AZTA

Azenta’s second quarter showed strong momentum, with results surpassing Wall Street’s expectations for both revenue and earnings. Management attributed this outperformance to robust growth in its biorepositories and consumables and instruments (C&I) segments, which are recurring revenue businesses, alongside improved execution in Multiomics, particularly in Europe and China. CEO John Marotta highlighted, “Revenue exceeded our outlook, profitability improved sequentially and Multiomics delivered year-over-year growth,” noting that ongoing operational transformation in Sample Management Solutions played a key role in stabilizing performance. Is now the time to buy AZTA? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $161.2 million vs analyst estimates of $149.2 million (12% year-on-year growth, 8% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.16 vs analyst estimates of $0.10 (60% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $18.46 million vs analyst estimates of $16.4 million (11.5% margin, 12.6% beat) Operating Margin: -2.6%, down from -1.3% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.46 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. David Saxon (Needham): Asked about drivers of Multiomics improvement in North America; CEO John Marotta cited delayed project catch-up, new sales leadership, and stronger commercial execution, while CFO Lawrence Lin stressed the need for more evidence of sustained recovery. Matthew Stanton (Jefferies): Inquired about order trends and demand durability; Marotta described strong growth in China and Europe, but noted ongoing lumpiness and headwinds in North America, especially in capital equipment and Sanger sequencing. Steven Etoch (Stephens): Probed on capital equipment order conversion; Marotta explained that capacity expansion and standardization are key, with productivity gains being a major driver for client decisions amid ongoing market uncertainty. Paul Knight (KeyBanc): Questioned the modular transition in stores; Marotta detailed the move from customized to configurable systems, emphasizing standardization to reduce risk and improve quality. Brendan Smith (TD Cowen): Asked about capital allocation and M&A; Marotta reiterated a disciplined approach, balancing share repurchases with strategic acquisitions, and focusing on operational improvements in core businesses. In the next few quarters, our analysts will closely monitor (1) the pace at which recurring revenue businesses like biorepositories and C&I sustain their momentum, (2) tangible improvements in Multiomics execution, especially in North America, and (3) the conversion of interest in automated stores into firm orders. The effects of ongoing cost optimization and restructuring efforts will also be key indicators of progress. Azenta currently trades at $33.33, up from $30.13 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies. Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+1,154% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET Vice President, FP&A and Investor Relations - Yvonne Perron President and Chief Executive Officer - John P. Marotta Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Lawrence Lin Operator: Greetings, and welcome to Azenta Q3 2026 Fiscal Financial Results. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded, Wednesday, August 5, 2026. I will now turn the conference over to Yvonne Perron, Vice President, FP&A and Investor Relations. Yvonne Perron: Thank you, operator, and good morning, and welcome to everyone joining us today. We would like to welcome you to our earnings conference call for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026. Our third quarter earnings press release was issued yesterday after market and is available on our Investor Relations website located at investors.azenta.com in addition to the PowerPoint slides and the supplementary information that will be used during the prepared remarks today. Please note that effective the first fiscal quarter of 2025, the results of B Medical Systems are treated as discontinued operations. The previously disclosed sale of the B Medical Systems business was completed on July 1, 2026. I would like to remind everyone that during the course of the call, we will be making a number of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Litigation Securities Act of 1995. There are many factors that may cause actual financial results or other events to differ from those identified in such forward-looking statements. I would refer you to the section of our earnings release titled Safe Harbor Statement, the safe harbor slide on the aforementioned PowerPoint presentation on our website and our various filings with the SEC, including our annual reports on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We make no obligation to update these statements should future financial data or events occur that differ from the forward-looking statements presented today. We may refer to a number of non-GAAP financial measures, which are used in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe the non-GAAP measures provide an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations and performance, but when considered with GAAP financial results and the reconciliation of GAAP measures, they provide an even more complete understanding of the Azenta business. Non-GAAP measures should not be relied upon to the exclusion of the GAAP measures themselves. On the call with me today is our President and Chief Executive Officer, John Marotta; and our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Lawrence Lin. We will begin the call with opening remarks from John, followed by Lawrence, who will provide a detailed review of our financial results and our outlook for fiscal year 2026. We will then take your questions at the end of the prepared remarks. With that, I would like to turn the call over to our CEO, John Marotta. John P. Marotta: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. In the third quarter, despite an uneven and challenging market, we made substantial progress delivering against our commitments towards rebuilding confidence through performance. Revenue exceeded our outlook, profitability improved sequentially and Multiomics delivered year-over-year growth. While these results reflect improved execution, our broader turnaround remains underway and sustained performance will require consistent execution over multiple quarters. The operational transformation we began last year in Sample Management Solutions is further along and has helped us strengthen our foundation. Multiomics remains a central focus of our broader transformation strategy. We are executing targeted commercial and operational initiatives to improve performance, increase scalability and position the business for long-term growth. While the work remains in the early stages, our objective is clear: build a more focused, efficient and scalable Multiomics business capable of delivering sustainable results with a market-leading position. As we enter the fourth quarter, our priorities remain unchanged: execute with discipline, advance the Multiomics turnaround and create long-term shareholder value through consistent performance. I will highlight 4 key takeaways from the quarter. First, despite an unpredictable demand environment where Multiomics North America showed modest sequential improvement but remained below prior year levels, organic revenue grew 9% year-over-year, driven by strong performance in biorepositories and C&I, where the investments in our reoccurring revenue businesses are making a meaningful contribution, growth was further supported by solid results in Multiomics China and in Europe. Second, we began developing the actions to advance the Multiomics transformation. We are implementing commercial initiatives and working through our structural actions, including a meaningful footprint rationalization, organizational changes and a sharper focus on high-value workflows. While the effort will take time, we believe these actions are necessary to improve execution and profitability over the long term. Third, while the capital equipment environment remains uneven, customer engagement remains healthy. We continue to see interest in our automated stores as customers look for greater efficiency, scalability and operational resiliency. We continue to take a rigorous approach to how we assess the pipeline and given the project timing continues to remain uncertain, we are evaluating options to optimize our cost structure to improve profitability in automated stores and cryo systems. Fourth, we continue to execute on key initiatives to build a more durable and scalable business. We are advancing our Azenta Business System efforts to strengthen operational discipline, making steady progress on the UKBC integration and allocating resources toward the highest return opportunities to support long-term value creation. In Sample Management Solutions, biorepositories and C&I delivered strong results and remain important growth drivers within the portfolio, supported by the investments we've made in these reoccurring revenue businesses. Today, more than half of our revenue is reoccurring in nature, providing greater stability and resilience across the business. Automated stores remain below prior year levels. Within biorepositories, we completed the first customer deployment of an AI-enabled biorepository inventory solution with advanced imaging and data management that creates actionable digital data. In this initial deployment, the solution meaningfully improved inventory capture productivity versus the prior manual process while creating a clearer data-driven view of customer sample inventories. This enables customers to better understand what they have, where it is stored and what actions should be taken. Over time, our expectations is to double productivity, strengthen our broader biorepository services offering, support better storage management decisions and create a path to more scalable, high-value repository workflows for customers. In automated stores, we continue to make progress addressing the quality issues discussed last quarter. Remediation work has now been completed for the 3 remaining systems we previously highlighted, and those systems are currently in final testing and validation prior to customer sign-off. As a reminder, these are highly customizable stores with each system uniquely configured to meet specific customer requirements. Final acceptance requires customer-specific testing and validation to ensure each system performs as intended and meets our customers' expectations. While most of the related remediation spending is now behind us and meeting our customers' expectations remains our top priority, we will consider this process complete only when the remaining systems have been fully tested, validated and accepted by our customers and are operating as intended, we are confident that the remediation work we've done will resolve the issue. In addition, our strategic move into modular stores will reduce engineering complexity through greater standardization that will deliver improved quality, reduced execution risk and support more consistent performance over time. We also added new stores opportunities in our backlog during the quarter, starting to build our pipeline as we enter fiscal 2027. While the revenue contribution in our fourth quarter is expected to be limited, the timing of the larger capital projects remains variable. We are encouraged by our pipeline and are seeing opportunities progress to orders. Multiomics delivered year-over-year growth during the quarter, supported by continued strength in Europe and in China and modest improvement in North America, which year-to-date remains below prior year levels. While we are seeing some improvement in customer activity, including our fast RNA sequencing that I mentioned last quarter and early signs of commercial momentum, we view these developments as initial indicators rather than evidence of a sustained recovery. Strengthening our North America business remains a top priority. As we have discussed previously, adding commercial leadership in the region was an important objective, and we are pleased to have recently appointed a new regional leader for North America. We believe this