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Ginkgo (DNA) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Health Care· Aug 5, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Ginkgo Q2 FY26 — Autonomous Labs Drive Strategic Shift and Cost Efficiency

Ginkgo Bioworks is strategically pivoting towards autonomous labs, aiming to establish them as an imperative for American science and a competitive counterweight to offshore contract research organizations. The company is demonstrating the capabilities of its expanded Nebula lab and launching new services like ADME-One to capture market share, while also focusing on continued cost efficiency and managing cash burn. New partnerships with national labs and universities underscore the platform's potential for broader adoption.

Highlights

4

  • Cash burn for H1 FY26 decreased 3% to $93 million compared to H1 FY25.

  • Nebula, the autonomous lab, expanded to 105 RACs, with 50 new RACs added in a 3-week period.

  • Secured new autonomous lab contracts with MIT, Caltech, Maryland, and Northwestern universities.

  • Launched ADME-One service, offering a panel of assays for $199, significantly undercutting competitors ($1,000-$5,000).

Concerns

4

  • Revenue for Q2 FY26 was $20 million, down 48% year-over-year.

  • Revenue for H1 FY26 was $40 million, down 49% year-over-year (42% excluding a noncash item).

  • Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 FY26 was negative $36 million, compared to negative $25 million in Q2 FY25.

  • Cash burn for Q2 FY26 increased to $45 million compared to $38 million in Q2 FY25.

Guidance & targets

CategoryTargetConfidence
Full-year cash burn
$125 million to $150 million
high materiality
High

Product announcements

ProductTypeDetails
ADME-One servicelaunch

Deals & partnerships

Biosecurity business Divestiture of the biosecurity business, now classified as discontinued operations.

The transaction closed on April 3. Biosecurity results are reported as loss from discontinued operations below loss from continuing operations.

Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) Contract to build an autonomous lab, expanding to a 97-rack system under the Genesis Mission.

Ginkgo ribbon-cut the first 13 RACs at PNNL in December with the Secretary of Energy. This is part of the Genesis Mission to bring AI into science and build autonomous labs for national labs.

MIT Selected to build an autonomous lab for educational uses.

This partnership is through a separate grant, distinct from the NSF program, focusing on training scientists with robotics-driven approaches.

Caltech Selected to build an autonomous lab focusing on chemical structure data generation from natural products.

This partnership is part of the NSF program to build autonomous labs at universities across the country.

University of Maryland Selected to build an autonomous lab focusing on biomanufacturing.

This partnership is part of the NSF program to build autonomous labs at universities across the country.

Northwestern University Selected to build an autonomous lab focusing on protein engineering.

This partnership is part of the NSF program to build autonomous labs at universities across the country.

Inductive Bio and Tangible Scientific Partnership to enhance the ADME-One service.

Inductive Bio and Tangible Scientific handle PK projection and compound management, respectively, for the ADME-One service, offering a comprehensive solution to customers.

Risks & headwinds

Offshoring of biotech work to China Ongoing

More than 50% of newly acquired drug assets in Q1 FY26 came from Chinese startups; biotech bench work jobs are being outsourced to China.

Mitigation:Ginkgo is positioning its autonomous labs and services (like ADME-One) as a competitive counterweight to lower-cost labor in China, aiming to reshore biotech work to the U.S. through automation.

Revenue decline Current

Q2 FY26 revenue down 48% YoY to $20 million; H1 FY26 revenue down 49% YoY to $40 million (42% ex-BiomEdit).

Mitigation:Focusing on new sales of autonomous labs and expanding service offerings like ADME-One to drive future revenue growth. Emphasizing cost efficiency and managing cash burn.

Increased adjusted EBITDA loss Current

Negative $36 million in Q2 FY26 vs. negative $25 million in Q2 FY25.

Mitigation:Continued focus on cost efficiency and strategic investments in autonomous labs. Identifying and mitigating costs like excess lease space ($14 million in Q2 FY26).

