Alpha Teknova's Q4 2024: Diverging Views on Revenue Growth, Order Timing, and Custom Strategies

These are the key contradictions discussed in Alpha Teknova's latest 2024Q4 earnings call, specifically including: Revenue Growth Expectations, Customer Order Timing and Market Conditions, and Custom Offering Strategy:



Revenue and Customer Growth:
- Alpha Teknova reported $37.7 million in total revenue for 2024, with a 11% growth excluding a specific large order in 2023.
- The company supported 48 clinical customers in 2024, up from 34 at the end of 2023, indicating a 41% annual increase.
- Growth was driven by increased clinical customers, especially in the biopharma segment, and new product offerings.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Management:
- Alpha Teknova reduced operating expenses by $8.1 million in 2024 compared to 2023, excluding non-recurring charges.
- The company finished the year with a total cash outflow of $13.5 million, substantially better than their initial guidance of $18 million.
- This was attributed to aggressive cost management and a reduction in headcount despite reduced headcount.

Product and Market Performance:
- Catalog products represented approximately 60% of total revenue in 2024, with low single-digit growth, improving to 7% growth in the second half of the year.
- Custom biopharma revenue grew by approximately 40% in 2024, excluding a new customer, still showing robust growth of 25%.
- Growth in catalog products was driven by a stabilization in R&D funding, while custom biopharma growth was supported by the onboarding of new therapeutic clinical customers.

2025 Revenue Guidance and Market Outlook:
- For 2025, Alpha Teknova provided a revenue guidance range of $39 million to $42 million, implying 7% revenue growth.
- The company anticipates mid-single-digit growth in both catalog and Life Science Tools and Diagnostics segments.
- The guidance reflects caution due to macroeconomic uncertainty, with Teknova expecting orders from smaller biotechs to be delayed or reduced.