New York, Feb 2, 2026, 10:48 ET — During regular trading hours
- Shares of Twist Bioscience jumped roughly 14% in late-morning trading
- Company reported a record fiscal Q1 revenue of $103.7 million and raised its full-year sales forecast
- Attention shifts to margins and hitting adjusted EBITDA breakeven by late fiscal 2026
Twist Bioscience Corp shares jumped roughly 14% to $46.88 in late-morning trading Monday, following the release of record quarterly revenue and an upgraded full-year sales outlook.
The update is significant since Twist operates at the core of biotech R&D, providing synthetic DNA and related products that drug developers and diagnostics firms rely on for experiments. Orders can drop quickly when budgets are cut. But they usually recover when spending picks up.
Investors are pushing life-sciences suppliers to clarify their path to cash flow. Twist reiterated its focus on boosting gross margin and aims for adjusted EBITDA breakeven; this metric excludes interest, taxes, depreciation, and stock-based compensation to gauge profitability.
Twist reported a 17% jump in fiscal first-quarter revenue to $103.7 million, with gross margin climbing to 52.0%. The net loss shrank to $30.5 million, or $0.50 per share. The company raised its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to $435 million–$440 million, up from $425 million–$435 million. CEO Emily M. Leproust said revenue “exceeded guidance” and emphasized their focus on profitability, maintaining gross margins above 50%. (SEC)
Revenue from the company’s DNA synthesis and protein solutions climbed 27% to $51.1 million, it reported. NGS applications revenue increased 8% to $52.6 million. Twist also revealed it shipped to roughly 2,538 customers in the quarter and introduced research-grade plasmid DNA preps.
Twist projects revenue between $107 million and $108 million for the current quarter and reaffirmed its target to hit adjusted EBITDA breakeven by fiscal 2026’s fourth quarter.
During the earnings call, CFO Adam Laponis made a case for growth even if it means accepting lower peak margins occasionally: “We’d much rather build a multi-billion-dollar business at a 50+% gross margin than a $500 million business at a 60%.” (Investing)
The move outpaced the broader biotech tape. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF climbed roughly 1.4%, and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF edged up about 0.7% in morning trade, as Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings gained and Illumina dipped.
Twist remains in the red, with its spending pattern changing. Selling, general, and administrative expenses climbed compared to last year. The company also noted that a major customer shift hit NGS growth. A dip in orders from big clients could squeeze margins and push back the breakeven timeline.
Traders are now focused on whether Twist can meet its March-quarter revenue guidance of $107 million to $108 million and maintain a gross margin above 52%. This milestone is crucial as the company aims for adjusted EBITDA breakeven in the fourth quarter.
