient probe performance to support 2027 general availability of the broad-scale program at target specifications. Broad-scale development will be slowed but remains a long-term priority. ### Proteoform Program Progress - Multiple high-impact collaborations and early customer engagements are already active: the Ellen Institute for Brain Sciences brain sample analysis, Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson's assay development, and Baylor College of Medicine as the first early access customer for tau proteoform assays. Q2 2026 marks the first revenue recognition from these projects. - AKT1 has been selected as the first oncology proteoform assay; three oncology targets (AKT1, EGFR, P53) have now cleared development validation criteria. Proteoform resolution enables direct identification of patients with AKT1-driven tumors, which is expected to improve response rates for existing multi-billion dollar AKT-targeted therapies. - The proteoform development process now uses a proven template, drastically reducing development timelines: the tau assay took 5 years to develop, while the first oncology assays reached the same technical bar in 1 year. The company targets ~20 proteoform assays by mid-2028, with new launches expected every 6 months going forward. - Key product roadmap milestones: tau assay general availability mid-2027; AKT1 early access late 2026, general availability mid-2027; two additional oncology assays general availability by mid/late 2027; 100-fold sample input reduction early 2027; cerebrospinal fluid sample capability for tau in 2028. ### Operational and Financial Highlights - Total operating expenses were $15.9 million in Q2 2026, a 7% decrease year-over-year: R&D expenses were $9.6 million (-8% YoY), SG&A expenses were $6.3 million (-6% YoY). Net loss was $14.5 million, or $0.11 per share, compared to a $15 million net loss ($0.12 per share) in Q2 2025. - The company ended Q2 with $129.2 million in cash, equivalents, and investments, with $14.2 million of cash burn in the quarter. The cash runway is currently projected to extend into Q1 2028. - The commercial team is newly established with 3 full-time members focused on early customer engagement; converting early interest to paid engagements is expected to take time given the early commercial stage.
Guidance
- Full-year 2026 revenue guidance is maintained at approximately $0.5 million. Revenue will continue to come primarily from grant funding and early access services in the near term, with platform and instrument revenue expected to start in mid-2027. - Full-year 2026 operating expenses are now projected to come in below prior guidance, with year-over-year growth of less than 10%. - The company remains on track to place a beta instrument unit in 2026, open Voyager platform pre-orders in early 2027, and begin instrument shipments in mid-2027 aligned with proteoform consumable kit launches. - The company anticipates needing to raise additional capital between now and mid-2027 to support proteoform expansion and market development, and is evaluating a mix of debt and equity financing. Management will wait for optimal business catalyst and market conditions before raising, and is not in a rush to complete a financing round.
Segment performance
Nautilus Biotechnology reported total Q2 2026 revenue of $0.2 million, representing its first reported quarter of revenue. 100% of revenue is split between two sources: approximately 70% ($0.14 million) from grant revenue for the Michael J. Fox Foundation-funded alpha-synuclein proteoform assay development, and the remaining 30% ($0.06 million) from early access program service revenue. The company has only one active commercial segment focused on proteomics platform development, with internal R&D resource allocation now split 2/3 to proteoform application development and 1/3 to broad-scale broad proteome application development, following the strategic realignment announced on the call.
Risks & headwinds
- Broad-scale proteome development has failed to meet performance targets on the original 2027 general availability timeline, and core performance issues require long-lead development work (affinity maturation for probe library diversification, improved assay architecture stabilization, and continued machine learning improvements). Reallocation of R&D resources will further slow broad-scale development progress. - The company is in early commercial stages, and converting strong customer interest into signed paid engagements will take time. Early revenue is not expected to be meaningful or profitable in the near term. - Academic customer funding has experienced recent choppiness, with delayed and reduced awards creating some uncertainty for 2027 pre-order demand. - The company has limited existing commercial traction, and there is no guarantee that the projected proteoform assay rollout will generate sufficient instrument or consumable revenue to offset operating cash burn. - Successful proteoform commercialization depends on unlocking new sample types (especially biofluids like cerebrospinal fluid and plasma) that enable access to the large majority of the addressable biomarker market, which is not expected until 2027-2028.
Analyst Q&A
Q: How do you balance cash burn and commercial expansion, given your current 7-quarter cash runway and plan to raise capital before mid-2027? /
A: Management has built efficiency into the current go-to-market strategy by concentrating initial proteoform commercial outreach on only two initial focus areas (neurodegeneration and early oncology), rather than spreading resources across all target disease areas. The current 3-person commercial team (VP of Global Sales, two regional sales leaders, plus scientific engagement staff) is appropriately sized for the current serviceable opportunity, and no additional sales hires are planned for 2026. Team expansion will only occur once business growth justifies additional headcount next year. /
Q: What makes Nautilus's proteoform approach unique versus existing alternatives, and what is the expected customer pricing profile? /
A: No other platform globally can measure full proteoforms (combined isoform and multiple post-translational modification states) at scale; existing tools only measure total protein abundance, missing the functional resolution that drives disease biology and therapeutic response. Management confirms the target instrument price remains roughly $1 million, with final pricing to be announced before early 2027 pre-orders open. Sample pricing for assay kits is expected to be roughly a few thousand dollars per sample, varying slightly by assay. /
Q: What is the current funding climate for your target end markets (academic and biopharma) for 2027 instrument pre-orders? /
A: Biopharma budgets are currently stable and unaffected by broader market volatility, consistent with recent trends reported by other public life science tool companies. Academic funding has shown slight improvement after a period of choppiness (delayed and reduced awards), and the key NIH funding pool for customer projects remains available for qualified proteoform research projects. /
Q: What is the expected revenue split for the second half of 2026, and how will serviceable opportunity ramp after launch? /
A: Michael J. Fox Foundation grant revenue will continue at a steady pace through 2026 and into 2027, with minor quarterly variation based on work completed. Additional early access service revenue is expected but will not be a major contributor to full-year 2026 revenue. Near-term serviceable opportunity is much larger for oncology than neurodegeneration, because the current tau assay only supports rare brain tissue samples, while oncology has abundant available tissue samples; unlocking biofluid sample capability will further expand the addressable market for both indications.