addition will strengthen our execution and customer engagement while supporting broader initiatives underway to improve performance and long-term growth. From an end market perspective, conditions remain mixed. Customer engagement levels are healthy, and we continue to see strength in Europe and in China. In North America, funding visibility has improved modestly, but research spending remains below prior year levels and customers continue to take a cautious approach to capital deployment. As a result, purchasing decisions and project timing remain difficult to predict, particularly for large capital investments. Given this backdrop, we believe maintaining a disciplined outlook remains appropriate. Following our stronger-than-expected third quarter revenue performance, we revisited our full year outlook. We now expect reported revenue in the range of $613 million to $618 million, improving our organic revenue outlook to approximately flat to up 1% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA expected to be in the range of $59 million to $62 million. While the updated outlook reflects the benefit of the third quarter revenue performance, we continue to take a measured view of the remainder of the year, recognizing that recovery across portions of the portfolio remains uneven, and we are facing a tough fourth quarter comparison, particularly in Multiomics. We continue to execute on our disciplined capital allocation strategy during the quarter. Our priorities remain unchanged and are focused in 4 key areas: driving productivity and gross margin improvement, accelerating organic growth, pursuing disciplined strategic M&A and returning capital to shareholders when appropriate. Importantly, our strong balance sheet affords us the flexibility to invest in strategic acquisitions that support long-term growth while also returning capital to shareholders. On July 1, we completed the divestiture of B Medical Systems, further simplifying the portfolio and sharpening our focus on our core Life Sciences businesses. Integration of the UK Biocentre remains on track and continues to enhance our biorepository capabilities across Europe. In addition, we repurchased shares under our share repurchase authorization, reflecting our confidence in the long-term value of the business and representing an opportunistic deployment of capital within our disciplined capital allocation framework. Looking ahead, our strategic priorities remain clear: scaling biorepositories, advancing gene synthesis and Multiomics workflows and driving innovation in automated solutions. These priorities remain the same building blocks that underpin the long-range objectives we shared at Investor Day. And the operational actions we're taking today are intended to strengthen our ability to achieve them. While there is still meaningful work ahead, the operational actions underway are focused on improving execution, strengthening accountability, simplifying the operating model and aligning investment behind our highest value opportunities. Although we are not providing guidance beyond fiscal 2026, we believe these actions position the business to deliver stronger and more consistent performance over time. We look forward to sharing our fiscal 2027 outlook in November after we complete and report our fiscal 2026 year-end results. To close, we remain focused on executing the actions required to strengthen the business. As we said last quarter, many of the performance challenges we faced were within our control, and we are addressing them with discipline, accountability and focus on improving execution across the organization. With that, I'll turn it over to Lawrence to walk through the financial results and our outlook in more detail. Lawrence Lin: Thanks, John. I'll begin with our third quarter financial results, review segment performance, discuss our balance sheet and capital allocation activities and then provide an update on our outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2026. To supplement my remarks today, I will refer to the slide deck available on our website. Turning to Slide 3. Total revenue of $161 million grew 12% as reported and 9% organically, ahead of our expectations. Growth was broad-based across the portfolio with both segments delivering organic year-over-year increases, including 8% growth in Multiomics and 9% growth in Sample Management Solutions. Adjusted EBITDA margins was approximately 11.4%, down slightly from prior year by 60 basis points, but up sequentially 610 basis points. Improved Multiomics revenue performance, continued growth in our recurring revenue businesses, biorepositories and C&I and the benefits of cost and restructuring actions implemented during the year supported higher profit during the quarter. These benefits were partially offset by our ongoing investments in commercial capabilities, product development and other strategic growth initiatives, lower volumes in automated stores and Sanger sequencing negatively impacting operating leverage, quality remediation activities as well as the near-term dilutive impact of UK Biocentre. Non-GAAP EPS was $0.16. Free cash flow, including B Medical Systems, was negative $5 million, down sequentially, driven by a usage in working capital and lower deferred revenue. We ended the quarter with $529 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. As John mentioned, we completed the divestiture of B Medical Systems on July 1 for approximately $63 million, consisting of $28 million in cash proceeds and a $35 million short-term secured vendor loan. During the quarter, we recorded a partial reversal of a previously recorded held-for-sale valuation allowance in the amount of $6.5 million associated with the transaction, and we continue to expect repayment in full of the vendor loan at or before maturity. Additionally, during the quarter, we opportunistically repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares for $50 million under our existing share repurchase authorization. reflecting our confidence in the long-term value of the business. Following these purchases, approximately $200 million remained available under the current program through December 2028. Now let's turn to Slide 4 to take a deeper look at our results in the quarter. Total revenue was $161 million, up 12% reported and 9% organically with a 1% headwind from foreign exchange and a $4 million contribution from UKBC. Sample Management Solutions delivered revenue of $88 million for the quarter, up 14% on a reported basis and up 9% organically. Our recurring revenue businesses, biorepository and C&I continue to demonstrate strong growth and resilience, supported by our commercial initiatives. These gains were partially offset by the expected softness in automated stores due to slower bookings resulting from macro-driven budget constraints. Multiomics had a strong quarter with revenue of $73 million, up 10% on a reported basis and up 8% organically. Results benefited from higher activity levels in North America, where trends improved from the mid-teens decline experienced in the first half of the year. We saw a modest pickup in customer activity and volume supported by stronger commercial execution, improved customer engagement and better conversion across gene synthesis and next-generation sequencing, although demand conditions remain mixed. We also continue to see strong performance across China and Europe, contributing meaningfully to growth. As expected, Sanger continued to reflect the longer-term market and technology transitions we have discussed previously. Overall, fiscal third quarter performance was better than anticipated across the portfolio, although the broader market environment remains measured and customer capital deployment continues to be selective. Turning to gross margin. We delivered 46.2% for the quarter, down 140 basis points year-over-year. The decline primarily reflects continued pressure within portions of the portfolio, including unfavorable fixed cost absorption in automated stores, continued margin pressure in the Sanger sequencing due to the longer-term market transitions we have discussed previously, quality remediation activities and regional mix. These headwinds were partially offset by improved profitability in Multiomics from higher volumes in next-generation sequencing and gene synthesis and improved operating leverage. Turning to gross margin for Sample Management Solutions. We delivered 45.9% for the quarter, down 750 basis points versus the prior year, primarily reflecting continued pressure within the capital equipment-oriented portions of the segment, including automated stores and cryogenic systems, where lower volume levels, unfavorable fixed cost absorption and quality remediation activities continue to impact profitability. These headwinds were partially offset by strong revenue growth across the segment and improved storage economics within biorepositories, including higher utilization and storage density, demonstrating the continued strength of the underlying biorepository business. Within automated stores, we incurred approximately $1 million of quality-related remediation costs during the quarter. For fiscal 2026, we currently expect the total impact to be between $5 million and $6 million, as previously mentioned. Multiomics gross margin improved approximately 550 basis points year-over-year to 46.5%, driven primarily by stronger volumes in next-gen sequencing and gene synthesis, improved operating leverage and the benefits of cost actions. These benefits were partially offset by continued margin pressure in Sanger sequencing and regional mix. Next, let's turn to Slide 5 for a review of the balance sheet. As I mentioned, we ended the quarter with $529 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. We had no debt outstanding. Capital expenditure for the quarter were approximately $7 million, reflecting continued investment in automation and technology to support scalable growth. Turning to guidance on Slide 7. Turning to our outlook, we revisited our full year fiscal 2026 guidance. For the full year, we now expect total reported revenue to be in the range of approximately $613 million to $618 million, including the contribution of UKBC. We now expect organic revenue to range from approximately flat to up 1% versus our prior outlook of down 2% to up 1% year-over-year. At a segment level, we continue to expect Sample Management Solutions to deliver low single-digit growth, while Multiomics is now expected to range between down 1% to flat versus our prior guidance of down mid-single digit year-over-year. These assumptions reflect the improved performance we saw in the third quarter while maintaining a prudent outlook given what remains a dynamic demand environment. Funding conditions have improved relative to where we began the year and customer engagement remains healthy. However, the broader research funding and biotechnology spending environment continues to be uneven and customer purchasing patterns remain selective across portions of the portfolio. We expect Q4 organic revenue to decline low single digits, consistent with our prior outlook as we face a challenging comparison against Q4 of 2025, particularly within Multiomics, which represented the highest quarterly revenue performance in the history of the business. In addition, portions of the portfolio continued to progress through structural transitions, most notably within Sanger sequencing, while demand for larger capital equipment opportunities remain subject to normal customer funding and project timing considerations. Taken together, we believe our current outlook appropriately balances the encouraging trends we experienced in the third quarter with the conditions that continue to characterize the broader market environment. From a profitability standpoint, we expect adjusted EBITDA to range between $20 million to $23 million in the fourth quarter. