RPID

Image source: The Motley Fool. Friday, Aug. 7, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET Investor Relations - Michael Beaulieu President and Chief Executive Officer - Robert Spignesi Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Sean Wirtjes Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Rapid Micro Biosystems Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Michael Beaulieu with Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir. Michael Beaulieu: Good morning, and thank you for joining the Rapid Micro Biosystems Second Quarter Earnings Call. Joining me on the call are Rob Spignesi, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Sean Wirtjes, Chief Financial Officer. This morning, we issued a press release announcing our second quarter results. A copy of the release is available on the company's website at rapidmicrobio.com under Investors in the News and Events section. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that many statements made during this call may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements contained in this call that relate to expectations or predictions of future events, results or performance are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements relating to Rapid Micro's financial condition, assumptions regarding future financial performance, anticipated future cash usage, statements relating to the company's term loan facility, guidance for 2026, including revenue, expenses, gross margin, system placements and validation activities, expectations for and planned activities related to Rapid Micro's business development and growth, including the expected benefits from our distribution and collaboration agreement with MilliporeSigma, customer interest and adoption of the Growth Direct System and the impact of the Growth Direct system on their businesses and operations and statements regarding the potential impact of general macroeconomic conditions on our business and that of our customers. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including our ability to meet publicly announced guidance, the impact of our existing and any future indebtedness on our ability to operate our business, our ability to achieve the milestones necessary to access any future tranches under our existing debt facility and to comply with all of its obligations thereunder, our ability to access additional capital, such as through the exercise of our recently issued warrants, our ability to deliver products to customers and recognize revenue and market and macroeconomic conditions. For a more detailed list and description of the risks and uncertainties associated with Rapid Micro's business, please refer to the Risk Factors section of our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as updated from time to time in subsequent filings with the SEC. We urge you to consider these factors, and you should be aware that these statements should be considered estimates only and are not a guarantee of future performance. Please note that today's remarks include certain non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior, to financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. They are provided as supplemental information to enhance investors' understanding of our operating performance and may differ from similarly titled measures used by other companies. Reconciliations between these non-GAAP measures and the most directly comparable GAAP measures are available in our earnings release issued this morning. We encourage you to review these reconciliations carefully. This conference call contains time-sensitive information and is accurate only as of the live broadcast today, August 7, 2026. Rapid Micro disclaims any intention or obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any financial projections or forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Rob. Robert Spignesi: Good morning, everyone. I'll begin my discussion this morning with a review of our second quarter performance and highlights. I will then discuss our execution against our 2026 full year objectives and share some takeaways from my interactions with customers across North America, Europe and Asia. I will then turn the call over to Sean, who will provide a more detailed review of our second quarter results and second half outlook. Today, we reported Q2 total revenue of $8.1 million, representing 11% year-over-year growth and exceeding the guidance we provided in May. During the quarter, we placed 4 Growth Direct Systems and completed 9 system validations. I'm also pleased to announce that we achieved a significant milestone during the quarter with the placement of our 200th Growth Direct System. Product revenue increased 10%, driven by more than 20% growth in consumables. Recurring revenue increased 14%, reflecting continued expansion of both our installed base and strong system utilization. Consumable revenue and units reached new quarterly records. And in the third quarter, we expect to ship our 10 millionth consumable, another significant milestone that highlights the growing adoption and routine use of the Growth Direct platform across our customer base. Service revenue increased 13%, driven by higher validation activity year-over-year. We ended the quarter with 169 fully validated systems globally and have a strong validation pipeline entering second half of the year. This growing validation pipeline provides increasing visibility into future consumable revenue growth and further strengthens the recurring revenue profile of the business. Based on this momentum and our outlook, we are increasing our full year validation guidance to at least 27 systems. Turning to margins. We delivered a record 15% gross margin in the second quarter, reflecting strong execution against our margin expansion strategy. Our first half performance reinforces our confidence in achieving our full year margin targets, and we currently anticipate fourth quarter gross margin in the mid-to-high 20% range. Now turning to our commercial activities and customer engagement. In June, Amgen hosted our first North America Growth Direct Day, bringing together a strong mix of existing users and prospective customers. As with our prior events, the program featured high-value peer-to-peer discussions focused on the operational, financial and regulatory benefits of automating and standardizing microbial QC. A key theme was how leading biopharma companies approach global Growth Direct deployments, from internal decision-making and cross-functional alignment to implementation, validation and successful operation across multiple sites and geographies. We are grateful to Amgen for hosting the event and sharing their experience as a leading global biopharmaceutical company, including their approach to deploying the Growth Direct across their global manufacturing network. This marked the second of 3 regional Growth Direct Day events planned for 2026. We will conclude this year's series in October with a European event hosted by Merck MilliporeSigma at its innovation center in Darmstadt, Germany. By making these events regionally accessible, we are enabling a broader group of prospective customers to engage directly with experienced Growth Direct users. In biopharma, peer-to-peer validation remains one of the most effective ways to build confidence, accelerate adoption and advance purchasing decisions. Collectively, these events continue to strengthen both our direct commercial pipeline and the opportunities generated through our collaboration with MilliporeSigma. Following Growth Direct Day, I spent time meeting with customers across North America, Europe and Asia. I remain highly encouraged by the value proposition of the Growth Direct platform and how it addresses customers' needs. Additionally, what stands out is how these conversations and emerging industry trends continue to evolve. Customers are spending more time discussing how to integrate the Growth Direct platform into broader automation, digital and data enablement strategies and workflows across our manufacturing and quality operations. A consistent message is emerging from these discussions. Manufacturers that can improve speed, consistency, accuracy, data integrity and productivity will create meaningful competitive advantages. Full workflow automation is at the core of these strategies, and in some cases, the Growth Direct is viewed as a critical enabling technology to activate these transformations. Accordingly, we're increasingly seeing customers focus on broader deployment strategies and more integrated and automated quality of manufacturing systems. We also continue to see encouraging activity related to U.S. reshoring and biomanufacturing capacity expansion, which we believe will become an increasingly meaningful contributor to growth beginning in 2027. Our commercial pipeline continues to expand across all regions, but was especially robust in North America, where strong customer demand and engagement are contributing to the growth of our enterprise deployment and multisystem opportunity funnel. Turning to MilliporeSigma. We remain encouraged by the progress of the partnership. Their commercial organization is active globally, and the opportunity funnel continues to meaningfully expand as they leverage their broad reach and deep customer relationships. In June, the Rapid Micro and MilliporeSigma leadership teams met in Europe to advance several strategic initiatives supporting the collaboration. In addition to progress on our joint commercial activity, discussions included plans to leverage MilliporeSigma's manufacturing, supply chain and technical expertise to support and accelerate gross margin expansion goals, as well as current and future product innovation opportunities. While we remain in the earlier stages of the partnership, MilliporeSigma contributed to system placements during the first half of 2026, and we expect their contribution to increase meaningfully during the second half of the year and continue into 2027. So, looking ahead, we remain confident in the outlook for Growth Direct placements and revenue growth. We believe the combination of a compelling customer value proposition, growing system utilization, increasing validation activity, expanding enterprise deployment opportunities, strong demand globally and the growing contribution from MilliporeSigma provide a strong foundation for continued growth. More broadly, we believe the fundamentals of our business are stronger today than at any other point in our history. A growing installed base and higher system utilization are driving record consumable revenue, increasing recurring revenue and improving visibility into future growth. At the same time, our margin expansion initiatives are gaining traction, resulting in a clear positive inflection in gross margins and contributing to a larger and increasingly profitable business. Importantly, the business today has fundamentally improved from just a few years ago, with a larger installed base, higher recurring revenue, greater margin visibility and broader commercial reach. Additionally, the drivers of our future growth remain firmly in place. Customer engagement remains high. Enterprise deployment discussions continue to expand. Our collaboration with MilliporeSigma is gaining traction, and the industry tailwinds around automation, AI, data integrity, U.S. reshoring and biomanufacturing capacity expansion are accelerating. As we pursue these opportunities, we remain disciplined in our approach to investment, profitability and capital allocation, balancing growth and profitability in a manner that we believe supports long-term shareholder value creation. Based on our Q2 performance and outlook, we are reaffirming our full year 2026 revenue, placement and gross margin guidance while increasing our full year validation guidance to at least 27 systems. With that, I'll turn the call over to Sean to discuss our second quarter performance and 2026 outlook in more detail. Sean? Sean Wirtjes: Thanks, Rob, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin with an overview of our second quarter 2026 results, followed by our outlook for the third quarter and full year. We will then open the call for questions. Total revenue for the second quarter increased 11% to $8.1 million compared to $7.3 million in the prior year period. We placed 4 Growth Direct Systems in the quarter. Product revenue, which includes systems and consumables, increased 10% to $5.3 million compared to $4.8 million in Q2 2025. The increase was driven by continued strong consumable growth of more than 20% as new customers move into routine use and existing customers increase the consumable pull-through across their systems. Service revenue increased 13% to $2.8 million compared to $2.5 million in Q2 2025. We completed 9 validations in the second quarter compared to 2 in the prior year period. Validation activity exceeded our expectations and contributed to stronger-than-expected service revenue growth. Recurring revenue increased 14% to $5 million compared to $4.4 million in Q2 2025. Nonrecurring revenue, which is primarily comprised of systems and validation revenue, was $3 million compared to $2.8 million in the prior year period. Turning to margins. Total second quarter gross margin and gross margin percentage were $1.2 million and 15%, compared to $0.3 million and 4%, respectively, in Q2 last year. This was in line with our guidance. Within this, Q2 product margin, which includes systems, software and consumables, improved by 8 percentage points to negative 3% compared to negative 11% in Q2 last year. This was slightly below our expectations due to the timing of some software revenue that we now expect in the second half. Consumable margins improved by 17 percentage points year-over-year, reflecting continued progress on our margin expansion initiatives. Q2 service margin was 49% in the second quarter compared to 32% in Q2 last year, also representing a 17-percentage-point improvement and record quarterly margin for our service business. These results were driven by ongoing cost reduction initiatives, manufacturing efficiencies and service productivity improvements across the business as well as operating leverage from higher volumes. Moving down the P&L. Total operating expenses were $13.5 million in the second quarter compared to $12.4 million in Q2 2025. Within OpEx, R&D expenses were $3.3 million. Sales and marketing expenses were $3.4 million, and G&A expenses were $6.8 million. The increase in OpEx was mainly due to nonrecurring corporate expenses in the period. With respect to non-cash expenses and capital expenditures, depreciation and amortization expense was $0.7 million, and stock-based compensation expense was $1.3 million. Capital