Illumina Stock Climbs 44.8% in a Year: What's Driving the Rally?

Shares of Illumina ILMN have risen 44.8% over the past year, reflecting strong momentum. The stock has outpaced the industry’s 16.1% gain and the S&P 500 Composite’s 25.2% rise.

Carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present, the renowned genomics company continues to demonstrate progress toward long-term growth pillars, which include growing the core sequencing business, scaling into multiomics and expanding services, data and software capabilities. Clinical momentum from the broader adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based testing continues to benefit the company. Margin expansion and a strong liquidity position are also encouraging.

San Diego, CA-based Illumina provides sequencing and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis, used across life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture and other emerging segments. Outside the United States, the company’s products are sold across other areas of North America, Latin America, Europe, China and the Asia-Pacific region. On June 24, 2024, Illumina had completed the spin-off of GRAIL, distributing approximately 85.5% of GRAIL’s outstanding common stock based on the June 13 record date while retaining nearly a 14.5% stake.

What’s Behind Illumina’s Price Surge?

The rally in the company’s share price can be linked to the strong execution across its strategic pillars toreturn to long-term growth. Illumina exited 2025 returning to growth, with ex-China revenues growing 7% in the fourth quarter. In its core sequencing business, anchored by NovaSeq X, clinical customers remain the primary growth driver. Growth is supported by the broader adoption of NGS-based testing and customers shifting to more data-intensive applications, such as transitions from whole exome to whole genome sequencing in oncology and genetic disease.

Illumina’s fourth quarter also marked the second-highest quarterly placements of NovaSeq X since launching the platform in 2023.

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The company is scaling into multiomics, building a comprehensive set of integrated solutions that includes both internally developed capabilities and targeted acquisitions. Recent examples include the acquisition of SomaLogic, which positions it togrow in the expanding proteomics market by combining SomaLogic's technologies and services with Illumina’s product innovation and global reach. The company also launched Illumina Connected Multiomics, a cloud-based research software platform, which brings together capabilities across genomics, proteomics, single-cell and epigenomics.

As a key priority, Illumina is advancing its services, data and software capabilities. In the fourth quarter, it launched a new business called BioInsight. The first data product, the Billion Cell Atlas, was met with strong interest from biopharma partners, with Illumina continuing to see growing engagement from more partners as data-driven approaches gain traction in drug discovery.

Operationally, Illumina’s non-GAAP gross margins (excluding tariffs) improved 165 basis points, while non-GAAP operating margin expanded 400 basis points, both on a year-over-year basis. As of the fourth-quarter end, it had cash and short-term investments of $1.63 billion with $500 million in short-term debt, reflecting favorable solvency.

What Ails ILMN?

In March 2025, China announced a ban on the imports of Illumina’s NGS sequencers shortly after adding the company to the List of Unreliable Entities. This comes as a major setback in a region where strong healthcare investments and an aging population drive sequencing demand. Of late, the company’s operations have also been affected by various macroeconomic factors such as inflation, currency fluctuations and concerns about a possible economic downturn.

A Glance at ILMN’s Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ILMN’s 2026 and 2027 earnings per share (EPS) is expected to increase 6.2% and 14.8% year over year, respectively, to $5.14 and $5.90. In the past 60 days, the consensus mark for the company's 2026 EPS has risen 1.8%.

Revenues for 2026 are projected to grow 4.4% to $4.54 billion, while those for 2027 are expected to reach $4.83 billion, implying a 6.6% increase.

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical GMED, Intuitive Surgical ISRG and Edwards Lifesciences EW.

Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 4.9%, well ahead of the industry’s -0.7% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 18.8%. The company’s shares have rallied 21.6% against the industry’s 2.3% fall in the past year.

GMED sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Intuitive Surgical, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has an earnings yield of 2.1% against the industry’s -0.7% yield. Shares of the company have dropped 2.3% compared to the industry’s 3.7% fall. ISRG’s earnings topped estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 13.2%.

Edwards Lifesciences, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, has an earnings yield of 3.6% against the industry’s -0.7% yield. Shares of the company have climbed 25.2% compared to the industry’s 2.4% decline. EW’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 5.5%.

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