Veracyte VCYT delivered fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of 36 cents per share, which marked a stupendous improvement of 71.4% from the year-ago period’s figure of 21 cents. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 24.1%.

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The company-adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were 6 cents compared to the year-ago period’s loss of 39 cents per share. 

Full-year 2024 EPS of $1.19 increased 105.2% from the prior-year figure of 58 cents. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.2%.

Following the earnings announcement, VCYT’s share price lost 7.2% at after-market trading yesterday.

VCYT’S Revenues

Revenues increased 20.8% year over year to $118.6 million, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6%.

The company reported full-year 2024 revenues of $445.8 million, which increased 23.5% from the prior-year level. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. 

VCYT’s Q4 Segmental Details

Testing revenues totaled $112.2 million, up 24% year over year. This rise was mainly due to Decipher and Afirma revenue growth of 44% and 4%, respectively. Testing volume improved 25% year over year to 39,107 tests.

Product revenues fell 18% year over year to $3.0 million in the fourth quarter. Volume was approximately 2,200 tests, down 18% year over year, as the company continued to face supply and manufacturing challenges.

Biopharmaceutical and other revenues of $13.2 million reflected a 30% decrease from the prior-year quarter’s figure. 

Margins

The total cost of revenues (product, testing, biopharmaceutical and other) was $39.9 million, up 19.4% year over year.

The gross profit rose 21.6% to $78.7 million. The gross margin expanded 41 basis points (bps) to 66.4%.

Selling and marketing expenses fell 1.7% to $24.8 million, while general and administrative expenses increased 13.1% to $26.9 million. R&D expenses totaled $19.3 million, up 3.3% year over year. The company delivered an operating profit of $7.7 million compared to a loss of $2.9 million in the year-ago period. 

VCYT’s Cash, Capital Structure and Solvency

Veracyte exited 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of $239.1 million compared with $216.4 million at the end of 2023.

The cumulative net cash outflow from operating activities at the end of the reported quarter was $75.1 million compared with $44.2 million a year ago.

Guidance

Veracyte provided testing revenue and total company-adjusted EBITDA margin guidance for 2025.

Veracyte, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Veracyte, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Veracyte, Inc. Quote

The company expects 2025 testing revenues to be in the range of $470-$480 million, implying 12-15% year-over-year growth. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues is anticipated to be approximately 21.6% compared with 20.6% in 2024.

Our Take

Veracyte reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, with its earnings and revenues surpassing their respective estimates. The company registered robust growth from its market-leading Decipher Prostate and Afirma tests. Also, gross margin expansion instills optimism among investors. 

Meanwhile, the declines in Product revenues and Biopharmaceutical and other revenues were concerning, mostly affected by supplier issues and industry-wide spending constraints.

Zacks Rank and Other Key Picks

Veracyte currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are ResMed RMD, Cardinal Health CAH and Bio-Rad Laboratories BIO.

ResMed posted second-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.43, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.6%. Revenues of $1.28 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6%.

RMD  carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

RMD has an estimated fiscal 2025 earnings growth rate of 21.9% compared with the industry’s 13.2%. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 6.9%.

Cardinal Health, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, posted second-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.93, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.3%. Revenues of $55.26 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%.

CAH has an estimated five-year earnings growth rate of 10.7% compared with the industry’s 9.3%. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 9.6%.

Bio-Rad posted a third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $2.01, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 57%. Revenues of $649.7 million exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%.

BIO has an earnings yield of 3.3% compared with the industry’s 0.6%. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 30.5%.

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