expenditures were de minimis in the second quarter. Interest income was $0.1 million and interest expense was $0.6 million in the second quarter. Q2 net loss was $12.9 million compared to a net loss of $11.9 million in the same period last year. Net loss per share was $0.27 in both periods. Starting this quarter, we are reporting adjusted EBITDA loss, a non-GAAP metric that adjusts our GAAP net loss to exclude interest, taxes and non-cash items, such as depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation. We believe adjusted EBITDA loss provides investors with a clearer view of the actual cash used by our core operations and the underlying performance of the business. Adjusted EBITDA loss for the second quarter was $10.3 million, compared to a loss of $10.1 million in Q2 last year, with the positive impact of higher gross margins offset by higher OpEx in the period. In Q3, we expect adjusted EBITDA loss to improve meaningfully from Q2 as gross margins continue to expand and OpEx returns to lower levels similar to those in Q3 last year. We then expect further sequential improvement in Q4. Now I'll turn to our outlook for the third quarter and full year. For the full year 2026, we are reaffirming our total revenue guidance of $37 million to $41 million, which assumes 30 to 38 system placements. For Q3, we expect revenue of at least $9.5 million, including at least 7 system placements. We continue to expect revenue and system placements to peak in Q4, in line with typical seasonality. Turning to consumables. We expect Q3 revenue to be relatively consistent with Q2 and then increase sequentially in Q4, subject to the timing of customer orders and shipments. Looking at service, we expect service revenue to step up sequentially in Q3 and then again in Q4, based on our current expectations with respect to the timing of installation and validation activities. We now expect to complete at least 27 validations in 2026, with at least 10 in the third quarter. Turning to margin. We expect our Q3 gross margin percentage to be at least 20%. This assumes product margin in the high-single to low-double digits, including slightly positive consumable margin and service margin approaching 50%. We then expect Q4 margin in the mid- to high-20% range, with sequential expansion compared to Q3 across product and service. These expected improvements reflect the continued realization of material cost reductions, manufacturing and service productivity improvements and operating leverage from higher volumes. For the full year, we expect total gross margin of approximately 20%, product margin in the mid- to high-single digits, and service margin between 45% and 50%. Importantly, this margin expansion is a key driver of our expectation for significantly lower cash usage in the second half of the year. Continuing down the P&L. For the full year, we now expect operating expenses of between $51 million to $53 million, and $8 million in non-cash expenses, including depreciation and amortization expense of $3 million and stock compensation expense of $5 million. Of the $8 million in non-cash expenses, approximately $7 million is expected to be recorded in OpEx and approximately $1 million in cost of revenue. We also expect CapEx of $1 million, interest income of $1 million and interest expense of $2 million for the full year. With our 2026 guidance as a starting point, I'd now like to discuss the operating assumptions that support our objective of achieving positive cash flow by the end of 2028. From a revenue perspective, we see multiple growth drivers that should position us to deliver average annual revenue growth of greater than 20% over the next several years. These include continued expansion within our existing top 20 pharma customers, new customer adoption across both top-tier and core pharma accounts, growing recurring revenue driven by higher system utilization and an expanding installed base, increasing contributions from our collaboration with MilliporeSigma across both core and adjacent markets, and favorable industry trends, including accelerating use of full automation, U.S. reshoring and biomanufacturing capacity expansion. Turning to gross margin. We continue to target gross margin of 50% or more exiting 2028, driven by ongoing material cost reductions, manufacturing efficiencies, service productivity improvements and operating leverage from higher volumes. While we expect normal quarterly variability and seasonality to continue, we believe our execution to date, visibility into the business, and progress we are making against our growth and margin initiatives support these long-term objectives. Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity. We ended the second quarter with approximately $20 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. As we discussed in May, we expect cash usage in the second half of the year to decline meaningfully, assuming revenue increases as anticipated, margin continues to expand and working capital trends improve. As a reminder, cash usage is typically higher in the first half of each year due to normal revenue seasonality and margin improvement trends as well as inventory stocking to support increasing production. In the first half of this year, these factors were exacerbated by 2 temporary working capital headwinds related to the record 16 system placements we made in Q4 2025. First, we collected 100% of the cash from those placements within the fourth quarter last year rather than in Q1 this year as we normally expect. And second, we used more cash than usual to replenish systems inventory in the first half of this year to support our 2026 manufacturing plan. We don't expect these factors to have a meaningful impact on cash usage in the second half of 2026. Separately, this week, we executed a focused efficiency program designed to streamline certain functions and processes that will reduce employee and other expenses as well as cash usage. We expect these actions to reduce expenses and cash usage by around $1 million over the remainder of this year and approximately $3 million annually beginning in 2027. These actions do not impact our plans to continue to invest in key initiatives that are expected to drive future revenue growth and gross margin expansion, including customer sales and support, product development and product cost reduction programs. Combined with our revenue growth and margin expansion initiatives, these actions further support our expectation for meaningfully lower cash usage in the second half of 2026 and beyond. Looking forward, based on our current operating performance and outlook, we believe we are on track to achieve the milestones necessary to access the next $10 million tranche under our debt facility with Trinity Capital later this year, with another $10 million tranche potentially available to us in mid-2027, subject to achievement of the applicable milestones. In addition, the warrants issued in connection with our May financing would provide incremental capital if exercised. Based on our outlook for continued revenue growth, margin expansion and meaningfully declining cash usage, we believe our existing liquidity and access to additional capital sources supports a pathway to positive cash flow. Looking ahead, we plan to maintain our proactive approach to balance sheet management and disciplined capital allocation while also evaluating opportunities to enhance financial flexibility and maximize long-term shareholder value. That concludes my remarks. So at this point, we'll open the call up for questions. Operator? Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question is going to come from the line of Thomas Flaten with Lake Street Capital Markets. Thomas Flaten: Congrats on the quarter and all the progress. Just a couple of quick questions. Rob, you mentioned you had some pretty positive commentary coming out of your meeting with the Merck MilliporeSigma folks, including having them contribute more meaningfully in the second half. If I remember though, from the past commentary, one of the reasons that you had the low end of guidance was because that was kind of assumed that they weren't going to be contributing. So can you walk us through the positive commentary and then not raising the bottom of the guidance range? Just kind of fill us in there if there's other caveats that at least I'm missing. Robert Spignesi: Yes. So first, for context, we met with the Merck MilliporeSigma team to do a strategic review of where we are across all our initiatives, not only commercial, but supply chain/gross margin improvement and technology. And we have another one follow-up in the U.S. coming up. So just in general, I'm incredibly encouraged with where the relationship is between the companies and how it's tracking. The low end of our guide did not include the full allocation of the Merck commitment for the year. That being said, what we do expect is a meaningfully increased contribution from Merck Millipore in the second half. They will not fulfill their full obligation in the calendar year, as we previously said, just given how the contract falls, it's possible they will. But the current anticipation is a meaningfully strong increase from where they were in the first half. And as I mentioned, they did contribute in the first half, but we expect it to accelerate meaningfully in the second half. And that's one of the elements that underpins our confidence in the second half and the reaffirmation of our guide. Thomas Flaten: Got it. And then I don't know if you can characterize this, perhaps only qualitatively. As you look at the placements that you have made this year and the ones that you're projecting for the second half of the year, could you help us understand of those placements, what's breadth versus depth within your customers? How many new customers versus deepening your relationships with existing customers? Robert Spignesi: Yes. So usually, I don't have the exact detail in front of me, but we always have a bias towards existing customers, as you may imagine. So just for a reminder, our land and expand strategy continues to be quite effective, where we land with a customer and then those customers expand. And that expansion can take multiple different forms. As I mentioned before, it could be within existing sites, it can be new sites, it could be new applications. So there's no real hard rule there, which we find as attractive because it doesn't limit us to kind of a single-threaded expansion. So the majority come from our existing customer base, but there are new customers most periods as well. And as we watch the MilliporeSigma funnel increase, we're also seeing an increase, as you may imagine, in new customers. So the portfolio as it's coming together and as we look into the second half and into 2027, we like what we see with regard to not only the trends I touched on in my remarks, but also how the actual funnels are building new and existing multi-system and also geographically. So we've got good geographic representation. And then, of course, the MilliporeSigma collaboration is starting to open up new geographies for us within pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality control and even some adjacent markets, although the bias is currently pharma globally. Sean Wirtjes: Yes. And I think one of the exciting things, Thomas, when you look out over the next several quarters on our funnel, there are a number of potential new customers with multi-system deals right out of the gate. So those are things we're looking for, and we're seeing some of that potential in that funnel. Robert Spignesi: And that's the evolution of the business, and we go long here, but I think it's important to Sean's point, we're seeing new customers kind of jump out with more than one system. And that's telling us and the conversations that we're having with customers reinforce this that the technology is becoming more of a standard in a lot of ways and customers are seeing the benefit, and we're moving into what we expect to be a new phase of market development, which is very exciting. Operator: Our next question is going to come from the line of Dan Arias with Stifel. Daniel Arias: Sean, can you just maybe talk a little bit about consumables growth and how you're seeing that for the back half of the year? It was, I believe, 30% last quarter, 20% this quarter. In my model, you step up a little bit from 2Q to 3Q in terms of dollars. So, I'm just curious how you would have us think about growth levels in the back half of the year there? Sean Wirtjes: Yes. Sure, Dan. Comps are a little tougher in the second half. I talked in my remarks about we expect to be relatively flat from Q2 to Q3 sequentially, but still, this quarter was a record quarter. So, it's maintaining that, and we'll work to drive some upside to that, but the guide is to be relatively flat and then stepping up sequentially in Q4. So, I think we expect to see good growth in the second half, too. We have historically talked from time to time about pull-through. I think if you look at Q2 pull-through, the year-over-year is high-single-digit growth if you look at it per validated system. So that is going well for us, and that can vary from quarter to quarter. But I think overall, if you look at what we expect for the year, it would look something like that. So we feel -- we're pretty good about where consumables and consumables growth are right now, and customers are continuing to both come online in terms of new customers that are getting validated and into routine use and existing customers continuing to put their systems to higher use. Daniel Arias: Okay. Helpful. And then just on the gross margin line, I know that the model will benefit from just some of the mechanical things that you have going for you. But can you just maybe sort of crystallize the things that on your end, you need to do most in order to have this trajectory land where it needs to be by the end of the year? And then obviously, we'll talk, I'm sure, about next year in a quarter or 2. But, just given that you're finishing the year so much higher than you were at the beginning of the year, can you maybe talk about upside scenarios for gross margins next year? Is it at least fair to model gross margins up a little bit next year? Sean Wirtjes: Yes. I mean, I'll start with that. Yes. We talked about the goal of getting to 50% exiting 2028. So that's got to -- we've got to continue to make progress every quarter effectively. Yes, so that is the plan. If I go down, kind of, the primary product and service lines, in systems, we have some things that are in flight from a material cost reduction standpoint that we need to execute against that will drive most of the margin improvement there from a cost down standpoint. In consumables, we're