Seer, Inc. Q1 FY2026 earnings call

• Scientific Validation & Evidence Building: SEER doubled its body of independent, peer-reviewed publications validating its Proteograph product suite year-over-year, reaching 84 total publications as of Q1 2026, up from 42 in March 2025. A high-profile Nature Communications paper published this quarter highlighted the importance of variant-aware proteomics for cross-ancestry population studies, a capability SEER’s Proteograph provides that reinforces its competitive differentiation. Partner Prognomic also announced breakthrough 89% sensitivity/54% specificity results for early lung cancer detection using the Proteograph for biomarker discovery.

• Population-Scale Partnerships: SEER expanded its biobank collaboration pipeline this quarter, announcing the Precise SG100K study with Precision Health Research Singapore and Thermo Fisher, which will initially analyze 10,000 participants with potential expansion to 100,000 to create one of the world’s largest multi-omics datasets. Initial data from SEER’s existing 20,000-patient Korea University cohort will be presented at the ASMS conference in June 2026, and Precise SG100K data will be shared at the HUPA World Congress in September 2026. Management notes SEER is the only commercial provider capable of delivering deep, standardized unbiased proteomics at population scale, and positive public data is expected to accelerate future partner conversations.

• Organizational & Commercial Updates: SEER appointed Tony Bazzarco, a 20-year life sciences commercial leader, as its new Chief Commercial Officer to translate scientific validation into commercial momentum as the company enters a growth inflection point. The SEER Insight grant program was expanded to two tracks: a continuing translational research track, and a new biopharma development track focused on engaging pharma/biotech teams in high-impact workflows including mechanism of action studies and biomarker strategy, with expanded geographic reach to underpenetrated markets.

• Intellectual Property: The Patent Trial and Appeal Board upheld 23 of 29 claims in one of SEER’s core nanoparticle protein enrichment patents, demonstrating the strength of its 250+ patent and patent application portfolio (84 issued patents to date). SEER filed a patent infringement suit against Nanomix Biotechnology for infringing its nanoparticle enrichment IP, joined by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to protect the integrity of its technology and customer research.

• Product Innovation: SEER continues development of its next-generation detector, designed to expand deep unbiased proteomics access to the broader multi-omics community beyond existing mass spectrometry users, with a data showcase planned for late 2026. The company launched an updated version of its cloud-based PaaS analytics platform with chat and notebook features for simplified large-scale data analysis, and published a preprint for RAVI DIA, a new faster, more scalable proteomic search engine purpose-built for large cohorts and biopharma workflows that will be presented at the upcoming ASMS conference. SEER also maintains strict cost discipline, reducing total operating expenses 20% year-over-year to $18.2 million in Q1 2026 while continuing its innovation roadmap.

SEER reported total Q1 2026 revenue of $2.8 million, down from $4.2 million in Q1 2025. The product segment, consisting of prototype instrument and consumable kit sales, generated $2.1 million in revenue, accounting for 75% of total Q1 2026 revenue. The service segment, which includes STAC project revenue, generated $0.6 million in revenue, accounting for 21.4% of total Q1 2026 revenue. Other revenue (lease and shipping revenue) totaled $0.1 million, accounting for 3.6% of total Q1 2026 revenue. Total gross profit for Q1 2026 was approximately $1 million, representing a 35% gross margin, down from 49% in Q1 2025, due to lower absorption of fixed costs amid lower volume. Total operating expenses were $18.2 million (including $2.1 million in stock-based compensation), down from $22.8 million in Q1 2025. R&D expenses were $8.8 million, and SG&A expenses were $9.4 million, both down year-over-year due to lower compensation and professional service costs. Net loss for the quarter was $16.8 million, compared to $19.9 million in Q1 2025.

• Management reaffirmed its full year 2026 total revenue guidance of $16 million to $18 million, which represents approximately 3% year-over-year growth at the midpoint compared to full year 2025.
• Guidance incorporates the ongoing expectation that the depressed academic and NIH funding environment will persist through 2026, and accounts for the impact of competitive imitation products. Management expects revenue growth will be concentrated in the second half of 2026, driven by consumable pull-through from 2025 instrument installations and progressing large-scale partnership opportunities.
• SEER reaffirms its long-term expectation for gross margins to reach 70% to 75% at scale, and expects near-term gross margins will rebound to the low 50% range as revenue increases through the year, as Q1 2026's lower gross margin was solely a function of lower fixed cost absorption amid lower Q1 volume.
• Management states that SEER's current cash balance of $219.5 million (cash, cash equivalents, and investments) as of March 31, 2026 is sufficient to reach cash flow breakeven.

• Ongoing macroeconomic headwinds have created a depressed academic and government funding environment, which has pressured customer budgets and reduced near-term revenue in both product and service segments.
• Imitator competitors have entered the market with lower-priced copycat products that management claims have inferior performance, creating near-term competitive pricing pressure and threatening the integrity of SEER's intellectual property and market position.
• Revenue and gross margin are subject to quarter-to-quarter variability due to the lumpy nature of large service and instrument projects, and fluctuations in the mix of product, consumable, and service revenue.
• Large-scale biobank partnerships have longer sales cycles and more uncertain timing than smaller academic or biopharma projects, which can lead to uneven near-term revenue growth.

Q: Can you confirm confidence in the full-year guidance range, and were there any instrument order pushouts in Q1 that will shift to later in 2026? / A: Management maintains confidence in the full $16 to $18 million guidance range, supported by improving visibility into pipeline conversations with academics, biobanks, and biopharma customers, as well as the upcoming expected consumable pull-through. Instruments installed in 2025 typically see first reorders 9 to 12 months post-installation, so this pull-through is expected to ramp in the second half of 2026, and new CCO Tony Bazzarco is expected to accelerate commercial momentum. Revenue is expected to be heavily weighted to the second half, but management remains confident of hitting the full guidance range.

Q: How are imitator competitors impacting the business, and do they pose competition for population-scale biobank contracts? / A: Management notes that the emergence of imitators validates the market and technology SEER pioneered, but these competitors sell inferior lower-priced products and infringe on SEER's IP. SEER filed suit against Nanomix specifically for clear infringement and misleading marketing, to protect customer research (which relies on irreplaceable valuable samples) and the integrity of SEER's nanoparticle enrichment technology. Biobanks prioritize validated, robust performance for their high-value samples, and no major biobank would select an unvalidated copycat product, so imitators are not expected to impact SEER's biobank pipeline.

Q: Why was Q1 2026 service revenue lower than expected, given the perception that service revenue should be more insulated from macro headwinds? / A: Service revenue (including STAC projects) is inherently lumpy because it depends on the timing of large customer projects. SEER completed a major large service project in Q4 2025, and no similarly large project closed in Q1 2026, leading to the lower sequential quarterly revenue. Management notes there is still strong customer interest in service projects, and the lower Q1 revenue is just a timing issue, not a reflection of weakening demand.

Q: What does the current order funnel look like, and where is the largest growth opportunity for 2026 between large biobank studies and smaller customers? / A: There is strong momentum for large biobank opportunities, but most new biobank awards are not expected to come until the second half of 2026 or later due to long sales cycles. The largest opportunities for 2026 growth come from smaller biopharma projects and academic projects, which have faster sales cycles and are expected to close in the back half of the year.