Twist Bioscience (Twist Bioscience (TWST)) shares dipped Monday after the company reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat revenue expectations but showed a wider-than-expected loss. The stock was down about 4% in afternoon trading.
The life science company reported an adjusted loss of $0.59 per share, missing the consensus estimate of a $0.48 loss. Revenue came in at $110.72 million, beating the consensus of $107.66 million and the company's own guidance of $107 million to $108 million.
The wider loss was partly due to a $7.2 million charge for litigation settlement costs. Twist reached a settlement in principle regarding a securities class action for approximately $17.1 million.
Management Maintains Profitability Timeline
Despite the loss, CEO Emily Leproust reaffirmed the company's path to profitability. "We expect to chart toward profitability while simultaneously building on the strong momentum we are seeing across the portfolio," she said. "We continue to anticipate achieving adjusted EBITDA breakeven in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 while holding gross margin above 52% for the fiscal year."
Segment Growth Driven by AI-Enabled Drug Discovery
Twist's two main segments both posted solid growth. DNA Synthesis and Protein Solutions (DSPS) revenue grew 28% to $53.3 million, while NGS Applications revenue rose 12% to $57.4 million, driven by continued strength in AI-enabled drug discovery.
Academic research and government revenue came in at $12.8 million for the quarter, fueled by strength in U.S. accounts. The company shipped products to approximately 2,583 customers, up from about 2,431 a year ago, and physically shipped roughly 300,000 genes, up from 227,000 a year ago.
Twist raised its fiscal 2026 sales guidance from $435 million-$440 million to $442 million-$447 million, above the consensus of $439.12 million. For the third quarter, the company expects revenue of $114 million-$115 million, versus the consensus of $111.37 million.
Portfolio Expansion Targets Complex Gene Synthesis
On Monday, Twist expanded its clonal genes portfolio with the early access launch of Complex Genes. The company said the new complex synthesis capabilities support the advancement of AI-enabled drug discovery and nucleic acid therapeutics.
Twist Bioscience shares were down 4.21% at $57.86 at the time of publication Monday.