continuing to drive to get throughput continually increasing over time. The line is -- we're getting more and more efficient with the line. The line is putting more and more product through. Consistency is getting better and better. So we've got to continue to execute against that to hit our numbers in terms of margins on consumables. And then service, we -- I think we've said we have pretty good visibility into an increased level of validation activity, in particular, in the second half. And a lot of that's driven by volume. I'd say the vast majority of the margin expansion in the second half in service is driven by just pure revenue volume. So, those would be the key ones. The other one, volume does matter both in terms of what we're selling and, obviously, what we produce to meet that demand in both systems and consumables, as well. So, that's also something that we -- if that were to change, that might have some impact up or down on margins. So that's another factor you should keep in mind. Robert Spignesi: And, Dan, it's Rob. One thing, too, to help the efficiency on the consumable lines, we've implemented a new technology on the line that gives management and operators real-time and near real-time performance metrics and the ability to spot any diversions quite quickly. So, that's also helping what we call the OEE, which is essentially the throughput and quality of the system, which is also directly benefiting efficiencies and costs as well. Daniel Arias: All right. Helpful, Rob. Sorry, Sean, just one more point of clarification on the way that I asked the question, obviously, gross margins will be up next year-over-year, but do you think gross margins can be up from where you're exiting the year in 2026? Because obviously, to get to 50% by 2028, to your point, you kind of need to be working higher. But I just wanted to get you to sign on to the idea that you might end up in high-20s in 4Q and then drop down to 20% or something like that and then have another ramp. Sean Wirtjes: It's a good point. I mean you got to keep typical quarterly seasonality in mind. But, yes, the 2027 gross margin, we expect it to be higher than the exit rate for 2026. Operator: Our next question will come from the line of Brendan Smith with TD Cowen. Brendan Smith: Just a couple of quick ones from us. I guess, first, can you actually speak a bit more kind of to the customer breakdown now so far this year? Any kind of particular trends you're seeing with suite replacing new systems with any visibility into maybe how that evolves or doesn't in the second half? Kind of just wondering what that mix of biotech, pharma, CDMOs, et cetera, placements may be looking like and how that could impact kind of the potential for multisystem orders? Robert Spignesi: Yes. So, as mentioned, Brendan, the general breakdown, first half generally included -- tends to be biased towards our existing customers, but do include new customers. We expect to see something similar in the back half. We are seeing some interesting trends in our CDMOs, as you mentioned, in particular. We're starting to see significant interest in more fully automated integrated systems. As I touched on in my remarks, this seems to be a trend that's primarily impacting CDMOs, we're also seeing some strong interest in our large existing customers as well. So what the bias is -- the underlying bias seems to be a focus on more integration sooner rather than later. And given that our system is the only fully automated system out there, it can integrate into other technologies quite readily in many cases. So that's also driving, I would say, potential demand in the second half of this year and going into 2027 as well. So that will be a new trend that's emerging that would likely impact the CDMO businesses for the principal manufacturers. We'll see how it turns out, but that's -- it's the leading edge of that. It's quite interesting. But generally, what we expect is a balanced placement trajectory, sales and placement trajectory across our principal regions of North America, Europe and Asia. I would say, increasingly flattered by contribution from Merck MilliporeSigma in a, new customers, b, sites of our existing customer base that we just haven't had access to. And then I would say, c, new geographies around the world, for example, South America, parts of Asia, et cetera. So over time, I see that portfolio balancing more and basically filling in the areas of the world and the segments that we are underrepresented right now. Brendan Smith: Got it. Makes sense. Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe separately, I wanted to actually ask just a bit more about some of the customer feedback kind of on the U.S. onshoring dynamics. I know you mentioned it's playing more role next year. But I guess any more granularity maybe there, either on timing or even just some of the build-out versus ordering versus kind of revenue recognition dynamics in that process that we should be aware of just as we kind of think about the potential impact over the next 18 months? Robert Spignesi: Yes. So, it's -- I know there's been a lot of headline announcements of the reshoring. I can't speak to whether it's all happening and kind of the timing is happening. But we are aware of within our customer base, certainly a portion of it happening because we've been contacted about getting ahead of that with regard to placements of Growth Direct Systems, more than likely starting in 2027. Probably say at this point, mid- to late '27, based on how things are moving and just the pacing of the timing of the various projects. So while we're not pounding the table now it's definitive, it looks constructive that we will benefit from some reshoring starting in 2027 and perhaps accelerating in '28 and '29. It's really hard to tell how fast things will ultimately move, but the trends and the conversations and in some cases, the actual shovels in the ground that we're able to see are actually happening. So, it's certainly, to a certain extent, real, and we expect to benefit from it. Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our next question is going to come from the line of Anna Snopkowski with KeyBanc. Anna Snopkowski: This is Anna Snopkowski on for Paul Knight. Congrats on the quarter. Maybe first, a follow-up on Dan's question about gross margins. Could you just talk to the visibility you have in the back half and whether any procurement or sourcing initiatives under Millipore have already been implemented and are contributing to that outlook or if that's a longer-term runway? Sean Wirtjes: Yes. Sean, Anna. In addition to what I walked through in response to Dan's question in terms of key drivers in the second half, I think that stands. We are actively talking to MilliporeSigma about several different things on the procurement side, but I do not expect them to be significant contributors in the second half. I would think about that more in 2027. Just as we've talked about before, getting a material validated and to a point where we can actually use it in our products, for example, takes time, and we're working through that time. But those projects are ongoing, but we are not at the point where we can start to use them in any meaningful way in 2026. So I think about that more as a [ 2027 ] event. Anna Snopkowski: Okay. Makes sense. And then my second question is just on the CAR-T market. That seems to be very strong. Carvykti had a good quarter. And then, I think yesterday, Iovance had a really strong print. So could you just tell us what you're seeing on that side of the market and remind us your involvement on the cell and gene therapy side of the market? Robert Spignesi: Yes. So it's Rob. So cell and gene, well, our value prop resonates quite strongly in cell and gene market, as we've said previously, and it's extremely strong in the CAR-T market. The majority of the CAR-T manufacturers are using the Growth Direct System. It's a very strong fit regarding the turnaround time. Just to remind everyone why we're so strong, there's the speed, the test result, time to test result, the automation, the volume, the accuracy required. The Growth Direct System is an extremely strong fit in our view for cell and gene broadly and CAR-T, in particular. You saw our consumable performance, in part, that is due to the cell and gene market and CAR-T, as well. So, from our perspective, the market is healthy. The manufacturers continue to see ROI and use our systems for CAR-T manufacturing robustly and, in some cases, at an increased rate, reflecting their business. Thank you, Anna, and everyone on the call. We're going to wrap today's call. Thank you all for joining us. Look forward to speaking with many of you soon. Have a great weekend. Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day. Before you buy stock in Rapid Micro Biosystems, 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 Rapid Micro Biosystems wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and 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 $421,943!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,382,819!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by nearly 5x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 14, 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. Rapid Micro Biosystems (RPID) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Interested in Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Second-quarter revenue rose 11% to $8.1 million, driven by record consumable sales, increased service activity and higher recurring revenue. Gross margin improved sharply to 15% from 4% a year earlier, while service margin reached a record 49%. Rapid Micro reaffirmed its 2026 revenue outlook of $37 million to $41 million and raised its annual system-validation target to at least 27. Management expects revenue, placements and margins to strengthen in the second half, with fourth-quarter gross margin projected in the mid- to high-20% range. The MilliporeSigma partnership is expanding Rapid Micro’s commercial pipeline, though it is not expected to fulfill its full 2026 commitment. An efficiency program should reduce cash usage by about $1 million for the rest of 2026 and $3 million annually from 2027, while the company targets positive cash flow by the end of 2028. Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) reported second-quarter revenue of $8.1 million, up 11% from $7.3 million a year earlier and above the company’s prior guidance, as consumable sales, service activity and recurring revenue increased. The company placed four Growth Direct Systems during the quarter and completed nine system validations, compared with two validations in the prior-year period. Rapid Micro also said it reached a milestone with the placement of its 200th Growth Direct System and expects to ship its 10 millionth consumable in the third quarter. → Meta’s Earnings Drop Shows Wall Street Wants More Than Ad Growth “Consumable revenue and units reached new quarterly records,” the company said during the call. It ended the quarter with 169 fully validated systems globally. Product revenue, including systems and consumables, rose 10% to $5.3 million. The increase was driven by consumable growth of more than 20% as customers moved systems into routine use and increased utilization of existing systems, according to CFO Sean Wirtjes. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High Service revenue increased 13% to $2.8 million, supported by higher validation activity. Recurring revenue, which includes consumables and service, increased 14% to $5 million, while non-recurring revenue was $3 million, compared with $2.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Total gross margin rose to $1.2 million, or 15% of revenue, from $0.3 million, or 4%, a year earlier. Product margin improved to negative 3% from negative 11%, although it was slightly below expectations because of the timing of software revenue that the company now expects in the second half of the year. → Sandisk Just Delivered a Blowout Quarter—Here's Why the Stock Is Falling Consumable margins improved by 17 percentage points year over year, while service margin reached a record 49%, up from 32% a year earlier. Wirtjes attributed the gains to cost-reduction initiatives, manufacturing efficiencies, service productivity improvements and higher volumes. Operating expenses increased to $13.5 million from $12.4 million, primarily due to non-recurring corporate expenses. The company reported a net loss of $12.9 million, compared with a $11.9 million loss a year ago, while net loss per share remained $0.27 in both periods. Rapid Micro began reporting adjusted EBITDA loss, a non-GAAP measure, beginning this quarter. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $10.3 million, compared with $10.1 million a year earlier. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue outlook of $37 million to $41 million, based on expected system placements of 30 to 38. It raised its validation outlook and now expects to complete at least 27 system validations during the year. Third-quarter revenue is expected to be at least $9.5 million. Rapid Micro expects at least seven system placements in the third quarter. The company expects at least 10 validations in the third quarter. Third-quarter gross margin is projected to be at least 20%. Fourth-quarter gross margin is expected in the mid- to high-20% range. Full-year gross margin is expected to be about 20%, with service margin of 45% to 50%. Wirtjes said the company expects revenue and system placements to peak in the fourth quarter, consistent with its typical seasonality. Consumable revenue is expected to remain relatively consistent from the second to the third quarter before rising sequentially in the fourth quarter, subject to customer order and shipment timing. Management also said it expects 2027 gross margin to exceed its exit rate for 2026, although quarterly seasonality could create variability. The company continues to target gross margin of 50% or more exiting 2028. President and CEO Rob Spignesi said the company’s partnership with MilliporeSigma is expanding its commercial opportunity funnel globally. MilliporeSigma contributed to system placements during the first half of 2026, and Rapid Micro expects its contribution to increase meaningfully in the second half and continue into 2027. However, Spignesi said MilliporeSigma is not currently expected to fulfill its full contractual commitment during calendar 2026, based on the timing of the agreement. He said the low end of Rapid Micro’s full-year guidance did not include the full allocation of MilliporeSigma’s commitment. The companies are also discussing procurement, supply-chain and technical initiatives intended to support margin expansion. Wirtjes said those efforts are unlikely to be meaningful contributors in 2026 because materials must be validated before use in the company’s products, with benefits more likely to emerge in 2027. Spignesi said customer interest is increasingly focused on integrating Growth Direct into broader automation, digital and data workflows. He added that the company is seeing particular interest from contract development and manufacturing organizations in more fully automated and integrated systems. The company said most placements continue to come from existing customers under its “land and expand” strategy, though it is also seeing new customers, including potential multi-system opportunities. Rapid Micro said its commercial pipeline is especially robust in North America, while MilliporeSigma is helping expand access to new customers, geographies and adjacent markets. Rapid Micro ended the second quarter with approximately $20 million in cash equivalents and short-term investments. The company expects cash usage to decline meaningfully in the second half as revenue rises, margins expand and working-capital trends improve. Wirtjes said the company implemented an efficiency program during the week of the earnings call that is expected to reduce expenses and cash usage by about $1 million for the rest of 2026 and approximately $3 million annually beginning in 2027. The actions will not affect planned investments in sales, customer support, product development or product cost-reduction programs, he said. The company said it believes it is on track to meet the milestones needed to access a further $10 million tranche under its Trinity Capital debt facility later this year. Another $10 million tranche could become available in mid-2027, subject to applicable milestones. Management reiterated its objective of achieving positive cash flow by the end of 2028. Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ: RPID) develops and commercializes automated microbial detection and contamination control solutions for the life sciences industry. Its flagship offering, the Growth Direct® System, leverages digital imaging and proprietary growth indicator plates to identify and count microorganisms more rapidly than traditional culture-based methods. The company's technology platform is designed to streamline quality control workflows in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and vaccine manufacturing settings, helping clients reduce release times and improve operational efficiency. In addition to the Growth Direct® System, Rapid Micro Biosystems offers an integrated suite of software and consumables that support automated data capture, analysis and reporting. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Rapid Micro Biosystems Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: August 07, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Rapid Micro Biosystems Inc (NASDAQ:RPID) reported Q2 2026 total revenue of $8.1 million, an 11% year-over-year increase that exceeded guidance, driven by strong consumables growth of over 20% and a 14% increase in recurring revenue. The company achieved significant milestones, including the placement of its 200th Growth Direct system and expectations to ship its 10 millionth consumable in Q3, highlighting growing adoption and routine use of its platform. Gross margin improved significantly to a record 15% in Q2, up from 4% in the prior year, with expectations for Q4 gross margin to reach the mid-to-high 20% range, driven by successful margin expansion initiatives. The partnership with Millipore Sigma is gaining traction, with their commercial organization contributing to system placements in the first half of 2026 and expected to contribute meaningfully more in the second half, expanding the company's commercial reach. The company is seeing strong industry tailwinds, including increased demand for automation, US reshoring, and biomanufacturing capacity expansion, which are expected to become meaningful growth contributors starting in 2027. Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $37-$41 million and increased full-year validation guidance to at least 27 systems, reflecting confidence in the business outlook. The company executed a focused efficiency program expected to reduce expenses and cash usage by approximately $1 million in 2026 and $3 million annually starting in 2027, supporting its path to positive cash flow by the end of 2028. Rapid Micro Biosystems Inc (NASDAQ:RPID) reported a net loss of $12.9 million in Q2 2026, which was wider than the $11.9 million net loss in the same period last year, and adjusted EBITDA loss remained elevated at $10.3 million. Product margin, which includes systems, software, and consumables, was slightly below expectations at 3% due to the timing of some software revenue that was pushed to the second half of the year. The company's cash position remains tight at approximately $20 million, and it continues to rely on accessing future tranches of its debt facility with Trinity Capital to fund operations. The contribution from the Millipore Sigma partnership is still in its early stages and will not fulfill its full contractual obligation for the calendar year, with a meaningful increase only expected in the second half. Operating expenses increased to $13.5 million in Q2, up from $12.4 million in the prior year, driven by non-recurring corporate expenses, which partially offset the benefits of higher gross margins. The company faces tough comparables in the second half of the year for consumables growth, with Q3 revenue expected to be relatively flat sequentially before a step-up in Q4. Management noted that the benefits from US reshoring and biomanufacturing capacity expansion are not expected to materialize until mid-to-late 2027, indicating a longer wait for this growth driver. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with RPID. Is RPID fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: Can you walk us through the positive commentary from the Merck Millipore Sigma meeting and why you didn't raise the bottom of the guidance range, given that the low end previously assumed they wouldn't contribute? A: Rob Spagnesse (President and CEO): We conducted a strategic review with the Merck Millipore Sigma team covering commercial, supply chain, and technology initiatives. I'm incredibly encouraged by the relationship's trajectory. While the low end of our guidance did not include the full allocation of Merck's commitment for the year, we expect a meaningfully increased contribution from them in the second half. They will likely not fulfill their full obligation in the calendar year, but their contribution will accelerate significantly, underpinning our confidence in the reaffirmed guidance. Q: Can you characterize the placements made this year and projected for the second half in terms of breadth versus depthhow many are new customers versus deepening relationships with existing ones? A: Rob Spagnesse (President and CEO): Our land-and-expand strategy remains effective, with a bias towards existing customers. Expansion can take multiple forms, including new sites or new applications. The majority of placements come from our existing customer base, but we are also adding new customers each period. As the Millipore Sigma funnel grows, we're seeing an increase in new customers, including potential multi-system deals right out of the gate. This indicates the technology is becoming more of a standard, and we're entering a new phase of market development. Q: How should we think about consumables growth levels in the back half of the year, given the 30% growth last quarter and 20% this quarter? A: Sean Wores (CFO): Comparables are a bit tougher in the second half. We expect Q3 consumable revenue to be relatively flat sequentially from Q2, which was a record quarter, and then step up in Q4. Pull-through per validated system is showing high single-digit year-over-year growth. We feel good about consumables growth as new customers come online and existing customers increase system utilization. Q: What are the key things you need to execute on to land the gross margin trajectory by year-end, and is it fair to model gross margins up next year? A: Sean Wores (CFO): Yes, we're targeting 50% gross margin exiting 2028, so we must continue making progress every quarter. Key drivers include executing on material cost reductions for systems, increasing throughput and efficiency on the consumables line, and leveraging higher service revenue volume. Rob Spagnesse (CEO) added that we've implemented new technology on the consumable line providing real-time performance metrics, improving overall equipment effectiveness and cost. Sean Wores confirmed that 2027 gross margin is expected to be higher than the 2026 exit rate. Q: Can you speak to the customer breakdown of placements so far this year and any trends with biotech, pharma, or CDMOs, and how that impacts multi-system orders? A: Rob Spagnesse (President and CEO): The first half was biased towards existing customers but included new ones, and we expect similar in the back half. We're seeing significant interest from CDMOs in more fully automated, integrated systems. Our system, being the only fully automated one, can integrate readily with other technologies, driving potential demand. We expect a balanced placement trajectory across North America, Europe, and Asia, increasingly supported by Millipore Sigma's contribution and new geographies like South America. Q: Can you provide more granularity on US onshoring dynamics, including timing and the build-out versus ordering process over the next 18 months? A: Rob Spagnesse (President and CEO): We are aware of reshoring happening within our customer base, as we've been contacted about placements of Growth Direct systems. We expect to benefit from reshoring starting in 2027, likely mid to late 2027, potentially accelerating into 2028 and 2029. While it's hard to predict the exact pace, the trends and conversations are constructive, and we expect to benefit from it. Q: Regarding gross margins, do you have visibility into whether procurement or sourcing initiatives under Millipore Sigma have been implemented and are contributing to the back-half outlook? A: Sean Wores (CFO): We are actively discussing several procurement initiatives with Millipore Sigma, but I do not expect them to be significant contributors in the second half of 2026. Getting a material validated and ready for use in our products takes time. I would think about those contributions more as a 2027 event. Q: What are you seeing in the CAR-T market, and can you remind us of your involvement in cell and gene therapy? A: Rob Spagnesse (President and CEO): Our value proposition resonates strongly in the cell and gene market, particularly in CAR-T. The majority of CAR-T manufacturers use the Growth Direct system due to its strong fit regarding turnaround time, automation, volume, and accuracy. The market is healthy, and manufacturers continue to see ROI, using our systems robustly and in some cases at increased rates, which contributed to our consumable performance. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

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. Achieved record consumable revenue and units, driven by a growing installed base and higher system utilization across the top 20 pharma customers. Attributed the 15% record gross margin to successful execution of margin expansion strategies, including manufacturing efficiencies and service productivity improvements. Observed a strategic shift in customer behavior toward integrating the Growth Direct platform into broader automation, digital, and data enablement workflows. Reported that the MilliporeSigma partnership is expanding the commercial funnel into new geographies and adjacent markets, though it remains in the early stages. Noted that peer-to-peer validation through regional 'Growth Direct Day' events remains a primary driver for accelerating adoption and purchasing decisions. Highlighted that the business fundamentals are stronger than ever due to a larger installed base and improved visibility into future recurring revenue growth. Increased full-year validation guidance to at least 27 systems based on a strong pipeline and momentum entering the second half of 2026. Anticipates fourth-quarter gross margins in the mid-to-high 20% range, supported by material cost reductions and operating leverage from higher volumes. Expects MilliporeSigma's contribution to system placements to increase meaningfully in the second half of 2026 and continue into 2027. Projects U.S. reshoring and biomanufacturing capacity expansion to become increasingly meaningful growth contributors starting in mid-to-late 2027. Maintains a long-term target of 50% gross margin and positive cash flow by the end of 2028, supported by average annual revenue growth greater than 20%. Executed a focused efficiency program to streamline functions, expected to reduce annual expenses by approximately $3 million starting in 2027. Identified temporary working capital headwinds in the first half of 2026 due to inventory replenishment and atypical cash collection timing from Q4 2025 placements. Reported a $10.3 million adjusted EBITDA loss for Q2, with higher gross margins offset by non-recurring corporate expenses. Confirmed access to a $10 million debt tranche from Trinity Capital remains contingent on achieving specific milestones later this year. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management clarified that while MilliporeSigma will not fulfill their full annual commitment in the calendar year, a significant acceleration is expected in the second half. The partnership is opening access to previously unreachable sites within existing customer networks and new geographies like South America. Q3 consumable revenue is expected to be relatively flat compared to the record Q2, with a sequential step-up anticipated in Q4. Current pull-through growth is trending in the high-single digits per validated system, reflecting both new customer onboarding and increased routine use. Margin improvement is driven by material cost reductions in systems and the implementation of real-time performance metrics to improve consumable line throughput. Management expects 2027 gross margins to be higher than the 2026 exit rate, despite typical quarterly seasonality. Procurement initiatives leveraged through MilliporeSigma are currently in the validation phase and are expected to impact margins starting in 2027 rather than 2026. The CAR-T market remains a high-growth area where the platform's speed and automation provide a critical ROI for manufacturers. Strong consumable performance in the quarter was partially attributed to robust manufacturing activity within the cell and gene therapy sector.