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA will range from $59 million to $62 million, including an anticipated impact of approximately 30 basis points of margin dilution from UKBC. Importantly, while we continue to take actions to optimize and rightsize our cost structure, we remain committed to investing in the business to support long-term growth and strengthen our competitive positioning. We continue to balance disciplined cost management within investments in our commercial organization, innovation and strategic initiatives that we believe will drive sustainable value creation over time. Finally, we continue to expect full year free cash flow to improve approximately 10% to 15% year-over-year, reflecting continued focus on working capital management and cash generation in the fourth quarter. In closing, Q3 represents a step forward in a positive direction, but it does not define the pace of recovery, and we remain cautious. However, we are confident that we are addressing the right issues, executing the right actions and building the foundation for more consistent financial performance moving forward. As John noted, we believe the operational actions underway today are strengthening the business and positioning us for improved performance over time. This concludes our prepared remarks, and I will now turn the call over to the operator for questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from David Saxon from Needham. David Saxon: Really nice to see the improvement in the quarter. So first question, I wanted to focus on Multiomics, specifically North America. Really nice to hear the comments there. Can you talk about the drivers of that performance? How much of that was demand starting to firm up versus on the execution side as some of those new reps ramp productivity? And then what's your level of confidence in the trajectory of that improvement you saw in the quarter given some of the initiatives you called out in the script around like footprint rationalization, et cetera? John P. Marotta: David, thanks for the question. So Multiomics specifically, NGS, we saw higher activity benefiting specifically from the catch-up of projects delayed earlier in the year, including some certain NIH-funded work. Commercially, I think that's the biggest impact with our strategic investments of sales becoming accretive after the team -- some of the team members have been there for 3 to 6 months now in the seat. Secondly, we've now filled our gap in our Vice President of Sales for Multiomics in North America. As you know, Trey has come in and he's hit the ground running and he's just filled that gap as well. Thirdly is around our PC&S business, which is our clinical services business. Timing of one of our customers came in earlier into Q3 instead of Q4, that was approximately about $3 million worth. And from a market perspective, listen, we feel good about finishing the year strong based on what we see in the monthly NGS quoting numbers. Still, there's some headwinds from our legacy Sanger business, and we're encouraged by the significant growth in Plasmid-EZ, which partially offsets that. I'm going to hand it over to Lawrence in terms of the outlook in this specifically. Lawrence Lin: Yes, David, good to hear from you. Look, Q3 was certainly an encouraging quarter, and we're really pleased with the execution across the businesses. Revenue grew 9% organically, and our adjusted EBITDA exceeded consensus. As John noted, like specifically, we saw improved customer activity, really strong commercial execution with some of the investments we put in place and increased volumes in both NGS as well as gene synthesis. That being said, look, I think we believe it's important to keep the quarter in perspective. Some of the improvements in NGS really reflected activity that has been delayed early in the year, including certain government projects that John mentioned. While funding visibility has improved modestly, customer engagement remains healthy, research spending levels remain below prior year levels in many areas. And so we're really encouraged by the trends, but I think one quarter doesn't really evidence a broad-based sustained market recovery yet. Look, we're cautiously optimistic about our outlook in the fourth quarter. David Saxon: Okay. That was really helpful. And then, Lawrence, maybe just keeping with you and not asking for fiscal '27 guidance. But just on the EBITDA margin guide for '26 comes down slightly. So maybe help us bridge that versus prior guide? What's more onetime in nature versus dynamics we should think about continuing into fiscal '27? And then UKBC 30 basis points dilution now, is that a good starting point as we think about the dilution for fiscal '27? Lawrence Lin: Yes, David, when we look at our overall adjusted EBITDA guide, as we look at Q4 in the range of about $20 million to $23 million of adjusted EBITDA, there's -- there's a couple of drivers to that. The positive is we're seeing mix benefit from SMS, particularly in C&I and SRS. Positively, we're seeing this better fixed cost absorption in Multiomics. And as we mentioned earlier, we are also looking at cost optimization in both stores and Sanger. Some of these items will be offset in the quarter on -- because of the better Multiomics performance on the top line, we will have to top up more bonus than expected. As you call last quarter, some of this EBITDA step-up in the third to fourth quarter, relying on bonus. Additionally, we're looking at accelerating some of our commercial investment in digital and incremental go-to-market investments. And that's kind of where you see us adjust our overall EBITDA. As you think -- as we think about -- and we'll guide '27 next quarter. But as I look at the overall EBITDA number, for the year, let's use the low end of 59% as the example here. When I look at this, I would say what doesn't reoccur? $5 million of quality issues. As we've talked about, we went through that process this year. I would say about strategic investments is about $5 million and some onetime items such as E&O and mix. So that gives you a better, let's call it, resting heart rate around the mid-70s as a jump-off point. And then your third point around... David Saxon: Yes, sorry, go ahead. Lawrence Lin: And your third point around UKBC, certainly, we mentioned the 30 basis points of dilutive, but next year will come in as far as increasing scale and be accretive. Operator: The next question comes from Matt Stanton from Jefferies. Matthew Stanton: Maybe just on the 4Q guide being left unchanged. I mean I think the rationale there makes sense given the tough comp in Multiomics and a still choppy demand backdrop. But maybe just talk about what you're seeing in order trends, customer activity levels. I think, John, you mentioned NGS looks pretty good. What about the rest of Multiomics and some of the shorter cycle order book in C&I? How are you feeling about kind of orders, bookings into 4Q as we think about exiting this year and into next year? And then maybe any color just around the longer cycle order book, too. It sounds like things are maybe firming up there a little bit as we think about next year, but would love a little bit more between both the shorter cycle and longer cycle order book and demand trends here. John P. Marotta: Sure, Matt. Thanks for the question. So from an end market perspective, what we're seeing on the short sales cycle side of the business, so Multiomics specifically, a lot of positivity in our businesses in China and Europe on all of our product lines. We're seeing double-digit growth in gene synthesis, specifically in China and Europe, a lot of good momentum there. A lot of good momentum on the NGS side of the house in those regions as well. Where we're seeing a bit of lumpiness from an end market perspective, we talked about it on the PC&S business and preclinical -- in the clinical side of the business, a little lumpiness in terms of where these bigger projects are landing in the quarters right now, and that's really driven by where the end markets are lining up, specifically in North America. Okay. When we go over to our C&I business, as you know, SRS and C&I, about 70% to 80% of that business is recurring revenue. So the SRS side of the house, nice growth, good long-term visibility and sequential improvement in the business right now, we're seeing a lot of momentum there. C&I, very similar, especially because of the recurring revenue nature of the business, specifically on consumables. Now where it's a mixed story is around instruments and C&I right now, and that's regional dependent. Same similar headwinds around lumpiness on instrumentation and CapEx, okay? Now let's move over to really the headwind side of the business, and that is Sanger. We've talked about our issues there in Multiomics and then in stores and cryo, which is a very similar story to what we've been dealing with throughout this year, and that's a healthy funnel, a healthy pipeline, but converting that right now has been challenging based on the end markets. And so we're seeing challenges in our stores business because of the lumpiness on the end markets. We're seeing a bit of more CapEx relief in Europe and less so in North America right now. So again, it's a mixed bag. Middle East, we saw a little bit of release on that side and stability on that side, again, supporting stores in cryo. So in general, that's the way I would look at it, it's really a mixed bag right now, and it's regionally specific. I hope that helps, Matt. Matthew Stanton: That's great. And maybe just sticking with the point on regions within Multiomics, Europe, China have been strong here for a number of quarters. Just talk about kind of durability of that strength as we look into next year, you'll start to have a bit of tougher comps. And then any flavor in terms of Europe and China, what's driving that? Is it biotech pharma? Are you seeing better academic government trends there relative to U.S.? Would just love some color on the durability and kind of what's underpinning the demand in those regions for Multiomics. John P. Marotta: Yes. So a lot of durability there. We feel pretty good about -- we're on the launching pad with China and Europe, specifically in Multiomics. Those regions are performing well. We're continuing to see productivity gains on our commercial investments. So we feel pretty positive going into next year there. Of course, a lot of the issues we're dealing with in North America is specifically in Sanger, a lot of the headwinds. Those -- we are in the early stages of optimizing that cost structure and then continued headwinds in some gene synthesis in North America. But on balance, Europe and China, we feel pretty strongly about right now consistent with what we've shared in the past, biorepository and C&I continue to build momentum quarter-on-quarter here sequentially improving. We were focused on those businesses last year in investments, making sure that we had the cost structure in line with our go-forward strategy. So a lot of that work has been done, and the team is accelerating performance there as well. Operator: Your next question comes from Mac Etoch from Stephens. Steven Etoch: Maybe just double tapping on the equipment side. It's really nice to see the pickup in overall interest, and it sounds like some potential conversion to orders in the near future or maybe 2027. But in your view, what remains the key gating factor to client interest actually converting to more durable orders in the near term? John P. Marotta: There's a healthy tension between the onshoring bioprocessing and some of the CapEx investments that are made in these larger equipment items such as ours. I think that's going to continue right now with some of the reshoring trends. What we're doing in terms of controlling what we can control, we're evaluating options to optimize our cost structure and really improve profitability in our automated stores and cryo systems, Mac. In parallel, we're strategically repositioned in the stores portfolio by simplifying and standardizing a lot of the offerings. We're really focusing our investments on the highest value opportunities to scale this business and position it for long-term profitable growth. So we're making progress on the operational actions really supporting the turnaround here. The work we started last year in SMS provides some real traction here. And so you're seeing some of that -- the performance in biorepositories and C&I, but that's where we restructured the business last year. But on balance, that's how I would look at CapEx in these -- in our BioStores business right now. Steven Etoch: I appreciate that. And then maybe just