Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. PACB, popularly known as PacBio, delivered an adjusted loss per share of 20 cents in fourth-quarter 2024, narrower than the year-ago adjusted loss of 27 cents per share. The adjusted loss per share was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

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The company’s GAAP earnings per share (EPS) was a penny in the quarter against the year-ago period’s loss of 31 cents.

Full-year adjusted loss per share was 83 cents, narrower than the adjusted loss of $1.11 per share at the end of the comparable 2023 period. However, the figure was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 81 cents.

PacBio’s Revenues in Detail

PacBio registered revenues of $39.2 million in the fourth quarter, down 32.8% year over year. However, the figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.1%.

Full-year revenues were $154 million, reflecting a 23.2% decrease from the comparable 2023 period.

Shares of this company lost 4.1% in today’s pre-market trading.

PACB’s Geographical Analysis

PacBio’s revenues from the Americas were $20.2 million, down 41% year over year. The decline resulted from the region being most affected by the academic environment and NIH funding uncertainty.

In the Asia-Pacific region, PacBio recorded revenues of $8.9 million, reflecting a 33% decline year over year. The sequential growth in consumables was offset by lower Revio placements. Several countries in the region also faced government funding headwinds with respect to capital expenditures.

The Europe, the Middle East and Africa region registered revenues of $10.1 million, which declined 9% year over year. The region saw record consumables revenues in the fourth quarter, with growing Revio utilization as key projects like Estonia Biobank, Radboud, and Dubai’s population sequencing program continue to sequence at scale.

PacBio’s Segmental Analysis

Product revenues amounted to $34.1 million, down 36.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Instrument revenues were $15.3 million, down 56.4% year over year. This primarily resulted from lower Revio system shipments. Instrument revenues in the fourth quarter of 2024 included 23 Revio sequencing systems and seven Vega sequencing systems.

PACB ended the quarter with 270 cumulative Revio system shipments.

Consumables revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $18.8 million, down 0.5% from the prior-year quarter. Annualized Revio pull-through per system was $240,000 in the quarter.

Service and other revenues totaled $5.1 million, up 17.7% year over year. This was driven by an increase in service contract revenues related to Revio.

PACB’s Margin Trend

In the quarter under review, PacBio’s adjusted gross profit decreased 14.9% year over year to $12.3 million. However, the adjusted gross margin expanded 656 basis points to 31.3%.

Sales, general and administrative expenses declined 9.5% year over year to $41.6 million. Research and development expenses decreased 38.3% year over year to $27.5 million. Adjusted total operating expenses of $69.1 million decreased 23.7% year over year.

Total adjusted operating loss was $56.8 million in the reported quarter compared with the prior-year quarter’s $76.1 million.

PacBio’s Financial Position

PacBio exited 2024 with cash and investments of $389.9 million compared with $631.4 million at 2023-end.

PACB’s Guidance

PacBio has provided its revenue outlook for the first quarter of 2025 and initiated the same for the full year.

Management expects first-quarter 2025 revenues to be lower compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 due to typical seasonality and lower Revio systems and consumables revenues. However, this is likely to be partially offset by increased Vega system revenues. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $43.6 million.

The company expects to achieve revenues between $155 million and $170 million for the full year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $189.5 million.

Our Take

PacBio exited the fourth quarter of 2024 with in-line loss per share and better-than-expected revenues. A robust increase in its Service and other revenues was encouraging. The expansion of the adjusted gross margin also bodes well.

During the quarter, the company commenced shipment of SPRQ chemistry. On the earnings call, management confirmed that PACB has been witnessing continued expansion of its customer base and adoption of PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing. These look promising for the stock.

Yet, the continued loss per share reported by PacBio was disappointing. The year-over-year fall in the overall top line and lower Product revenues during the quarter were concerning. Dismal geographical results and lower Instrument and Consumables revenues were also discouraging. The year-over-year adjusted operating loss was another area of concern. Management expects macroeconomic pressures to persist, extending sales cycles, particularly for Revio. Also, the recent announcements regarding NIH funding have increased the uncertainty in the academic environment, particularly in the United States. These also raise apprehension.

PacBio’s Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

PACB currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space that have announced quarterly results are Cardinal Health, Inc. CAH, ResMed Inc. RMD and Boston Scientific Corporation BSX.

Cardinal Health, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.93, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.3%. Revenues of $55.26 billion outpaced the consensus mark by 0.7%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Cardinal Health has a long-term estimated growth rate of 10.7%. CAH’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 9.6%.

ResMed reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.43, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.7%. Revenues of $1.28 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

ResMed has a long-term estimated growth rate of 16%. RMD’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 6.9%.

Boston Scientific reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of 70 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.7%. Revenues of $4.56 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.5%. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Boston Scientific has a long-term estimated growth rate of 13.3%. BSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 8.3%.

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