Reports second quarter 2026 total revenue of $8.1 million, representing 11% growth compared to the second quarter of 2025 Reports record second quarter total gross margin of 15%, an increase of 11 percentage points compared to the second quarter of 2025 Merck MilliporeSigma to host European Growth Direct Day in October 2026, supporting customer engagement, education, and commercial pipeline development across Europe Reaffirms full year 2026 total revenue guidance range of $37.0 million to $41.0 million, including 30 to 38 Growth Direct system placements Reaffirms full year 2026 gross margin percentage guidance of approximately 20%, with second half 2026 margins in the mid-20% range LEXINGTON, Mass., Aug. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: RPID) (the “Company”), an innovative life sciences technology company providing mission critical automation solutions to facilitate the efficient manufacturing and fast, safe release of healthcare products, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. "Our second quarter results reflect continued execution against the strategic and financial priorities we outlined at the beginning of the year," said Robert Spignesi, President and CEO. "Total revenue increased 11%, recurring revenue grew 14% and consumables achieved quarterly records in both units and revenue. Importantly, we delivered record second-quarter total gross margin of 15%, marking a positive inflection that reflects meaningful progress against our margin expansion initiatives and supports our path to positive cash flow." Spignesi continued, "As we look to the second half of 2026, we remain encouraged by strong customer engagement, continued momentum in multi-system and enterprise deployment opportunities, and an expanding contribution from our collaboration with MilliporeSigma. Combined with favorable industry tailwinds, including increased adoption of automation and ongoing U.S. reshoring and biomanufacturing capacity expansion, we believe we are well positioned to achieve our full-year objectives and enter 2027 with positive momentum." Second Quarter Financial Results Total revenue for the second quarter of 2026 increased 10.9% to $8.1 million compared to $7.3 million in the second quarter of 2025. The Company placed four new Growth Direct® systems and completed the validation of nine customer systems compared to four placements and two validations in the second quarter of 2025. Product revenue increased 10.1% to $5.3 million, compared to $4.8 million in the second quarter of 2025. Service revenue increased 12.5% to $2.8 million, compared to $2.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Recurring revenue increased 14.3% to $5.0 million, compared to $4.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. Total cost of revenue was $6.8 million in the second quarter of 2026, a decrease of 2.1% compared to $7.0 million in the second quarter of 2025. Gross margin was 15.0%, or $1.2 million, a quarterly record, compared to 3.8%, or $0.3 million in the second quarter of 2025. Total operating expenses increased by 8.9% to $13.5 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared to $12.4 million in the second quarter of 2025. General and administrative expenses increased by 11.3%, research and development expenses increased by 3.2%, and sales and marketing expenses increased by 10.3%, in each case compared to the second quarter of 2025. Net loss for the second quarter of 2026 was $12.9 million and net loss per share was $0.27, compared to a net loss of $11.9 million and net loss per share of $0.27 in the second quarter of 2025. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA loss for the second quarter of 2026 was $10.3 million, compared to a loss of $10.1 million in the second quarter of 2025. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were approximately $20 million as of June 30, 2026. Full Year 2026 Outlook The Company is reaffirming its full year 2026 total revenue guidance range of $37.0 million to $41.0 million including a range of 30 to 38 Growth Direct system placements and total gross margin percentage of approximately 20%. The Company is increasing its full year 2026 system validation guidance to at least 27 validations, up from 25 previously. Webcast Details The Company will host a conference call before the market opens today, August 7, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its second quarter 2026 financial results. The live call is accessible on the Company’s website at investors.rapidmicrobio.com and will be archived and available for replay for one year. About Rapid Micro Biosystems Rapid Micro Biosystems is an innovative life sciences technology company providing mission critical automation solutions to facilitate the efficient manufacturing and fast, safe release of healthcare products such as biologics, vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and sterile injectables. The Company’s flagship Growth Direct system automates and modernizes the antiquated, manual microbial quality control (“MQC”) testing workflows used in the largest and most complex pharmaceutical manufacturing operations across the globe. The Growth Direct system brings the quality control lab to the manufacturing floor, unlocking the power of MQC automation to deliver the faster results, greater accuracy, increased operational efficiency, better compliance with data integrity regulations, and quicker decision making that customers rely on to ensure safe and consistent supply of important healthcare products. The Company is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts and has U.S. manufacturing in Lowell, Massachusetts, with global locations in Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.rapidmicrobio.com or follow the Company on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @rapidmicrobio or on LinkedIn.Rapid Micro Biosystems intends to use the Investor Relations page of its website as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor its website in addition to following press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), public conference calls, presentations and webcasts. Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to reporting financial measures in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company is including in this press release "non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA," which is a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company defines non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA as net loss excluding interest income, interest expense, other expense, net, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation. The Company includes this non-GAAP financial measure because it believes it allows investors to understand and evaluate the Company’s core operating performance and trends. In particular, the exclusion of certain items in calculating non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA can provide useful measures for period-to-period comparisons of the Company’s core business. This non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as an analytical tool, including the fact that such non-GAAP financial measure may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure presented by other companies because other companies may calculate non-GAAP EBITDA differently than the Company does. For more information regarding this non-GAAP financial measure, see the table included at the end of this press release. Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s guidance, including with respect to full year 2026 total revenue, gross margin, number of Growth Direct placements and system validations; statements regarding the Company's achievement of its full year objectives, and the Company's growth outlook in future periods. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “outlook,” “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “positioned,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions which may cause actual results to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement, including, but not limited to risks related to, the Company's ability to achieve positive cash flow; the Company's ability to achieve its business objectives; the Company's significant losses since inception; the Company’s ability to meet its publicly announced guidance and other expectations about its business and operations; the Company's ability to fulfill customer orders on its anticipated timelines or at all; the impact of the Company's existing and any future indebtedness on its ability to operate its business; the Company’s ability to access any future tranches under its debt facility and to comply with all of its obligations thereunder; the Company’s limited experience in marketing and sales and the effectiveness of its sales processes; the Company’s need to develop new products and adapt to technological changes; the Company’s ability to establish and maintain its position as a leading provider of automated microbial quality control testing; the Company’s ability to maintain its manufacturing facility; the Company's ability to improve the gross margins of its products and services; risks related to third-parties; the Company’s ability to retain key management and other employees; risks related to regulatory and intellectual property matters; risks related to supply chain disruptions and the impact of inflation; risks associated with macroeconomic events and uncertainty, including with respect to tariff and trade policy in the U.S. and abroad, as well as activity in the Company's industry and in the general economy; and the other important factors outlined under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations page of its website at investors.rapidmicrobio.com. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results. The Company has no obligation, and does not undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statement made in this press release to reflect changes since the date of this press release, except as may be required by law. CONTACT: Investor Contact Michael Beaulieu, CFA Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications [email protected] Media Contact [email protected]

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: May 13, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Rapid Micro Biosystems Inc (NASDAQ:RPID) reported an 11% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching $8 million, driven by system placements and recurring revenue. The company placed six GrowthDirect systems in the quarter, with a total of 196 systems placed globally, including 160 fully validated systems. Product revenue increased by 36% in the first quarter, with consumables experiencing a growth of over 30%, indicating increased utilization. Recurring revenue grew by 28%, representing 63% of total revenue, showcasing strong growth in consumables and service contract revenue. The collaboration with Millipore Sigma is expanding opportunities for GrowthDirect placements in pharmaceutical and adjacent markets, enhancing productivity and data integrity. First quarter gross margin was only 5%, although it showed an improvement from the previous quarter, it remains relatively low. Service revenue decreased to $2.4 million from $3.1 million in the prior-year period, influenced by the timing of validation activities. The company reported a net loss of $14.3 million, up from $11.3 million in the previous year, due to non-recurring G&A costs and interest expenses. Operating expenses increased to $14.2 million from $12.1 million in Q1 2025, driven by higher R&D, sales, and marketing expenses. Cash usage was high in Q1, with $15 million used, leaving the company with $23 million in cash, although they have a $25 million credit facility available. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with RPID. Is RPID fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: Can you talk about the Millipore JV expansion by more services? Could you help us understand what that is all about? A: (Rob Spignesi, CEO) The agreement is linked to GrowthDirects that Millipore Sigma sells, where we will be the provider of all services associated, from installation to routine use services. This means that service revenue would be recorded by us, regardless of where a GrowthDirect is sold globally. Q: Is the scale on consumables due to needing more volume or a technical issue on the Millipore side? A: (Sean Wertjes, CFO) It's a bit of both. We see an opportunity to work with Millipore Sigma to source components over time, which is a large opportunity for us. They have expertise in the product, and part of the distribution deal is to increase volume and growth, which will help drive margin improvement. Q: What are the terms on the remaining $25 million line of credit from Trinity Capital? A: (Sean Wertjes, CFO) We have two tranches potentially available, with $5 million at the lender's option. The first tranche could be available later this year, contingent on meeting certain financial metrics. The second tranche could be unlocked by mid-2027. Q: Is the 30-plus percent growth in consumables part of an acceleration trend or episodic? A: (Rob Spignesi, CEO) The growth is due to the continued GrowthDirect footprint and efficiencies in validation. Customers are using these systems to drive ROI, which leads to more GrowthDirect rollouts. Discussions are becoming more strategic, indicating a positive market trend. Q: How much of the 30 to 38 system placements for the year comes from existing orders? A: (Sean Wertjes, CFO) While we don't typically discuss backlog, we feel good about the funnel and the range set for system placements. The range allows for variability, and we aim to drive to the top end with large multi-system orders. Q: How should we think about the impact of consumables and services revenue on margins in the coming quarters? A: (Sean Wertjes, CFO) We expect consumable margins to improve in the second half due to volume and cost reductions. Service revenue is expected to be heavier in the second half, positively impacting margins as validations occur. Q: Do you expect any changes in cell and gene therapy programs with the recent FDA leadership overhaul? A: (Rob Spignesi, CEO) We actively monitor approvals and have high penetration in the cell therapies market. We haven't observed significant changes recently, but we are well-positioned to win business in this area globally. Q: Can you characterize the Millipore sales funnel and their focus? A: (Rob Spignesi, CEO) Millipore Sigma's focus is primarily within the broader pharmaceutical markets, but they also target personal care, cosmetics, and medical devices. Their global connectivity and momentum are promising, and the partnership expands our total addressable market significantly. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Interested in Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Rapid Micro Biosystems posted first-quarter 2026 revenue of $8 million, up 11% year over year, and reaffirmed its full-year outlook of $37 million to $41 million in revenue with 30 to 38 system placements. Recurring revenue and consumables were the main growth drivers, with recurring revenue rising 28% to $5.1 million and consumables growing more than 30% to a record quarter as system usage and installed base expanded. Margins improved but losses widened: product margin got better on lower material costs and higher efficiency, yet the company still reported a $14.3 million net loss and continues to target gross margin improvement, including a positive product gross margin in the second quarter. Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) reported first-quarter 2026 revenue growth and reaffirmed its full-year outlook, citing momentum in system placements, consumables and recurring revenue, while management said gross margin improvement remains a central priority for the year. President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Spignesi said the company generated total revenue of $8 million in the quarter, up 11% from the prior-year period. The company placed six Growth Direct Systems during the quarter, compared with three in the first quarter of 2025. As of March 31, Rapid Micro had 196 systems placed globally, including 160 fully validated systems. → Rocket Lab Just Hit a New All-Time High—Time to Buy or Let It Breathe? Spignesi said placement activity was led by a multi-system follow-on order from Samsung Biologics, which he said highlighted the company’s continued success with larger key customers. Product revenue rose 36% year over year, supported by higher system placements and a record quarter for consumables, which grew more than 30%. “Customer demand remains strong, with purchasing decisions increasingly strategic in nature and, in many cases, focused on the Growth Direct as an enterprise priority,” Spignesi said. → MP Materials Is Quietly Building a Rare Earth Powerhouse Chief Financial Officer Sean Wirtjes said first-quarter product revenue, which includes systems and consumables, was $5.6 million, compared with $4.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Service revenue was $2.4 million, down from $3.1 million a year earlier, but within the guidance range the company provided in March. Wirtjes said the timing of validation activities is typically the largest driver of quarter-to-quarter variability in service revenue. Rapid Micro completed five validations in the first quarter, compared with nine in the prior-year period. → Micron Investors Face a High-Stakes Moment After the Latest Rally Recurring revenue increased 28% to $5.1 million from $4 million a year earlier and represented 63% of total revenue in the quarter. Non-recurring revenue, primarily systems and validation revenue, was $2.9 million, compared with $3.2 million in the prior-year period. In response to an analyst question from Stifel’s Dan Arias about whether consumables growth represented an acceleration trend or was more episodic, Spignesi said the performance reflected the growing Growth Direct footprint, better validation efficiency and increased customer use of the systems. “It’s a really good leading indicator,” Spignesi said. “If you see that in our business, it means customers are happy in using the system and most importantly, getting an ROI, and that activates more and more discussions.” Total gross margin was $0.4 million, or 5% of revenue, roughly flat with the first quarter of 2025 and in line with company guidance. Product margin improved to negative 8% from negative 23% a year earlier, which Wirtjes attributed mainly to a 33 percentage point improvement in consumable margins. He cited direct material cost reduction efforts, higher manufacturing productivity and efficiency, and operating leverage from higher volumes. Service margin was 34%, down from 43% in the prior-year period, due to lower service revenue, partially offset by productivity improvements made over the past year. Operating expenses totaled $14.2 million, compared with $12.1 million in the first quarter of 2025. That included $3.4 million in research and development expenses, $3.4 million in sales and marketing expenses and $7.4 million in general and administrative expenses. G&A included $0.9 million of severance and other non-recurring corporate expenses. Rapid Micro reported a first-quarter net loss of $14.3 million, compared with a net loss of $11.3 million a year earlier. Wirtjes said the larger loss was primarily due to the non-recurring G&A expenses, interest expense on debt issued in the third quarter of 2025, lower interest income and higher non-cash stock-based compensation expense. Net loss per share was $0.31, compared with $0.26 in the prior-year quarter. Rapid Micro reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $37 million to $41 million, including 30 to 38 system placements. For the second quarter, the company expects revenue of at least $7.7 million, including at least four system placements. Management also continues to expect at least 25 validations in 2026. The company expects second-quarter gross margin as a percentage of revenue to be in the mid- to high-teens. For the full year, it continues to expect total gross margins of approximately 20%, with a fourth-quarter exit rate in the mid-20% range or better. Wirtjes said the company expects product margin in the high single digits to low teens and service margin above 40% for the year. Spignesi said the company expects an inflection to positive product gross margins beginning in the second quarter, supported by more favorable pricing from key suppliers, improvements in consumables margins and actions to improve system manufacturing efficiency. He said longer term, Rapid Micro remains focused on a goal of gross margins above 50%. The company ended the quarter with $23 million in cash after using $15 million during the period. Wirtjes said first-quarter cash usage is typically the company’s highest due to seasonal revenue and margin patterns and certain annual payments. He also pointed to lower-than-usual cash collections following strong collections in the fourth quarter of 2025. Wirtjes said Rapid Micro has $25 million of remaining availability under its Trinity Capital credit facility. In response to a question from KeyBanc’s Paul Knight, Wirtjes said $10 million may become available later this year if certain financial metrics are met, another $10 million could be unlocked around the middle of 2027, and $5 million is available at the lender’s option. Management highlighted Rapid Micro’s collaboration with MilliporeSigma as a contributor to future Growth Direct placements and margin initiatives. Spignesi said the collaboration expands opportunities in the company’s core pharmaceutical market as well as adjacent markets such as personal care and medical devices. Rapid Micro also entered into a services agreement with MilliporeSigma making Rapid Micro the exclusive provider of validation, qualification and maintenance services for customers that purchase Growth Direct systems through MilliporeSigma. Spignesi told Knight that service revenue from those activities would be recorded by Rapid Micro. Wirtjes said the company does not currently source consumable components from MilliporeSigma, but noted that MilliporeSigma makes some of the largest components of Rapid Micro’s products. He described sourcing from MilliporeSigma over time as a “very large opportunity” for margin improvement. Spignesi also pointed to Asia-Pacific as an important growth driver. He said the company hosted a Japan Growth Direct Day event in Tokyo in April and later met with customers in South Korea to discuss quality-control automation roadmaps. Rapid Micro also placed its first Growth Direct System in China during the quarter and is expanding its installed base in markets including Singapore and Australia. Looking ahead, Spignesi said Amgen will sponsor the company’s first North American Growth Direct Day in June, which is expected to bring together existing and prospective customers. Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ: RPID) develops and commercializes automated microbial detection and contamination control solutions for the life sciences industry. Its flagship offering, the Growth Direct® System, leverages digital imaging and proprietary growth indicator plates to identify and count microorganisms more rapidly than traditional culture-based methods. The company's technology platform is designed to streamline quality control workflows in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and vaccine manufacturing settings, helping clients reduce release times and improve operational efficiency. In addition to the Growth Direct® System, Rapid Micro Biosystems offers an integrated suite of software and consumables that support automated data capture, analysis and reporting. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Rapid Micro Biosystems Q1 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for May 2026.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Wednesday. Read the complete transcript below. Benzinga APIs provide real-time access to earnings call transcripts and financial data. Visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ to learn more. Access the full call at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/rtnh53vx/ Rapid Micro Biosystems reported Q1 2026 revenue of $8 million, marking an 11% year-over-year growth driven by system placements and recurring revenue. The company placed six GrowthDirect systems in Q1, with significant orders from Samsung Biologics, and recorded a 36% increase in product revenue. Strategic initiatives included expanding GrowthDirect system placements globally, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, and hosting customer engagement events. Collaboration with Millipore Sigma is expanding, potentially enhancing margin improvements through sourcing and distribution agreements. Rapid Micro Biosystems reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance of $37 to $41 million and expects gross margins to improve to approximately 20% for 2026. Operational focus remains on improving consumable margins and leveraging system placements to drive long-term growth. Management emphasized strong customer demand and strategic purchasing decisions for GrowthDirect systems, positioning for growth in advanced biomanufacturing markets. OPERATOR Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Rapid Microbiosystems first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time all participants are in listen only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised to withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mike Boyer, Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Mike Boyer (Investor Relations) Thank you. Shannon Good afternoon and thank you for joining the Rapid Micro Biosystems first quarter earnings call. We apologize for the delay as we were experiencing some technical difficulties on our end. Joining me on the call are Rob Spignessi, President and Chief Executive Officer and Sean Wurch, Chief Financial Officer. This afternoon we issued a press release announcing our first quarter results. A copy of the release is available on the company's [email protected] under Investors in the News and Events SECtion. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that many statements made during this call may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of federal SECurities laws which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform act of 1995. Any statements contained in this call that relate to expectations or predictions of future events, results or performance are forward looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements relating to Rapid Micro's financial condition, assumptions regarding future financial performance, anticipated future cash usage statements related to the Company's term loan facility guidance for the SECond quarter and full year 2026, including revenue expenses, gross margins, system placements and validation activities expectations for and plan activities related to Rapid Micro's business development and growth, including the expected benefits from our distribution and collaboration agreement with Millipor Sigma, customer interest and adoption of the GrowthDirect system and the impact of the GrowthDirect system on their businesses and operations and statements regarding the potential impact of general macroeconomic conditions on our business and that of our customers. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements due to a variety of factors including our ability to meet publicly announced guidance, the impact of our existing and any future indebtedness on our ability to operate our business, our ability to assess any future tranches under our debt facility and to comply with all its obligations thereunder our ability to deliver products to customers and recognize revenue and market and macroeconomic conditions. For a more detailed list and description of the risks and uncertainties associated with Rapid Micro's business, please refer to the Risk Factors SECtion of our most recent Quarterly report on Form 10Q filed with the SECurities and Exchange Commission as updated from time to time. In our subsequent filings with the SEC. We urge you to consider these factors and you should be aware that these statements should be considered estimates only and are not a guarantee of future performance. This conference call contains time sensitive information and is accurate only as of the live broadcast today, May 13, 2026. Rapid Micro disclaims any intention or obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any financial projections or forward looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. And with that I'll turn the call over to Rob. Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) Thank you, Mike Good afternoon everyone. I'll begin today's call with a brief overview of our first quarter performance and then discuss our priorities for the year before turning the call over to Sean for a more detailed review of our first quarter results in our Q2 and full year 2026 outlook. Today we reported total revenue of $8 million representing 11% year over year growth driven by continued momentum across system placements and recurring revenue. During the quarter we placed six GrowthDirect systems and as of March 31st we had 196 systems placed globally, including 160 fully validated systems. Placement activity in the quarter was led by Multi System Follow on order from Samsung Biologics, highlighting continued success with larger key customers. Product revenue increased 36% in the first quarter, driven by a record quarter for consumables which grew more than 30% reflecting increased utilization and a growing installed base. Service revenue was in line with the guidance we provided in March. Recurring revenue increased 28%, driven by strong growth across both consumables and service contract revenue and represented 63% of total revenue in the quarter. First quarter gross margin was 5%, consistent with our guidance, representing an 8 percentage point improvement from the fourth quarter of 2025. With that overview, I'll now turn to our priorities and review our progress thus far in 2026, starting with accelerating growth direct system placements, we're off to a solid start in 2026. Our commercial team is expanding the funnel with continued momentum in multi system opportunities and strong engagement including global rollout discussions with large customers. In early April we hosted a Japan Growth Direct Day event in Tokyo that brought together current users and prospective customers the first of three regional growth direct day customer events planned for 2026. The program enabled robust peer to peer discussions regarding implementation and validation and highlighted the operational benefits of automating and standardizing microbial QC on the Growth Direct platform. Following Japan, I visited South Korea and met with customers to discuss their QC automation roadmaps. Across these conversations, we discussed the clear intent in scaling Growth Direct deployments as customers accelerate their plans to adopt automation and enterprise wide standardization in microbial qc. The Asia Pacific region is an important growth driver for Rapid Micro Biosystems as we work to accelerate system placements and deepen relationships with large biopharma manufacturers. The engagement we're building in the region positions us well to become a long term technology partner as the imperative to automate continues to broaden. We're also expanding our installed base across the region with system placements in markets such as Singapore and Australia. In addition, we placed our first Growth Direct system in China where investment in advanced therapies including cell and gene therapies continues to increase and regulatory pathways are evolving to support accelerated review. Overall, our activities in Asia Pacific are strengthening customer relationships, building reference sites and supporting continued acceleration of system placements over time. Looking Ahead In June, Amgen will sponsor our first North American