following up on that point. Is there maybe an element of a refresh cycle like existing pieces of equipment in the field that need to be updated? And if so, what percentage of the interest that you're currently seeing might be related to that? John P. Marotta: So refresh in this business is anywhere from -- it depends -- we've got 300 and some stores out there. Usually, your refresh cycles are depending on the stores is around 10 to 20 years. So it typically lands in the 15-year mark. There are some of those coming online right now, but it's more around capacity expansion in certain applications. What are the certain applications, compounds, so small molecule, some of the legacy stuff out there, optimizing that, optimizing the storage around that, specifically in therapeutics. So we're seeing APIs, manufactured product and some of the therapeutics coming in as a use case for our BioStores. And then lastly, continuing on the sample management side, supporting R&D. Those applications are coming online, and those are new investments specifically. And really the key driver there, Mac, is these organizations need productivity gains and a BioStore is really an area that they can gain substantially on the gross margin line, but specifically on the throughput side for R&D. But as the other use cases I mentioned, throughput is important in those as well. So I hope that helps. Operator: The next question comes from Paul Knight from KeyBanc. Paul Knight: On the stores business where I think you mentioned it was going modular. It's probably hard to explain the engineering quickly, but is this kind of a step-up in terms of simplicity and lower risk for what even pre your tenure has been kind of an unpredictable performing product line? John P. Marotta: Yes. Here's the way I would think about it, Paul. So the way I would think about it is everything has been an N of 1 right now of the last 3 years of installs. There's -- most all of that's been an N of 1. So what are we doing to convert? Like what do customers care most about right now? Customers care most about density of storage, throughput footprint. And lastly, what labware can they use. And so overlay that with the temperature elements, there's really 5 key components that they care about. And we're overlapping that so they can configure the store, meaning what do they need in those 5 elements, okay? And it's more of a configurable instead of this customization. That will get us out of this loop from a quality perspective and more importantly, standardizing what the customers care mostly about. I think the teams have done a good job of getting visibility around that. And more importantly, they're really focusing on those 5 key elements going forward in terms of how we bring this product to market going forward. The second piece of this is around the smaller stores and the kiosks that we're developing as well. This is the part of the market that we really haven't been playing in. Customers have been pretty clear with us that we need to come up with a solution. We're doing that to link our larger stores to the smaller stores in that workflow. We've looked at it from a workflow perspective and speccing into that. I think we're pretty excited about what the future of that looks like as well. But listen, we're lapping some of our quality issues. And part of that means what are we doing going forward? And we've talked about this before around simplifying that portfolio, like I just shared with you. But lastly, structurally, in R&D. So what does that look like? So we've got an NPI team now. We've got a sustaining engineering team, and we also have a POC team. So we've got 3 different teams now that wake up every day to work on different problems and solution sets in this business from an R&D perspective. So there's clarity there as well. So I hope that helps, Paul. Paul Knight: It does. And then we hear in the market competitive noise around other oligo players. What do you think your great advantage is on the oligo synthesis side of the business, particularly now that Trey is on board? John P. Marotta: Yes. I mean, first off, having a clear expert in the industry driving that business is an advantage. I mean, Trey spent his whole career in that market, and we're pretty fortunate to have him. So on the talent side, we feel very positive about that. Let's talk about on the portfolio side of things. So in terms of oligos and where we drive competitive advantage, it's really in our European business and China business around turnaround time and the quality of those specifically. We've been doing this for a very, very long time, as you know, Paul. and our customers rely on us in terms of our ability to have a high-quality product, very reliable and a quick turnaround time. You can see that in the numbers. You can see that in the numbers specifically with Multiomics growth double digit in Europe, which is around 26%. China is at 23%. These are big numbers for those regions. And I think that competitive advantage that I just shared with you kind of reads through on the numbers. Operator: Your next question comes from Brendan Smith from TD Cowen. Brendan Smith: Congrats on all the progress. I actually wanted to follow up a bit on your commentary actually on BD. I'm just wondering maybe, first, where that falls kind of in your capital allocation priorities, kind of just among the other pieces of the framework that you mentioned? And then second, what kind of BD you're considering there? And if that's something we should expect more of in FY '27? And maybe just as a follow-up, I just wanted to check in on kind of the longer-term goals here whether you're kind of still aiming for the same metrics in top line growth by 2029 or if any of those are kind of just under review? John P. Marotta: Brendan, thanks for your comments and your thoughtful question. So let me take these one by one, okay, in terms of capital allocation. Listen, we're continuing to evaluate strategic M&A opportunities. We've got a healthy funnel of potential opportunities. That said, the current environment remains pretty challenging. With valuation expectations and seller willingness to transact, it's not always aligning with what we believe where we can create value. So we're going to remain disciplined on our approach, and we will not pursue transactions simply to deploy capital. Our balance sheet really -- the strength of our balance sheet allows us to do both, pursue M&A that makes sense and to repurchase our shares. We're focusing on using all 4 of the levers that I've talked about to create shareholder value. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately $50 million of our shares, and we view buyback -- the buyback program is an important tool with broader capital allocation framework that we've discussed in prior calls. Listen, we're going to continue to evaluate opportunities to deploy capital through repurchases while maintaining flexibility to invest in the business and pursue strategic M&A where the right opportunities arise. Ultimately, our approach remains focused on deploying capital where we believe we can generate the best long-term returns for shareholders, right? So that's how I think about capital allocation. Let's go to your questions around kind of how we're looking at some of the turnaround initiatives, operational actions. And then I'm going to -- I'll follow up on the LRP question as well. So we're evaluating -- we talked about how we're evaluating our options to optimize the cost structure and profitability in our automated stores and cryo systems. That is moving in parallel right now in terms of how we're repositioning the stores portfolio. And what I talked about a bit with Paul's question, we're going to continue to make progress there and take specific cost actions around stores and cryo. We did this in C&I and biorepositories last year, and so stores and cryo on deck right now. We've also talked about being in the early stages of Multiomics. That work has started. We continue to evaluate the structure of Sanger to optimize and consolidate that footprint rationalization to improve performance and address profitability. These evaluations are ongoing. I mean Trey has done a really good job of getting in here and looking at this, and we're focused on improving that network efficiency, so footprint utilization, workflow simplification and aligning capacity around the current market conditions. More to come on this in the near term, Brendan. As a reminder, we executed a small restructuring in March for about $3 million of annualized savings in Multiomics. And lastly, what I would say is more color on the margins in 2027. The flow-throughs and the margins from higher revenue performance will be more meaningful compared to '26 with all of these actions that I just shared with you. All right? So that's the operational and turnaround question. And you brought up LRP. So we're really not providing any formal '27 guidance at this time. Our focus remains on executing our priorities that we outlined at Investor Day. Across the businesses, there's been -- there's been -- we're continuing to build our strength in terms of the recurring revenue businesses, which we've talked about on today's call. 70% to 80% of that comes from C&I, biorepositories. Those investments will continue in the business. Specifically our AI investments in biorepository, we're pretty excited about some of the productivity gains we're seeing there. These are foundational in terms of the LRP. At the same time, we've talked about stabilizing Multiomics and driving performance in that, especially around the headwinds in Sanger sequencing. Our confidence in the long-term plan is really grounded around this high-growth and high-profit businesses around biorepositories and C&I. Operator: Your next question comes from Vijay Kumar from Evercore Partners. Vijay Kumar: Congrats on a nice win here. I have 2 questions. Maybe I'll ask both of them upfront. When I look at this Q4 guidance, right, down low singles, that's your exit rate. But on the other hand, you do have end markets improving. Most of your tools peers have sounded constructive, positive. Numbers have come in better. And when I look at Street's modeling close to 4% organic for next year, just in the context of low single-digit exit rate. Are you comfortable with how the Street is thinking about fiscal '27 given end markets are improving? Or any color on what could be the puts and takes for fiscal '27 would be helpful. John P. Marotta: Lawrence will get into numbers in terms of kind of breaking down Q4 for us. Just from an end market perspective, with our big capital equipment side of the business, Vijay, it's still -- we've talked about it today. It's still a mixed bag with stores and cryo specifically. I mean we're seeing a lot of sequential improvement in biorepository and C&I, good momentum there. Investments are taking hold. We're seeing productivity gains in our Multiomics business specifically. But we're not going to comment on '27 and kind of how we're viewing that right now in our seat. But I think in general, for us, especially with our portfolio around stores and cryo, it's a mixed bag. And again, it's regional in nature. If you look at Multiomics, if you look at China and Europe, accelerating nicely, but same thing in North America, it's a mixed bag. Do you want to break down? Lawrence Lin: Yes. Vijay, look, I'll walk kind of sequentially between -- from Q3, Q4. Remember, when you look at kind of our overall guide, we did raise midrange of our guide. So let's kind of talk about -- here's how I would look at the sequential view from Q3, Q4 about -- of the low end $158 on the top line, right? So let's start with Multiomics. You'll see overall sequential growth will be flat to slightly down really due to the timing that John talked about around this Multiomics preclinical order of $3 million that shifted from the fourth quarter to third quarter. Remember, for Multiomics, even though the fourth quarter is slightly down year-over-year, it's coming off the basis of the highest revenue in history of the business last year. So then when you look at SMS, particularly SRS and C&I, we continue to see the momentum in the second half year. Stores -- SRS and C&I continue to accelerate sequentially, which has been some of the