Cytek Biosciences, Inc. Q1 FY2026 earnings call

First, discussed first quarter 2026 performance with revenue growth and regional breakdown. Then updated on progress across core strategic pillars: instruments with expanded global footprint and Aurora Evo system driving growth, applications with religion revenue growth, bioinformatics platform deepening customer engagement. Also mentioned planning to refocus operations into three distinct customer-aligned business units to be completed in third quarter of 2026, with each unit having specific growth opportunities.

First quarter 2026 revenue was $44.1 million, representing 6% growth year-over-year compared to $41.5 million in Q1 2025. Geographically, U.S. first quarter revenue was $24.4 million, an increase of 32% compared to $18.5 million in Q1 of last year. EMEA first quarter revenue was $10.8 million, a decrease of 7% versus Q1 2025 due to disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East and an end-of-quarter shipment delay. APAC, including China, declined 13% year-over-year, primarily due to accelerated order timing in the first quarter of last year in China, while the remainder of APEC continued to show very strong growth across instruments, reagents, and service. Recurring revenue base continued to strengthen in the first quarter. We combined the reagents and service revenue, reaching $18.4 million in the first quarter on a trading 12-month basis in the first quarter. Recurring revenue represented 35% of total revenue and notably grew 19% year-over-year. Service revenue alone grew 15% year-over-year to $15.4 million, and reagent revenue grew mid-teens on a percentage basis over Q1 of 2025.

Today we are reaffirming our full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $205 million to $212 million, assuming no change in currency exchange rates. This outlook reflects the positive growth we've seen recently in the US and APAC, as well as some stabilization in the EU.

Statements during this call are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding SITAC's business plans, strategies, opportunities, and financial projections. These statements are based on the company's current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to materially differ from those anticipated in these statements. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties appears in our slide presentation in the section entitled Forward Looking Statements in the press release CITEC issued today and in CITEC's filings with the SEC. This call will also include a discussion of certain financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Additional information regarding our use of non-GAAP financial measures including reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, may be found in our slide presentation and in today's press release.

Q: On your 2026 guide, you're calling for 2% to 5% growth. Could you just walk us through what needs to go right to get to the high end versus what would keep you towards the lower end of that range for the year?

A: This is Bill. So the way that we put together the guide and what we're reaffirming today is continued growth in services and reagents at levels, you know, broadly consistent with recent quarters. And then... a flat to modest growth in instruments, and then on top of that, a contingency for, you know, unforeseen or developing macro risks. And, you know, that's the framework. We feel very comfortable with the growth in services and reagents. The instrument market is, you know, we did see positive growth in Q1. And, you know, we don't see any reason why that shouldn't continue. But, you know, as we all know, there are macro risks out there. So we'd like to have a contingency in our guide in order to cover for things that we can't foresee at the moment.

Q: Just on NIH funding uncertainty, which was a risk factor for 2026, did you see any measurable impact on U.S. academic government instrument demand? or the order timing in the first quarter? And how are you thinking about that exposure for the remainder of the year?

A: Academic and government in Q1 was up in the US, was up substantially on Q1 of last year. was back to a level more consistent with what we've seen in years prior to 2025. In fact, it was our strongest first quarter in US academic and government in a number of years, maybe ever. We did see a strong rebound to more normal levels. And with respect to NIH funding, I mean, the budget, we saw strong disbursements in Q4 of last year. You know, momentum in the academic and government market seems to have carried over into Q1. And, you know, the budget for, This coming year is obviously still under discussion in Congress. The initial proposal from the administration was not as draconian as the initial proposal last year. So we'll have to see where it settles out. But in the first quarter, our academic and government sector performance in the US was pretty strong.

Q: With sales and marketing expenses declining in Q1, how are you thinking about commercial investment for the remainder of the year?

A: We're going to continue to invest at a good level. This was more of a quarterly blip than a trend, but we expect to continue investing aggressively in sales and marketing for the for the balance of the year.