Growth Direct Day. We expect the event to bring together existing and prospective customers and further support momentum in our core biopharma market. I look forward to providing an update on our second quarter earnings call. In addition to our direct commercial channel, our collaboration with Millipore Sigma continues to expand the opportunity for Growth Direct placements not only in our core pharmaceutical market, but also adjacent markets such as personal care and medical devices. Milliporee SGMA is prioritizing automation and digital technologies to help shape the future of the PharmaQC lab. This effort centers on improving productivity, reliability and data integrity. These are areas where the Growth Direct excels and delivers clear customer value. The Growth Direct platform complements Millipore Sigma's product portfolio and we are pleased to be included within this broader automation framework. We also entered into a services agreement with Milliporee Sigma that makes Rapid Micro Biosystems the exclusive provider of validation, qualification and maintenance services to their customers that purchase GrowthDirect systems. In parallel, we are progressing toward a supply agreement as part of our margin expansion initiatives and continue to collaborate on joint new product development opportunities and enhancements to existing products. Turning to our priority of expanding gross margins, our performance in 2026 continues to track in line with our expectations and within the framework we previously outlined. Our primary driver for Our full year 2026 gross margin guidance of approximately 20% is a meaningful improvement of consumable margins. We have already begun to realize more favorable pricing from several key suppliers which is lowering our cost structure and meaningfully improving our visibility. Combined with additional actions underway to improve systems manufacturing efficiency, this gives us confidence in an inflection to positive product gross margins beginning in the second quarter. Service margins where we are currently meaningfully positive are also expected to accelerate further in the second half of 2026 as revenue ramps supporting our outlook for an overall gross margin rate in the fourth quarter in the mid 20% range. Looking further out, we remain focused on our long term goal of 50% plus gross margins supported by internal initiatives in our work with Millipore Sigma to reduce costs across systems and consumables. These efforts include manufacturing efficiencies, improved sourcing and supply chain optimization and overhead leverage as volumes scale. Service margins are expected to continue improving through productivity gains and improve headcount leverage across a growing installed base. To conclude my remarks, customer demand remains strong with purchasing decisions increasingly strategic in nature and in many cases focused on the growth direct as an enterprise priority. Our direct commercial organization is executing well and our collaboration with Milipor Sigma continues to advance, supported by favorable industry tailwinds including increased automation, US reshoring initiatives and the growing complexity of advanced biomanufacturing. These dynamics are enhancing our visibility into our longer term commercial pipeline extending into 2027 and 2028. Based on our first quarter performance and outlook, we are reaffirming our full year 2026 revenue guidance of $37 to $41 million including 30 to 38 system placements. With that, I'll turn the call over to Sean to discuss our first quarter performance and 2026 outlook in more detail. Sean Wurch Shawn thanks Rob and good afternoon everyone. I'll begin with an overview of our first quarter 2026 results followed by our outlook for the second quarter and full year. We will then open the call for questions. Total revenue for the first quarter increased 11% to $8 million compared to $7.2 million in the prior year period. We placed six GrowthDirect systems in the quarter compared to three in Q1 2025. Product revenue, which includes systems and consumables, increased 36% to $5.6 million compared to $4.1 million in Q1 2025. The increase was driven by strong consumable growth of more than 30% higher system placements. Service revenue was $2.4 million compared to $3.1 million in Q1 2025. This was within the guidance range we provided in March As a reminder, the timing of validation activities is typically the largest driver of quarter to quarter variability in service revenue. We completed 5 validations in the first quarter compared to 9 in the prior year period. Recurring revenue increased 28% to $5.1 million compared to $4 million in Q1 2025. Non recurring revenue, which is primarily comprised of systems and validation revenue, was $2.9 million compared to $3.2 million in the prior year period. Turning to margin, total first quarter gross margin and gross margin percentage were relatively flat compared to Q1 last year at $0.4 million and 5% respectively. This was in line with our guidance. Within this Q1 product margin was negative 8% compared to negative 23% in Q1 last year. The 15 percentage point improvement was mainly driven by a 33 percentage point improvement in consumable margins resulting mainly from direct material cost reduction activities, increased manufacturing productivity and efficiency and operating leverage from higher volumes. Q1 service margin was 34% in the first quarter compared to 43% in Q1 last year. The lower service margin was due to the lower service revenue in the period which is partially offset by the positive impact of productivity improvements made over the past year. Moving down the P and L, total operating expenses were $14.2 million in the first quarter compared to $12.1 million in Q1 2025 within OPEX, R&D expenses were $3.4 million, sales and marketing expenses were $3.4 million and G&A expenses were $7.4 million which included $0.9 million of severance and other non recurring corporate expenses. Interest income was $0.3 million and interest expense was $0.6 million in the first quarter. Net Q1 net loss was $14.3 million. This compares to a net loss of $11.3 million in Q1 last year. The larger net loss in Q1 this year was primarily attributable to the non recurring G&A cost I just mentioned as well as interest expense on the debt we issued in Q3 last year. Lower interest income and higher non cash stock based compensation expense in Q2. We expect net loss to step down and be comparable to the second quarter last year and then show progressive improvement in Q3 and Q4 compared to the comparable periods last year. Net loss per share was $0.31 in Q1 compared to net loss per share of $0.26 in the prior year quarter. With respect to noncash expenses and Capital expenditures, depreciation and amortization expenses were $0.7 million, stock compensation expense was $1.2 million and capital expenditures were $0.4 million in the first quarter. Now I'll turn to our outlook for the second quarter and full year. For the full year 2026, we are reaffirming our total revenue guidance of $37 million to $41 million, which assumes 30 million to 38 system placements. For Q2 we expect revenue of at least $7.7 million which includes at least 4 system placements. We continue to expect to complete at least 25 validations in 2026. Turning to margins, we expect our Q2 gross margin as a percentage of revenue to be in the mid to high teens for the full year. We continue to expect total gross margins of approximately 20% with a Q4 exit rate in the mid 20% range or better, product margin in the high single digits to low teens and service margin above 40%. We continue to expect quarter to quarter variability in gross margin to be driven by progress on our product cost reduction and service productivity initiatives, overall revenue volumes and the revenue mix between systems, consumables and service in each period. Continuing down the P and L for the full year, we now expect operating expenses of between 48 million and $52 million and $8 million in non cash expenses including depreciation and amortization expense of $3 million and stock compensation expense of $5 million, $7 million of non cash expenses in OPEX and $1 million in cost of revenue. We also expect CAPEX of $2 million, interest income of $1 million and interest expense of $2 million for the full year. I'll now turn to our balance sheet. We used $15 million of cash in the first quarter and ended the period with $23 million. Q1 2026 is typically our highest cash use quarter due to seasonal revenue and margin patterns in certain annual payments. This year. Q1 2026 cash usage also reflects two notable timing items. First, Q1 2026 cash collections were lower than usual due to stronger collections in Q4 2025, including the receipt of 100% of the cash associated with our record 16 system placements, which helped reduce Q4 cash usage to $3 million and second, the previously mentioned $0.9 million of severance and other non recurring corporate expenses included in our G and A expense for the balance of 2026, we expect cash usage to decline sequentially each quarter. As revenue increases, margins continue to expand and operating expenses step down to levels generally consistent with the comparable quarterly periods in 2025, we also expect lower cash usage to be supported by disciplined management of capex and working capital. With our $23 million in existing cash and $25 million of remaining availability under our Trinity Capital credit facility, we are well positioned to execute our strategy and will continue to actively and prudently manage our balance sheet. That concludes my comments. So at this point we'll open the call up for questions. Operator. OPERATOR Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q and A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Paul Knight with KeyBanc. Your line is now open. Paul Knight (Equity Analyst) Hi Rob, can you talk to the Millipore Sigma joint venture expansion by what more services? Could you help us understand what that is all about? Yeah, Paul. Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) So basically that agreement is linked to GrowthDirect systems, that Millipore Sigma sells that we will be the provider of all services associated installation, qualification all the way through routine use services. So the takeaway is that that service revenue would be recorded by us. The best way to think about it is no matter where a Growth Direct is sold in the world, we will perform all the insulation qualification services, whether it's through our direct channel or through the Millipore Sigma channel. Paul Knight (Equity Analyst) And then the scale on consumables, is it you need more volume of consumables or is it some technical issue that they're getting solved on the Millipore side? Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) Yeah, in terms of margin improvement opportunity, Paul? Yes, yeah, I think, yeah, it's a little bit of both. I think there's clearly opportunity for us to work with them and source from them over time. So that's the expectation that we have. We do not source anything from them for our consumables right now and they make some of the largest components of the products. So that's a very large opportunity for us. But they have expertise in that product as well. And part of the deal with them on distribution is that they're going to increase the volume and the growth. So I think all of that fits together into a nice package for us that we expect is going to help drive margin improvement going forward. As I touched on in my remarks, Paul, we're collaborating with them now on what that could look like with regard to that purchasing to drive gross margin improvement separately. The team has done a nice job with our current supply base to make sure we've got the right leverage which we've given the forward view for the full year on margin. So that was incorporated. Then of course we have quite a bit of operating leverage in our business, whether it's consumables or systems, systems manufacturing, given our fixed cost leverage in the business. So all that is colluding to come together to present our gross margin outlook, which Shawn walked through. Okay. Paul Knight (Equity Analyst) And then lastly, Sean, the Trinity line of credit remaining or available of 25 million. What are the terms on that? Sean Wurch Yeah, so we have which terms are specifically interested in, Paul, I'm happy to kind of walk through the things that will be helpful. I mentioned 25 million line of credit available. So the remaining 25 million, we have two different tranches that are potentially available to us and then there's 5 million of additional capital there that is at the lender's option. So if you think about the structure of the tranche is the first tranche is available, potentially available to us later this year. There are some financial metrics that we would need to satisfy to unlock it. We expect to do that by the end of the year and have that be available to us. The next tranche is another $10 million that we could unlock as early as roughly middle of 2027 and we are trending toward that as well. So 10 million toward the end of this year, another 10 million middle of next year potentially available to us and then 5 million of unallocated that we could work with the lender to unlock as well. Paul Knight (Equity Analyst) Okay, thanks. OPERATOR Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Dan Arias. What's Feifel? Your line is now open. Dan Arias Hi guys. Thanks for the questions here. Rob, is there something to be said or a conclusion to be drawn from the kind of performance that you saw out of consumables this quarter? 30 plus percent growth, is that part of an acceleration trend or do you see that as more episodic to start the year? Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) It's what we're. What we're seeing. There's a few things in the business, you know, the continued growth and growth, direct footprint, efficiencies in our ability to validate. It's one of our fulcrum capabilities. So the faster we validate and the more efficiently we do it, the faster our customers get into routine use. But I would say the most exciting thing is that customers are really using these Systems to drive return on investments (ROIs) in their business, which is extending conversations to more growth, direct rollouts. So it's a really good leading indicator. If you see that in our business, it means customers are happy in using the system and most importantly, getting an roi and that activates more and more discussions and increasingly I touched on my trip in Asia and other conversations. Increasingly the discussions are becoming more strategic in nature at senior levels and it's exciting to see many of our customers thinking about enterprise wide automation and integration of automation technology. So the market is definitely trending in the right direction. Dan Arias Okay. All right. And then SEAN, on the 30 to 38 systems for the year, what portion of that comes from systems that are part of orders that you have in hand? Samsung, et cetera? Basically I'm trying to understand how much new business you need to win in order to get there. It feels like you're on a pretty decent trajectory here, but curious to have you explain it. Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) Yeah. So Samsung was in Q1. I think you're asking about backlog, which isn't something we've historically talked about, but I think if we look out over the balance of the year. Rob talked about the funnel. I think we feel good about the funnel. Obviously Millipore SGMA is part of that as well and we have very tight connectivity with them. So I'd say we feel good about where that range is set at this point is why we're reiterating it. And a good part of that's based on what we see out over the balance of the year. So. And remember we tried to clarify a little bit last quarter, there's some variability in that range. Right. Eight systems is a decent sized range there. And I think there are opportunities for us to drive some good movement within that range by getting large multi system orders that we haven't assumed. And where we end up with Millipore Sigma this year in terms of what they deliver against their commitment and the overall environment, which we're obviously watching closely these days. So we're trying to drive to the top end of it, but we feel good about the range in general. Dan Arias Okay. But no additional Samsung placements after 1Q. Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) Yeah, we, Yes, I don't think we comment on that at this point. I mean there's definitely opportunity, definitely opportunity with Samsung going forward. Whether that happens this year or not, I don't think we comment on at this point. Dan. Dan Arias Okay, thank you. OPERATOR Yep, thank you. As a reminder to ask a question at this time, please press star 11 on your Touchstone telephone. Our next question comes from the line of Brendan Smith with TD Cowan. Your line is now open. Brendan Smith Great, thanks for taking the questions guys. Maybe just wanted another one on kind of margin story here, I guess wondering how we should think about any potential inflection in kind of the impact from Consumables and services revenue over the coming quarters, I guess. Is there maybe a sweet spot number of total placements that you expect to ultimately kind of hit that tipping point where consumables read through starts to kind of outweigh new device placements or really just any kind of color on how to think about the push and pull there on margin. Sean Wurch So Brennan, it's Sean. So for consumable margins, I think if you go back to what we said back in March, it still holds true. I think we expect to see that moving in a positive direction in the second half, driven in part by volume, but I think also driven very much by the other factors that I think both Rob and I have talked about, which is getting material costs out of the products, including the significant vendor pricing reductions we achieved recently, but also increasing volume and leverage that goes with that from an operating standpoint, Service, I think, as we've talked about before, is driven. It is sensitive to volume. And as we said last quarter, the expectation right now is that we're going to have a heavier second half than a first half in terms of service revenue with validations. But we had the big Q4 last year. Those systems seem to be teeing up to be more second half than first half in terms of validation. So that revenue is going to come in the second half and that will have a positive impact impact on margins in the second half. Brendan Smith Got it. Great, thanks. And then maybe just I know you noted some of the acceleration cell and gene therapy programs, I guess just wanted to maybe get your take on kind of the recent overhaul in leadership at fda. If you expect any kind of notable changes there or just anything you're kind of watching over the coming week to maybe signal how that momentum shifts if it does? Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) Yes, Rob, we watch actively the approvals. As you know, we have very high penetration into the cell therapies. Car t market in particular, I think our last reading was 86% of the FDA approved manufacturers are using our system. So as you know, it's a very, very, very good fit. So we watch it actively and I'm not sure if there's anything we observed in the past few weeks as far as acceleration or deceleration of approvals, but we like generally the pipeline as I touched on also regionally speaking to include Asia. So we believe we're well positioned to win cell and gene business broadly, whether it's through the principal manufacturers or through the CDMO's. As you know, we've got a good footprint there and we're also very well positioned to win that business globally. So region independent. So we'll continue to report out on what we see. But the takeaway for for us right now is we are and our intent is to remain well positioned to win in the celng market and cell therapy in particular. Brendan Smith Got it. Makes sense. Thanks, Chris. Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) Thank you. Thank you, OPERATOR thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Thomas Flatten with Lake Street Capital Markets. Your line is now open. Thomas Flatten Hey, good afternoon guys. Thanks for taking the questions. I was wondering if there's any way you could characterize the Millipore sales funnel from an industrial vertical perspective. What's their focus, what are they looking at and any way you could and I know you don't talk about backlog, but just give us a sense of what kind of number of potential placements you're looking at in the coming months, year, however you want to phrase it. Rob Spignessi (President and Chief Executive Officer) Yeah. Kind of in reverse order. This is Rob Thomas. I won't speak to the placement number. We haven't that via regard to Millerfor. But I can tell you one thing, I'm extremely excited when I'm seeing with regard to the global connectivity and activity and momentum that team is building. The Merck Milleport team. Very happy with how our teams are collaborating. It's a larger company, it's a much larger sales force. So it took a little bit of time to, if you will, get up to flying speed. But we're there and I'm very, very excited about it. Millipore Sigma has hired and focused specialists within their regions, North America, Europe and Asia. Their funnels are growing and their relationships are deep and broad which is activating and building funnel. The next step will be seeing that funnel convert and close and potentially the acceleration of sales cycle. So that's TBD at this point to be fair, but I would say the conditions are present and the predicate steps have been put in place for this to be a very successful collaboration. The story is still being written of course, but I think it's. I'm very excited about the leading indicators that I'm seeing and that's globally, it's not in any one region. With regard to end markets there is focus currently not complete, but I would say majority of focus within the broader pharmaceutical markets. We're in a lot of places, but we're also not in a lot of customers and they have reached a far beyond ours in our many, many labs. Those are nets and that's we've got good brand in pharma so that's a natural starting area. But they also can go deep in other verticals which are also very large markets, such as personal care, cosmetics, medical device. Those can tend to be, in some cases, more scattered markets. You need a broader and larger team to get after and brand and capability. So that was another reason why this partnership made sense for us. So that expands our TAM meaningfully. So more to tell there. But the report card right now with regard to the I'll call it the leading indicators, the actual activities I'm seeing is I'm personally very, very excited about it. Okay. No other questions. We're going to wrap today's call. Thanks, everyone, for your time and attention, and we'll look forward to speaking with many of you shortly. Thank you. OPERATOR This concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice. UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. This article Rapid Micro Biosystems Q1 2026 Earnings Call: Complete Transcript originally appeared on Benzinga.com ﾩ 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Reports first quarter 2026 total revenue of $8.0 million, representing 11% growth compared to the first quarter of 2025 Placed 6 Growth Direct systems in the first quarter 2026 compared to 3 systems in the first quarter of 2025 First quarter 2026 product revenue increased 36% year-over-year; consumable revenue increased over 30% First quarter 2026 recurring revenue increased 28% year-over-year; comprised 63% of total revenue First quarter 2026 product gross margin percentage increased 15-percentage points; consumable gross margin increased 33-percentage points Advanced strategic collaboration with MilliporeSigma with execution of Services Agreement Reaffirms full year 2026 total revenue guidance range of $37.0 million to $41.0 million including a range of 30 to 38 Growth Direct system placements Reaffirms full year 2026 gross margin percentage guidance of approximately 20%, with Q4 2026 exit rate in mid-20% range LEXINGTON, Mass., May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: RPID) (the “Company”), an innovative life sciences technology company providing mission critical automation solutions to facilitate the efficient manufacturing and fast, safe release of healthcare products, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. "Our first quarter results reflect strong and consistent execution across the business," said Robert Spignesi, President and CEO. "Strong consumable revenue drove nearly 30% growth in recurring revenue, underscoring the strength of our installed base and utilization trends. We continue to see robust customer interest in QC automation and are increasingly engaged in strategic discussions with customers on enterprise-level deployments of the Growth Direct platform and broader integration into company-wide automation strategies." First Quarter Financial Results Total revenue for the first quarter of 2026 increased 11.1% to $8.0 million compared to $7.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. The Company placed six new Growth Direct® systems and completed the validation of five customer systems compared to three placements and nine validations in the first quarter of 2025. Product revenue increased 36.0% to $5.6 million, compared to $4.1 million in the first quarter of 2025. Service revenue declined 21.9% to $2.4 million, compared to $3.1 million in the first quarter of 2025. The decline was primarily due to lower validation activity in the quarter, compared to the prior year. Recurring revenue increased 27.7% to $5.1 million, compared to $4.0 million in the first quarter of 2025. Total cost of revenue was $7.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 12.2% compared to $6.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. Gross margin was 4.6%, or $0.4 million, compared to 5.6%, or $0.4 million in the first quarter of 2025. Total operating expenses increased by 17.9% to $14.2 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared to $12.1 million in the first quarter of 2025. General and administrative expenses increased by 30.8%, research and development expenses decreased by 7.3%, and sales and marketing expenses increased by 24.4%, in each case compared to the first quarter of 2025. Net loss for the first quarter of 2026 was $14.3 million and net loss per share was $0.31, compared to a net loss of $11.3 million and net loss per share of $0.26 in the first quarter of 2025. Cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, and restricted cash were approximately $23 million as of March 31, 2026. Full Year 2026 Outlook The Company is reaffirming its full year 2026 total revenue guidance range of $37.0 million to $41.0 million including a range of 30 to 38 Growth Direct system placements, at least 25 system validations and gross margin percentage of approximately 20%. Company Presentation Available The Company has posted an updated presentation, titled Rapid Micro Biosystems Corporate Presentation - May 2026, to its Investor Relations website. The presentation includes a highlights of first quarter 2026 results and the Company's outlook for the second quarter and full year 2026. This presentation is available at https://investors.rapidmicrobio.com/news-and-events/presentations Webcast Details The Company will host a conference call before the market opens today, May 13, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss its first quarter 2026 financial results. The live call is accessible on the Company’s website at investors.rapidmicrobio.com and will be archived and available for replay for one year. About Rapid Micro Biosystems Rapid Micro Biosystems is an innovative life sciences technology company providing mission critical automation solutions to facilitate the efficient manufacturing and fast, safe release of healthcare products such as biologics, vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and sterile injectables. The Company’s flagship Growth Direct system automates and modernizes the antiquated, manual microbial quality control (“MQC”) testing workflows used in the largest and most complex pharmaceutical manufacturing operations across the globe. The Growth Direct system brings the quality control lab to the manufacturing floor, unlocking the power of MQC automation to deliver the faster results, greater accuracy, increased operational efficiency, better compliance with data integrity regulations, and quicker decision making that customers rely on to ensure safe and consistent supply of important healthcare products. The Company is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts and has U.S. manufacturing in Lowell, Massachusetts, with global locations in Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.rapidmicrobio.com or follow the Company on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @rapidmicrobio or on LinkedIn. Rapid Micro Biosystems intends to use the Investor Relations page of its website as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor its website in addition to following press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), public conference calls, presentations and webcasts. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s guidance, including with respect to full year 2026 total revenue, gross margin, number of Growth Direct placements and system validations; and the Company's growth outlook in future periods. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “outlook,” “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “positioned,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions which may cause actual results to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement, including, but not limited to risks related to, the Company's ability to achieve positive cash flow; the Company's ability to achieve its business objectives; the Company's significant losses since inception; the Company’s ability to meet its publicly announced guidance and other expectations about its business and operations; the Company's ability to fulfill customer orders on its anticipated timelines or at all; the impact of the Company's existing and any future indebtedness on its ability to operate its business; the Company’s ability to access any future tranches under its debt facility and to comply with all of its obligations thereunder; the Company’s limited experience in marketing and sales and the effectiveness of its sales processes; the Company’s need to develop new products and adapt to technological changes; the Company’s ability to establish and maintain its position as a leading provider of automated microbial quality control testing; the Company’s ability to maintain its manufacturing facility; the Company's ability to improve the gross margins of its products and services; risks related to third-parties; the Company’s ability to retain key management and other employees; risks related to regulatory and intellectual property matters; risks related to supply chain disruptions and the impact of inflation; risks associated with macroeconomic events and uncertainty, including with respect to tariff and trade policy in the U.S. and abroad, as well as activity in the Company's industry and in the general economy; and the other important factors outlined under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations page of its website at investors.rapidmicrobio.com. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results. The Company has no obligation, and does not undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statement made in this press release to reflect changes since the date of this press release, except as may be required by law. CONTACT: Investor Contact Michael Beaulieu, CFA Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications [email protected] Media Contact [email protected]