efforts that John has talked about and what has been going on in the business. Now on the flip side, stores and cryo on the low end, as we've discussed in the past, is really projected not to have any new deals close. So what would get us to kind of $163 million at the higher end of the guide would be additional opportunities in Multiomics North America as our sales reps done really well in the third quarter and continue to ramp in the fourth quarter. And then within stores and cryo, we see -- we've talked about a solid funnel there. And if we see a couple of deals close, that could move our number to the upper end. Vijay Kumar: That's helpful, Larry. If I may, one more on margins. I know like the last Analyst Day margin targets, that's not relevant just given how much the macro has changed. But just in terms of margin cadence, right, I think your prior LRP assumed almost a 300 basis points annual expansion. Is that slope still relevant, that 300 basis points annual? I know the absolute numbers have changed. But in terms of pacing the trajectory, is that still intact? Lawrence Lin: Yes. I think what we'll see -- certainly, the margins will continue to accrete every year, and it will ramp at the back end of '28 and '29, right? And so certainly feel confident about the opportunities that are within our control on margin expansion. Vijay Kumar: And the 300 basis points annual, Larry, is that still intact? Or should this be more... Lawrence Lin: Yes, we'll certainly hit the full year -- full LRP basis and get to 18% to 20% that we've talked about. Operator: As there are no further questions, I'll turn the call back over to John. John P. Marotta: Very good. Thank you, operator. Our third quarter results exceeded our expectations, supported by continued strength of our recurring revenue businesses, biorepositories and C&I, which we have consistently performed well. We also saw modest improvement in Multiomics North America. However, the broader end market remains uneven, and we continue to approach the environment with appropriate caution. We are encouraged by the progress we are making, but we have recognized that sustained performance will require consistent execution over multiple quarters. We remain focused on the actions within our control and on advancing our strategic priorities to drive long-term profitable growth and shareholder value creation. Finally, I'd like to thank our employees for their dedication to our customers, I also want to thank our customers for their continued trust and partnership and our shareholders for their ongoing support. We remain committed to delivering consistent execution and building a stronger Azenta for the future. Thank you very much. Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Azenta, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Azenta wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $411,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,335,252!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 965% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Azenta (AZTA) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Total Revenue: $161 million, up 12% as reported and 9% organically year-over-year. Sample Management Solutions Revenue: $88 million, up 14% reported and 9% organically. Multiomics Revenue: $73 million, up 10% reported and 8% organically. Gross Margin: 46.2%, down 140 basis points year-over-year. Sample Management Gross Margin: 45.9%, down 750 basis points year-over-year. Multiomics Gross Margin: 46.5%, up approximately 550 basis points year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA Margin: Approximately 11.4%, down 60 basis points year-over-year but up 610 basis points sequentially. Non-GAAP EPS: $0.16. Free Cash Flow: Negative $5 million, down sequentially. Cash and Marketable Securities: $529 million at quarter end. Capital Expenditures: Approximately $7 million in the quarter. Share Repurchases: Approximately 2.3 million shares repurchased for $50 million. Full-Year Revenue Outlook: Expected in the range of $613 million to $618 million. Full-Year Organic Revenue Outlook: Approximately flat to up 1% year-over-year. Full-Year Adjusted EBITDA Outlook: Expected in the range of $59 million to $62 million. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with AZTA. Is AZTA fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Organic revenue grew 9% year-over-year, exceeding expectations, driven by strong performance in biorepositories and C&I. Multi-omics delivered year-over-year growth, with strong performance in China and Europe and modest improvement in North America. Completed the divestiture of B Medical Systems, simplifying the portfolio and sharpening focus on core life sciences businesses. Repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares for $50 million, reflecting confidence in long-term value. Completed remediation work on three remaining automated store systems, with most related spending now behind. Gross margin in multi-omics improved approximately 550 basis points year-over-year, driven by higher volumes and improved operating leverage. Adjusted EBITDA margin declined 60 basis points year-over-year, impacted by investments, lower volumes, and quality remediation costs. Automated stores and cryogenic systems continue to face softness due to macro-driven budget constraints and uneven capital deployment. Sanger sequencing continues to face structural market and technology transitions, pressuring margins and volumes. Q4 organic revenue expected to decline low single-digits due to tough comparison against record Q4 2025 performance. Free cash flow was negative $5 million in the quarter, impacted by working capital usage and lower deferred revenue. Gross margin in sample management solutions declined 750 basis points year-over-year, driven by lower volumes and quality remediation costs. Q: Can you discuss the drivers of the improved multi-omics performance in North America, and what is your confidence level in the sustainability of this improvement? A: John Marotta (CEO) attributed the improvement to a catch-up of delayed projects, including NIH-funded work, and the increasing productivity of newly hired sales representatives. He also noted the appointment of a new VP of Sales for Multi-omics in North America and the timing of a ~$3 million clinical services order that shifted from Q4 into Q3. While encouraged by monthly NGS quoting numbers, he cautioned that headwinds remain in the legacy Sanger business. Lawrence Lin (CFO) added that while the quarter was encouraging, the improvement reflected delayed activity and does not yet evidence a broad-based sustained market recovery. Q: Can you help bridge the change in the full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance, and is the 30 basis points dilution from UK BioCenter a good starting point for fiscal 2027? A: Lawrence Lin (CFO) explained that the Q4 EBITDA guide of $20 million to $23 million reflects positive mix benefits and better fixed cost absorption, offset by higher bonus accruals due to strong performance and accelerated commercial investments. He noted that using the low end of the full-year guide ($59 million), non-recurring items include $5 million in quality remediation costs and ~$5 million in strategic investments, suggesting a "resting heart rate" around the mid-$70s as a jump-off point for next year. He confirmed that UK BioCenter will become accretive in fiscal 2027 as it scales. Q: What are you seeing in order trends and customer activity levels for both short-cycle and long-cycle order books as you exit the year? A: John Marotta (CEO) provided a detailed regional breakdown. He cited strong momentum in China and Europe across multi-omics, with double-digit growth in gene synthesis. In North America, the C&I business is seeing strength in recurring revenue, but instrumentation remains lumpy. The main headwinds are in Sanger sequencing and the automated stores/cryo business, where the funnel is healthy but conversion is challenging due to macro-driven budget constraints. He noted more CapEx release in Europe and the Middle East, but less in North America. Q: What is the durability of the strength in Europe and China for multi-omics, and what is underpinning the demand in those regions? A: John Marotta (CEO) expressed confidence in the durability of growth in Europe and China, stating the company is on a "launching pad" in those regions. He cited continued productivity gains from commercial investments. He contrasted this with North America, where the company is dealing with Sanger headwinds and is in the early stages of optimizing that cost structure. He reiterated that biorepository and C&I businesses continue to build momentum sequentially. Q: What remains the key gating factor for client interest in automated stores converting to durable orders? A: John Marotta (CEO) cited a "healthy tension" between onshoring bioprocessing trends and CapEx investments in large equipment. He stated the company is evaluating options to optimize its cost structure and improve profitability in automated stores and cryo systems. In parallel, they are strategically repositioning the stores portfolio by simplifying and standardizing offerings to focus on high-value opportunities. He noted that the operational actions taken last year in SMS are providing traction, as seen in the performance of biorepositories and C&I. Q: Is there an element of a refresh cycle for existing equipment in the field, and what percentage of current interest might be related to that? A: John Marotta (CEO) explained that refresh cycles for the company's 300+ installed stores typically occur around the 15-year mark. While some refresh opportunities are coming online, the current interest is more driven by capacity expansion in specific applications like compounds, small molecules, and therapeutics. He highlighted that organizations need productivity gains, and biostores offer substantial improvements in throughput and gross margin, which is a key driver for new investments. Q: Can you explain the strategic move to modular stores and how it reduces engineering complexity and risk? A: John Marotta (CEO) explained that historically, most installs have been "one of one" customizations. The move to modular stores focuses on the five key components customers care about most: density of storage, throughput, footprint, lab work, and temperature elements. This allows for a configurable approach rather than customization, which should improve quality and standardize the offering. He also mentioned the development of smaller kiosks to link workflows with larger stores, a market segment they haven't previously played in. Structurally, they have reorganized R&D into three teams (MPI, sustaining engineering, and POC) to provide clarity and focus. Q: What is your competitive advantage in the oligo synthesis business, especially with the new commercial leader on board? A: John Marotta (CEO) stated that having a clear industry expert like Trey leading the business is a significant advantage. On the portfolio side, the competitive advantage lies in turnaround time and quality, particularly in the European and Chinese businesses. He cited double-digit growth in Europe (26%) and China (23%) as evidence of this competitive strength, noting customers rely on their high-quality, reliable product with quick turnaround times. Q: Where does M&A fall in your capital allocation priorities, and are you still aiming for the same long-term growth metrics by 2029? A: John Marotta (CEO) stated that M&A remains a priority, but the current environment is challenging with valuation expectations not aligning with their value-creation criteria. He emphasized a disciplined approach and noted the strength of the balance sheet allows them to both pursue M&A and repurchase shares, as demonstrated by the $50 million buyback in the quarter. Regarding the long-range plan (LRP), he said they are not providing formal fiscal 2027 guidance but remain focused on executing the priorities outlined at Investor Day, with confidence grounded in the high-growth, high-profit biorepository and C&I businesses. Q: Given the low single-digit decline in Q4 guidance, are you comfortable with Street estimates of ~4% organic growth for fiscal 2027? A: John Marotta (CEO) declined to comment on fiscal 2027 guidance but reiterated that the capital equipment environment remains a "mixed bag" and is regional in nature. Lawrence Lin (CFO) provided a sequential bridge from Q3 to Q4, explaining that multi-omics will be flat For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Interested in Azenta, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Azenta exceeded its third-quarter fiscal 2026 outlook, reporting $161 million in revenue, up 12% year over year and 9% organically. Recurring-revenue businesses and improved Multiomics performance offset weakness in capital equipment, while adjusted EBITDA margin rose sharply sequentially to 11.4%. Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics both delivered organic growth, but management cautioned that North American Multiomics improvement may reflect delayed project activity rather than a broad recovery. Europe and China remained stronger, while Automated Stores continued to face budget constraints and quality-related costs. Azenta raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $613 million–$618 million and expects adjusted EBITDA of $59 million–$62 million. The company also repurchased $50 million of shares during the quarter and continues initiatives to standardize Automated Stores, reduce costs and improve scalability. 5 medical stocks growing earnings by triple digits Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue that exceeded its outlook, as growth in recurring-revenue businesses and improved Multiomics performance helped offset continued unevenness in capital equipment markets. Total revenue was $161 million, up 12% on a reported basis and 9% organically from the prior-year period. Both operating segments posted organic growth: Sample Management Solutions revenue rose 9% organically, while Multiomics increased 8% organically. → SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control Adjusted EBITDA margin was approximately 11.4%, down 60 basis points year over year but up 610 basis points sequentially. Non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.16. The company ended the quarter with $529 million in cash equivalents and marketable securities and no debt outstanding. President and CEO John Marotta said the company’s biorepository and consumables and instruments, or C&I, businesses were important contributors to the quarter’s performance. More than half of Azenta’s revenue is now recurring in nature, he said. → 3 Drone Stocks That Should Soar After the Summer Slump Sample Management Solutions generated $88 million of quarterly revenue, rising 14% as reported and 9% organically. Growth in biorepositories and C&I was partly offset by expected weakness in Automated Stores, where bookings have been affected by macro-driven budget constraints. Marotta said Azenta completed its first customer deployment of an AI-enabled biorepository inventory solution featuring advanced imaging and data-management capabilities. The initial deployment improved inventory-capture productivity compared with the prior manual process, he said. Over time, the company expects the solution to double productivity and support more scalable repository workflows. → The Bitcoin Comeback May Already Be Underway—2 ETFs for Exposure Automated Stores remained below prior-year levels, though Azenta added new opportunities to its backlog during the quarter. The company completed remediation work on three remaining systems previously affected by quality issues, with those systems now undergoing final testing and customer validation. Chief Financial Officer Lawrence Lin said the company incurred about $1 million of quality-related remediation costs in the quarter and continues to expect a total fiscal 2026 impact of $5 million to $6 million. Multiomics revenue was $73 million, up 10% as reported and 8% organically. The segment benefited from continued strength in Europe and China, along with improved activity in North America. Multiomics gross margin increased about 550 basis points year over year to 46.5%, helped by higher Next Generation Sequencing and Gene Synthesis volumes, operating leverage and cost actions. Marotta said North American NGS activity benefited partly from catch-up work on projects delayed earlier in the fiscal year, including certain National Institutes of Health-funded projects. He also cited commercial investments, the appointment of a new North American regional leader, and roughly $3 million in clinical-services customer work that arrived in the third quarter rather than the fourth quarter. Management cautioned that the improvement does not yet demonstrate a broad-based recovery. Research spending remains below prior-year levels in many areas, and the Sanger Sequencing business continues to face longer-term market and technology transitions. In contrast, management described Europe and China as areas of continued momentum. Marotta said Multiomics growth was approximately 26% in Europe and 23% in China, supported by turnaround time and product quality in the company’s oligonucleotide-related offerings. Azenta is continuing structural and commercial actions intended to improve profitability and scalability, including footprint rationalization, organizational changes and a greater focus on high-value workflows in Multiomics. For its Automated Stores business, the company is moving toward modular, configurable systems rather than highly customized installations. Marotta said customers primarily prioritize storage density, throughput, footprint, labware compatibility and temperature requirements. Greater standardization is intended to reduce engineering complexity, improve quality and lower execution risk. The company is also evaluating cost-structure changes in Automated Stores, cryogenic systems and Sanger Sequencing. Lin said that, using the low end of the company’s fiscal-year adjusted EBITDA outlook as an example, approximately $5 million of quality costs and about $5 million of strategic investments would not recur, alongside certain one-time inventory, mix and other items. He said U.K. Biocentre, which is expected to dilute fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin by about 30 basis points, is expected to become accretive as it scales next year. Following the stronger-than-expected quarter, Azenta raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook. The company now expects reported revenue of $613 million to $618 million, including the contribution from U.K. Biocentre. It expects organic revenue to be approximately flat to up 1% year over year, improving from its earlier outlook of a 2% decline to 1% growth. Sample Management Solutions is still expected to post low-double-digit growth for the full year. Multiomics is now expected to range from a 1% decline to flat, compared with prior guidance for a mid-single-digit decline. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $59 million to $62 million for fiscal 2026. Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $20 million to $23 million. Fourth-quarter organic revenue is expected to decline by low single digits, reflecting a difficult comparison with the prior year, particularly in Multiomics. Azenta completed the sale of B Medical Systems on July 1 for approximately $63 million, consisting of $28 million in cash proceeds and a $35 million secured vendor loan. During the quarter, the company also repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares for $50 million. About $200 million remains authorized under its repurchase program through December 2028. Marotta said Azenta will provide its fiscal 2027 outlook after reporting fiscal 2026 year-end results in November. He said the company remains focused on scaling biorepositories, advancing Gene Synthesis and Multiomics workflows, and driving innovation in automated solutions. Azenta, Inc (NASDAQ: AZTA) is a life sciences technology company specializing in sample management, cryogenic storage and genomic services for research and clinical applications. Formerly the Life Sciences division of Brooks Automation, Azenta provides integrated solutions that enable customers to store, track and analyze biological samples with high levels of automation, data integrity and efficiency. Its offerings span automated storage systems, biorepository management software and end‐to‐end sample tracking workflows. In addition to hardware and informatics platforms for sample storage, Azenta's Genomics business delivers next‐generation sequencing (NGS), DNA synthesis, and molecular biology services. 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Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Organic revenue grew 9% year-over-year, driven by strong performance in recurring revenue businesses like biorepositories and C&I, which now represent over half of total revenue. Multiomics delivered year-over-year growth supported by strength in Europe and China, alongside modest sequential improvement in North America following targeted commercial investments. Management is implementing a Multiomics transformation involving footprint rationalization, organizational changes, and a shift toward high-value workflows to improve long-term scalability. Automated stores performance remained below prior year levels due to macro-driven budget constraints and slower capital equipment bookings. Quality remediation for specific automated systems is nearing completion, with management shifting toward modular, standardized designs to reduce engineering complexity and execution risk. The divestiture of B Medical Systems was completed on July 1, 2026, simplifying the portfolio to focus on core Life Sciences businesses. A new AI-enabled biorepository inventory solution was deployed, improving inventory capture productivity and creating actionable digital data for customers. Full-year organic revenue outlook was raised to approximately flat to up 1%, reflecting Q3 outperformance while maintaining caution regarding uneven market recovery. Q4 organic revenue is expected to decline low single digits due to a challenging year-over-year comparison in Multiomics, which saw record performance in Q4 2025. Management expects the automated stores pipeline to remain variable, with revenue contribution in Q4 likely limited by uncertain project timing. The UK Biocentre integration is expected to be 30 basis points dilutive to FY2026 margins but is projected to become accretive in FY2027 as it scales. Capital allocation priorities remain focused on driving productivity, organic growth, disciplined M&A, and opportunistic share repurchases. Sanger sequencing continues to face structural headwinds and margin pressure due to long-term market and technology transitions. Quality-related remediation costs for automated stores are expected to total between $5 million and $6 million for the full fiscal year 2026. Research funding and biotechnology spending in North America remain below prior-year levels, leading to cautious capital deployment by customers. The company repurchased 2.3 million shares for $50 million during the quarter, signaling confidence in long-term value despite current market volatility. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Growth was driven by a catch-up of delayed projects, including NIH-funded work, and increased productivity from sales reps in their roles for 3-6 months. The appointment of a new Vice President of Sales for North America is expected to further bridge execution gaps in the region. Management identified approximately $5 million in quality issues and $5 million in strategic investments as non-recurring items impacting the FY2026 'resting heart rate'. Q4 margins will be impacted by higher bonus accruals following the Q3 revenue beat and accelerated digital commercial investments. The company is moving away from highly customized 'N of 1' systems toward configurable modular designs to eliminate quality loops and standardize customer needs. New R&D structures have been established with dedicated teams for new product introduction, sustaining engineering, and proof of concept. Management reaffirmed the long-range plan (LRP) target of 18% to 20% adjusted EBITDA margins, noting that expansion will likely accelerate in FY2028 and FY2029. The company expects margin flow-through to be more meaningful in FY2027 as cost optimization actions in stores and Sanger sequencing take effect.

