Cibus, Inc. Q1 FY2026 earnings call

• Capital Raising and Strategic Direction

  • Raised $37 million in gross proceeds across two public offerings in Q1 2026, which has been deployed to advance commercialization of priority programs
  • 2025 focused on building foundational commercial infrastructure; 2026 focus is execution on commercial opportunities, converting the existing pipeline to revenue-generating partnerships
  • The company's core RTDS gene editing platform is positioned to address growing agricultural demand for productivity improvements amid global fertilizer supply chain disruptions
  • Seed companies are increasingly seeking broad, ongoing partnerships rather than single-trait access, validating the company's model of retaining royalty rights on co-developed traits

• Rice Program Progress

  • 7 active customer relationships across Latin America and the U.S., with ongoing discussions for expansion into Brazil, Argentina, and India
  • On track for the planned 2027 initial commercial launch in Latin America, which represents the bulk of the $200 million annual addressable rice royalty opportunity across the Americas, covering 5 to 7 million peak addressable acres
  • Executed a non-binding letter of intent with lead Latin American partner Interoc for commercialization of herbicide-tolerant rice, targeting 2027 initial entry into Ecuador and Colombia, with phased expansion to other regional markets
  • Interoc received an import permit for gene-edited material, and CBIS completed delivery of edited rice germplasm to Interoc in May 2026
  • U.S. rice launch is delayed from 2028 to 2029 due to slower-than-expected chemical registration of partner Orbar's clathridum herbicide, a required gating item for the U.S. launch

• Sustainable Ingredients Program Progress

  • Program is in commercial ramp-up phase following successful pre-commercial pilots and continued customer payments in Q1 2026
  • Additional scale-up orders for the initial biofragrance product are expected in H2 2026, with development of additional fragrance products underway leveraging the existing extensible yeast platform
  • The global biofragrance opportunity is estimated to represent $20 million to $40 million in annual royalty revenue at full commercialization, serving as a near-term revenue bridge before rice royalties ramp up
  • Amended an existing partnership to expand R&D activities for the partner-funded crop-based lauric oils program

• Regulatory and Pipeline Progress

  • Regulatory environment for precision gene editing is a growing tailwind: Ecuador and Peru have confirmed CBIS's rice traits are equivalent to conventionally-bred traits, EU new genomic techniques legislation is advancing toward a parliamentary vote, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued 17 positive regulatory determinations for CBIS traits
  • Gene editing efficiency has improved dramatically via systematic process optimization and AI/ML application, enabling higher throughput to support expanded partnerships
  • Key pipeline advances: nutrient use efficiency traits for rice, wheat, and canola; DEFRA-funded light leaf spot resistance development for canola; pod shadow reduction canola trials prepared for fall 2026 planting in the UK; successful single cell regeneration in wheat opening full editing capability for the crop; continued HT2 trait development for soybeans aligned with the sustainable ingredients program

CBIS is an early-stage agricultural gene editing and sustainable ingredients company with no reported segmented revenue for Q1 2026. Overall operating results showed a net loss of $21.2 million, compared to a net loss of $49.4 million in the year-ago Q1 2025. Research and development expense was $8.7 million (down from $11.8 million YoY), while SG&A expense was $5.1 million (down from $9.9 million YoY). A $3 million one-time litigation expense in Q1 2025 and ongoing company-wide cost reduction initiatives drove the combined $8 million year-over-year decline in total operating expenses. As of March 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents totaled $30.3 million, after raising $37 million in gross proceeds across two public offerings completed in Q1 2026.

• The company expects existing cash and cash equivalents to be sufficient to fund all planned operating expenses and capital expenditures into late Q1 2027
  • Annual net cash usage for full-year 2026 is projected to be approximately $30 million or less, with burn expected to decline sequentially from Q1 to Q2 2026, reaching targeted levels by H2 2026
  • The LATAM rice commercial launch remains on track for 2027, while the U.S. rice launch guidance is revised downward from 2028 to 2029
  • Additional biofragrance scale-up orders are expected in H2 2026, with initial commercial royalty revenue expected to begin in 2026 and ramp meaningfully in 2027

• Chemical registration timelines for partner herbicides are outside of CBIS's direct control, and delays can push back commercial launch timelines for trait products, as seen with the U.S. rice launch delay
  • As a pre-revenue stage company, CBIS will likely require additional financing to fund operations beyond late Q1 2027, even with existing cash on hand
  • Global agricultural market and geopolitical disruptions impact fertilizer supply chains that drive demand for the company's traits, but also create broader market uncertainty that could impact partner willingness to enter new agreements
  • Regulatory approval processes for gene-edited crops vary by jurisdiction and can delay or block commercial launch of products even after technical development is complete

Q: The press release mentions an amendment to the sustainable ingredients partnership contract to expand R&D activities. Is this for the biofragrance program, the soybean lauric oils program, or both, and how will it impact revenue? / A: The contract amendment applies to the soybean lauric oils sustainable ingredients program, not the biofragrance initiative. Expanded R&D activities have already generated incremental catch-up revenue recognized in Q1 2026, and the amendment will support additional R&D revenue going forward as work progresses on the program. This milestone reflects partner recognition of the technical progress the team has delivered on the project to date.

Q: Will the current cash burn rate level off, or decline further in H2 2026? Also, what is the impact of the U.S. rice launch delay on the overall business, and how much control does CBIS have over the registration timeline? / A: The company remains on track to hit its full-year 2026 target of $30 million or less in annual net cash usage. Organizational restructuring completed late in Q1 2026 will lead to sequential burn declines, with burn reaching targeted levels by Q3 and Q4 2026. The U.S. rice market is a small portion of the total addressable rice opportunity compared to Latin America, which is still on track for 2027 launch. The delayed registration is entirely on partner Orbar's side with U.S. regulators, and it does not constrain any of CBIS's other platform initiatives.

Q: Can you share details on the end product, end customers, and number of fragrances being developed for the biofragrance program? / A: CBIS cannot disclose specific product details or end customer information at this stage of commercial negotiations. The team is currently finalizing scale-up schedules, production volumes, pricing terms, and product formulations, with additional scale-up orders expected in H2 2026. The program leverages an extensible yeast platform, so CBIS can develop multiple new fragrance products without rebuilding processes from scratch, tapping into the $65 billion global fragrance market.

Q: Now that Interoc has received the gene-edited rice material, what are the remaining gating items for full commercial agreements and 2027 LATAM launch? / A: Delivery of edited material in Interoc's elite rice germplasm starts the commercial deployment process. Over the next 18 months, key milestones include scaling up production, progressing through regional seed registration and certification steps, and finalizing the definitive commercial agreement, with updates provided via quarterly reporting. Chemical registration is progressing concurrently in LATAM, and CBIS sees a clear path to have all required elements ready for commercial launch in the second half of 2027.