Standard BioTools' Q4 2024: Discrepancies in Illumina Partnership Revenue and NIH Funding Impact

These are the key contradictions discussed in Standard BioTools' latest 2024Q4 earnings call, specifically including: Illumina Partnership Revenue Expectations, Impact of NIH Funding on Guidance, and Revenue Expectations from the Illumina Partnership:



Revenue and Market Conditions:
- Standard BioTools reported $46.7 million in revenue for the fourth quarter and $175.1 million for the full year 2024, both down 9% year-over-year.
- The decline was impacted by softness in instrument and services due to CapEx constraints and cautious spending in biopharma and academia.

Instrument and Consumables Revenue:
- Instrument placements decreased 25% in Q4 and 27% for the full year, while consumables grew 10% in Q4 and 18% for the full year.
- The decline in instruments was due to constrained capital spending, while the growth in consumables was driven by strong kit sales and the Illumina early access program.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Synergies:
- Non-GAAP operating expenses decreased 22% year-over-year, leading to a 33% improvement in adjusted EBITDA in full-year '24 compared to '23.
- These improvements were a result of $80 million in cost synergies realized through operationalization and $10 million in additional cuts, primarily in research and development.

Protein Analysis Market Potential:
- The partnership with Illumina for distributed proteomics is expected to be a significant growth opportunity, aiming to enter a market similar in scale to NGS.
- This strategic alliance is anticipated to bring large-scale proteomics to more researchers, potentially reaching $1 billion in market size over time.