BURLINGTON, Mass., Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended June 30, 2026. Management Comments"Despite an uneven and challenging market backdrop, our third quarter results exceeded our expectations, with continued strength in our recurring revenue businesses, and a modest improvement in Multiomics in North America," said John Marotta, President and Chief Executive Officer. "While these results represent an encouraging step forward, our turnaround continues, and we remain focused on executing against our strategic priorities." Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results - Continuing Operations Revenue was $161 million, up 12% year over year. Organic revenue, which excludes a 1-percentage point impact from foreign exchange and a 3-percentage point impact from the acquisition of UK Biocentre Limited, was up 9% year over year, reflecting higher revenue in Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics. Sample Management Solutions revenue was $88 million, up 14% year over year. Multiomics revenue was $73 million, up 10% year over year. Summary of GAAP Earnings Results - Continuing Operations Operating loss was $4.2 million. Operating margin was (2.6%), down 131 basis points year over year. Total other income included $4 million of net interest income, versus $5 million in the prior year period. Diluted EPS from continuing operations was ($0.03) compared to ($0.01) in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025. Diluted EPS from discontinued operations was $0.09, compared to ($1.04) a year ago. Total diluted EPS was $0.05, compared to ($1.05) a year ago. Summary of Non-GAAP Earnings Results - Continuing Operations Adjusted operating income was $4.7 million. Adjusted operating margin was 2.9%, a decrease of 180 basis points year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was $18.5 million, and Adjusted EBITDA margin was 11.4%, a decrease of 60 basis points year over year. Non-GAAP Diluted EPS was $0.16, compared to $0.17 one year ago. Cash and Liquidity as of June 30, 2026 The Company ended the quarter with a total balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities of $529 million. Operating cash flow was $1 million in the quarter. Capital expenditures were $7 million, and free cash flow (cash flow from operations less capital expenditures) was negative $5 million. Share Repurchase Program Update On December 8, 2025, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to $250 million of our common stock through December 31, 2028, or the 2025 Repurchase Program. Repurchases under the 2025 Repurchase Program may be made in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions (including under an accelerated share repurchase agreement), or by other means, including through the use of trading plans intended to qualify under Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, subject to market and business conditions, legal requirements, and other factors. As of June 30, 2026, the Company repurchased 2.3 million shares of common stock for $50.0 million (excluding fees, commissions, and excise tax) pursuant to the 2025 Repurchase Program. All shares of common stock repurchased under the 2025 Repurchase Program have been retired. Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2026 Guidance - Continuing Operations Total organic revenue, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange and the contribution from the acquisition of UK Biocentre Limited, is expected to decline approximately in the low single digits relative to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 Adjusted EBITDA is expected to range approximately between $20 million and $23 million Full Year Fiscal 2026 Guidance - Continuing Operations The Company now expects total reported revenue from continuing operations to range approximately between $613 to $618 million, compared to prior guidance of $603 to $621 million for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026. Total organic revenue, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange and the contribution from the acquisition of UK Biocentre Limited, is now expected to range approximately between flat to up 1%, compared to prior guidance of down 2% to up 1% relative to fiscal 2025. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $59 million to $62 million, including an anticipated impact of approximately 30 basis points of margin dilution from the UK Biocentre acquisition. Free cash flow (cash flow from operations less capital expenditures) is expected to improve approximately 10% to 15% year-over-year, consistent with prior guidance. Azenta does not provide forward-looking guidance on a GAAP basis for the measures on which it provides forward-looking non-GAAP guidance as the Company is unable to provide a quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measure, without unreasonable effort, because of the inherent difficulty in accurately forecasting the occurrence and financial impact of the various adjusting items necessary for such reconciliations that have not yet occurred, are dependent on various factors, are out of the Company's control, or cannot be reasonably predicted. Such adjustments include, but are not limited to, transformation costs, restructuring charges, costs related to acquisitions and divestitures, governance-related matters, goodwill and intangible impairments, stock-based compensation, and other gains and charges that are not representative of the normal operations of the business. Conference Call and WebcastAzenta management will webcast its third quarter fiscal 2026 earnings conference call on August 5, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. During the call, Company management will respond to questions concerning, but not limited to, the Company's financial performance, business conditions and industry outlook. Management's responses could contain information that has not been previously disclosed. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet and, together with presentation materials and supplemental information referenced on the call, will be hosted at the Investor Relations section of Azenta's website at https://investors.azenta.com/events. The supplemental information is being posted at the time of this earnings release, and the presentation materials will be posted ahead of the earnings call. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the website for convenient on-demand access. Regulation G – Use of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresThis release includes non-GAAP financial measures, including organic revenue, adjusted gross profit and margin, adjusted operating income, expenses and margin, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted EPS and free cash flow. Management believes these measures give investors additional insight into the results of business operations, improve period-to-period comparability and facilitate comparison with peers. Management uses these measures to evaluate business performance and uses organic revenue (referred to as Core Revenue in the Company's proxy statement), Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow in determining compensation under the Company's annual incentive plan. They are not presented in accordance with, and are not a substitute for, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, should always be considered together with the most directly comparable GAAP measures, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. These measures are presented on a continuing operations basis, except free cash flow, which is presented on a total company basis inclusive of B Medical Systems. Non-GAAP diluted EPS does not exclude stock-based compensation; the Company separately presents non-GAAP adjusted net income excluding stock-based compensation. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, and descriptions of the adjustments, are included at the end of this release under "Notes on Non-GAAP Financial Measures." Certain amounts may not sum due to rounding, and all percentages are calculated using unrounded amounts. "Safe Harbor Statement" under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amendedSome statements in this release are forward-looking statements made under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees but involve risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause Azenta's actual financial and business results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. They are based on the facts and assumptions known to management at the time they are made. Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's guidance and outlook for fiscal year 2026, including revenue, organic revenue growth, earnings, Adjusted EBITDA margin and free cash flow expectations; expectations regarding the timing, execution and benefits of operational, commercial and organizational transformation initiatives; anticipated productivity improvements and cost actions; expectations regarding demand trends and end market conditions; statements regarding the Company's long range plan and multi-year financial targets, including the extension of the long range plan timeline to 2029. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements include, but are not limited to: the Company's ability to execute on and realize the expected benefits from its transformation and operational improvement initiatives; changes in customer demand, purchasing behavior or funding conditions in the markets the Company serves; macroeconomic, geopolitical or regulatory developments; the impact of foreign currency fluctuations; the Company's ability to effectively manage costs, improve productivity and achieve anticipated margin improvements; supply chain disruptions; competitive dynamics; the ability of customers to meet payment obligations; risks relating to the collectability and timely repayment of the $35 million secured vendor loan extended to the buyer in connection with the B Medical Systems divestiture, including the buyer's ability to obtain permanent financing, the sufficiency of the collateral securing the loan, and the potential for an associated charge or impairment; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10 K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10 Q and Current Reports on Form 8 K. Because forward looking statements relate to future events and are based on current expectations, they are inherently subject to significant uncertainties, particularly with respect to projections and assumptions extending over multiple years. As a result, actual outcomes may differ materially from those projected. Azenta expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. About Azenta Life Sciences Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) is a leading provider of life sciences solutions worldwide, enabling life science organizations around the world to bring impactful breakthroughs and therapies to market faster. Azenta provides a full suite of reliable cold-chain sample management solutions and multiomics services across areas such as drug development, clinical research and advanced cell therapies for the industry's top pharmaceutical, biotech, academic and healthcare institutions globally. Our global team delivers and supports these products and services through our industry-leading brands, including GENEWIZ, FluidX, Ziath, 4titude, Limfinity, Freezer Pro, and Barkey. Azenta is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, please visit www.azenta.com. AZENTA INVESTOR CONTACTS: Yvonne PerronVice President, Financial Planning & Analysis and Investor [email protected] Maria Isabel CuartasManager Investor [email protected] Notes on Non-GAAP Financial Measures - Continuing OperationsNon-GAAP financial measures are used in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP and should not be relied upon to the exclusion of GAAP financial measures. Management adjusts the GAAP results for the impact of amortization of intangible assets, restructuring charges, purchase price accounting adjustments and charges related to M&A, costs related to the Company's business transformation initiatives and share repurchases to provide investors better perspective on the results of operations which the Company believes is more comparable to the similar analysis provided by its peers. Management also excludes special charges and gains, such as impairment losses, gains and losses from the sale of assets, certain tax benefits and charges, as well as other gains and charges that are not representative of the normal operations of the business. Management strongly encourages investors to review our financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety and not rely on any single measure. Shares used in computing non-GAAP diluted net income per share45,75945,712 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/azenta-reports-third-quarter-results-for-fiscal-2026-ended-june-30-2026-302842967.html