Cash burn Current

$45 million in Q2 FY26 vs. $38 million in Q2 FY25; H1 FY26 cash burn of $93 million (down 3% YoY, but includes $14 million Google Cloud payment).

Mitigation:Reaffirmed full-year cash burn guidance of $125 million to $150 million, indicating continued efforts to manage cash outflows while investing in strategic growth areas.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Full-year cash burn

FY26
Current $93 million (H1 FY26)
Target Within $125 million to $150 million range

Why it matters

Cash burn is a key indicator of financial health and operational efficiency, especially during a strategic pivot and investment phase.

In terms of outlook for the full year, we are reaffirming our overall cash burn guidance for 2026, totaling $125 million to $150 million.

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Q&A highlights

How should we think about order funnel, backlog, and revenue recognition for autonomous labs and Datapoints moving forward?

Management clarified that revenue for large government deals and university autonomous lab sales is recognized upon delivery and installation of equipment, with ongoing services and SaaS revenue recognized regularly post-deployment. Datapoints revenue, similar to legacy services, is recognized over time for projects typically lasting 3-9 months. They are not providing specific revenue guidance or breaking out current revenue for these segments.

“But we do get paid services will there be custom work. We absolutely support services after the install and for which we have a long tail of revenue coming from that. So we look at it -- you have to think about that business model as equipment and support.”

asked by Brendan from TD · answered by Steven Coen

2 min read 5 chapters

Detailed narrative

Autonomous Labs as a National Imperative

Ginkgo emphasizes autonomous labs as critical for the U.S. to maintain competitiveness in biotechnology against countries like China. Citing a Stat magazine article and a Wall Street Journal report on increasing Chinese drug asset acquisitions, management argues that automating lab work is essential to prevent offshoring of biotech jobs. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) report and NSF's new $400 million program for cloud laboratories highlight a national push towards autonomous experimentation, which Ginkgo is actively participating in.

Nebula: Scaling the Autonomous Lab

Nebula, Ginkgo's autonomous lab in Boston, has significantly expanded to 105 Robotic Automated Cells (RACs), with 50 new RACs added in just three weeks. This expansion demonstrates the platform's rapid scalability and ability to handle high variability, running approximately 30 unique protocols daily from scientists, not automation engineers. The lab operates 24/7, offering a fourfold increase in utilization compared to manual labs and intrinsic benefits like repeatability and electronic records crucial for AI-driven science.

Competing with Offshore CROs: ADME-One

Ginkgo is directly targeting traditional Contract Research Organization (CRO) work, historically offshored to companies like WuXi, with its autonomous lab-as-a-service model. The recently launched ADME-One service offers a panel of five Tier 1 assays for small molecules at $199, a significant price reduction compared to Western CROs ($2,000-$5,000) and Chinese CROs ($1,000-$2,500). This service, validated against external vendors and supported by partnerships for PK projection and compound management, aims to reshore biotech work to the U.S.

Academic Partnerships and Future Growth

Ginkgo announced new partnerships to build autonomous labs for MIT, Caltech, Maryland, and Northwestern universities, funded by the NSF program and separate grants. These initiatives aim to integrate autonomous labs into academic research and education, training the next generation of scientists on robotics-driven science. Management believes this could lead to significant demand from other research institutes, potentially offsetting existing lab spending and attracting new grants or donor funding, fostering a paradigm shift in biological research infrastructure.

Financial Overview and Cost Efficiency

The company reported Q2 FY26 revenue of $20 million, down 48% year-over-year, and H1 FY26 revenue of $40 million, down 49% (42% excluding a prior noncash item). R&D and G&A expenses decreased by 4% and 26% respectively, driven by restructuring efforts. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $36 million, including $14 million for excess lease space. Cash burn for H1 FY26 improved by 3% to $93 million, despite a $14 million Google Cloud payment in Q1, and the full-year cash burn guidance of $125 million to $150 million was reaffirmed.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.