(Bloomberg) -- SpaceX’s first earnings report following its blockbuster initial public offering is one of the most anticipated events of the summer on Wall Street. Whether it’ll give investors a reason to buy the sinking stock is another matter. Most Read from Bloomberg Beer Dynasty Families Sell €731 Million Stake in AB InBev Apple’s New CEO Taps Retired Hardware Executive for Management Team Taco Bell Met With Michigan on Parasite Weeks Before Recall Mamdani Dismisses Business Leaders Advising NYC’s Mayor’s Fund S&P 500 Closes Near Record High on US-Iran Hopes: Markets Wrap Elon Musk’s satellite, space and artificial intelligence company went public at $135 in June, and the shares have been on a roller coaster ride ever since, shooting up to $225 in the first days of trading and then plunging below the offering price. They closed Monday at $114.53, down 15% from the IPO and 49% from their high on June 16, erasing more than $1 trillion in market value from that peak. Earnings will give investors a chance to reassess the stock. The problem is SpaceX isn’t profitable and has a very speculative business at this point, so the results may end up raising more questions than they answer. With the shares still trading at a sky-high valuation despite the selloff, it will be difficult to entice new buyers. “There is so much that’s in the future of the SpaceX story, so much that hasn’t been done yet, or ever, so there’s nothing to make you comfortable,” said Drew Cupps, portfolio manager and head of the 5Perspectives Growth Team investment group at Polen Capital, which owns a small position in the company. “There’s not a lot of here and now. There’s no, look at last year to justify what you should pay now.” To make matters even more challenging for the stock, a flood of fresh SpaceX shares also is about to hit the market, as the first of many lockups that ban early investors from selling expires two days after the earnings report. As many as 911.5 million SpaceX shares worth more than $100 billion will be released on Aug. 6. And that’s just the start as billions of additional shares will be eligible for trading before the end of the year. All of which will weigh on the stock price simply based on the market’s supply and demand function. “It’s a total mess,” said Ken Mahoney, chief executive officer of Mahoney Asset Management. Wall Street expects SpaceX to report a loss of 24 cents per share in the second quarter on $6.8 billion of revenue. The results have been somewhat of a moving target, however, because so little information about the business is available. Analysts have widened their estimates for the company’s loss by 18% in the past month. “I have very little confidence in those estimates,” said Jim Lebenthal, chief market strategist at Cerity Partners. “I don’t mean this obnoxiously, but I think they’re mostly licking their fingers and sticking it in the wind.” What investors and analysts will primarily be looking for is management’s comments on the company’s progress with AI, Starlink and its rocket launch business. “We don’t have concrete earnings power that would be analogous to other parts of the market, but we do have a visionary set of massively capable assets that are in some cases unrivaled over all others,” said Polen Capital’s Cupps. SpaceX’s results come on the heels of a strong run of earnings reports from big AI spenders, including Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. Investors are particularly rewarding companies that are showing clear payoffs from their capital expenditures. For example, shares of Amazon and Microsoft surged following the companies’ results. With a market capitalization of roughly $1.5 trillion, SpaceX rivals the size of many megacap tech firms and is bigger than Musk’s other company, Tesla Inc. But its financials aren’t close, at least not yet, meaning investors may apply additional scrutiny to its spending plans. Analysts expect the company to report capital expenditures of $18.5 billion in the quarter and $45.5 billion for 2026. The primary issue facing SpaceX shares is their extreme market valuation. The stock trades at about 448 times earnings estimated over the next 12 months, the highest multiple of any member of the Nasdaq 100 Index, and 26 times estimated sales, which is among the 10 highest ratios in the technology-heavy benchmark. 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Azenta’s first quarter was marked by operational challenges and a more cautious demand environment, which contributed to results well below market expectations. CEO John Marotta acknowledged, “We are not satisfied with our second quarter results,” citing both internal execution gaps and continued customer spending constraints, especially in North America. Management attributed the revenue shortfall largely to softer demand across Multiomics, competitive pressures, and delays in capital equipment orders, with recurring revenue streams providing some stability. The company is now prioritizing operational discipline and organizational changes to address these issues. Is now the time to buy AZTA? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $144.8 million vs analyst estimates of $148.6 million (1% year-on-year growth, 2.5% miss) Adjusted EPS: -$0.04 vs analyst estimates of $0.14 (significant miss) Adjusted EBITDA: $7.78 million vs analyst estimates of $16.65 million (5.4% margin, 53.3% miss) Operating Margin: -114%, down from -12.7% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $808 million While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. David Saxon (Needham): Asked for detail on order cadence and conversion delays. CFO Lawrence Lin explained that major orders in automated storage and cryogenic systems were pushed out due to customer funding and site readiness, but the business was not lost, and biorepository growth remained strong. Matthew Stanton (Jefferies): Questioned the rationale for revising the long-range plan’s timing without lowering the financial targets. CEO John Marotta responded that while growth investments are being sustained, the delay reflects operational challenges in Multiomics, not a lack of conviction in the company’s strategic plan. Vijay Kumar (Evercore): Pressed management on whether weak North America results were market-driven or company-specific. Marotta attributed 60-70% of the Multiomics underperformance to Azenta’s own execution issues, particularly in the Sanger and GENEWIZ businesses, with the remainder due to broader market factors. Steven Etoch (Stephens): Sought clarification on the structural versus temporary nature of margin pressures in Multiomics. Lin indicated that overcapacity, especially in North American labs, is being addressed through restructuring and cost actions, with expected annualized savings from these efforts. Paul Knight (KeyBanc): Asked about quality improvements and the move to modular automated store systems. Marotta detailed the restructuring of engineering into specialized teams and a shift toward more modular, standardized products to improve reliability and reduce service issues. Looking ahead, the StockStory team will watch (1) whether the Multiomics transformation yields measurable improvements in North America volumes and margins, (2) the pace at which delayed capital equipment orders convert to revenue, and (3) continued momentum in recurring revenue businesses such as biorepositories and consumables. Developments in the integration of UK Biocentre and resolution of the B Medical transaction will also be critical signposts. Azenta currently trades at $17.78, down from $24.61 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? The answer lies in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies. Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662%. AppLovin before it ran 753%. Nvidia before it ran 1,178%. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Management attributed the Q2 performance shortfall to a combination of execution-related gaps within their control and a prolonged, cautious demand environment in North America. Multiomics performance was hampered by softer demand in North America and increased competitive intensity, particularly in gene synthesis, which led to lower volumes and reduced fixed cost absorption. Sample Management Solutions saw a pronounced step-down in capital-related demand for automated and cryogenic store systems as customers remained selective with capital deployment. The company is undergoing a structural overhaul of the Multiomics platform, including a review of its 14-lab footprint to optimize the hub-and-spoke model and rightsize the cost structure. Operational improvements via the Azenta Business System (ABS) have significantly increased on-time delivery in consumables and instruments from approximately 15% to 70%. The acquisition of UK Biocentre Limited is intended to establish a European-wide operational hub, strengthening the company's leadership in sample-based and biorepository solutions. Management acknowledged that while Europe and Asia Pacific volumes remained strong, the North American commercial engine required a 'human capital reboot' following leadership turnover. The fiscal 2026 organic revenue outlook was revised to a range of down 2% to up 1%, reflecting a cautious approach to pipeline conversion and constrained capital deployment. The 2028 Long-Range Plan (LRP) targets have been pushed out by one year to 2029 to account for the current year's guidance reset while maintaining the same financial objectives. Adjusted EBITDA margins are expected to improve sequentially, moving into the low double-digit range in Q3 and stepping up more meaningfully in Q4 due to cost actions and seasonality. Management expects to complete remediation of the three remaining automated store quality issues by the end of the third quarter. The company remains committed to approximately $20 million in growth investments, prioritizing R&D and go-to-market capabilities over immediate margin expansion. A non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $149 million was recorded, driven by a sustained stock price decline and a lowered near-term outlook. The B Medical Systems divestiture remains in discontinued operations as the counterparty failed to secure financing by the expected March 31 closing date. Automated storage rework costs impacted the quarter by approximately $2 million, with additional costs expected to persist into the third quarter. Sanger sequencing is facing technology disintermediation, declining 17% as customers shift toward Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT). Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management noted that while the first two months of Q2 showed improved bookings, the typical 'month 3 spike' in North America failed to materialize. Several multimillion-dollar capital equipment deals in the SMS segment were pushed out due to funding delays or site readiness issues rather than competitive losses. The engineering team has been restructured into three distinct groups: new product development, current projects, and sustaining engineering to drive clear accountability. The company is transitioning from highly customized, bespoke systems to a modular product strategy to improve quality control and reliability. Management identified that 60% to 70% of the North American Multiomics issues were company-specific, including a 'commercial gap' from sales leader departures. Productivity for new sales reps typically takes 6 to 9 months to ramp, with the company now focusing on 'front-foot' technology conversion in gene synthesis. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here.