Azenta, Inc.

Azenta, Inc. is a leading global provider of biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences industry. The company entered the life sciences market in 2011, leveraging in-house precision automation and cryogenics capabilities originally applied in the semiconductor manufacturing market. Since then, Azenta has expanded its life sciences offerings through internal investments and a series of acquisitions, supporting customers from research and clinical development to commercialization with sample management and automated storage systems, as well as genomic services expertise. The company employs approximately 3,000 full-time employees, part-time employees and contingent workers worldwide as of September 30, 2025 and has sales in approximately 95 countries. Azenta is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts and has operations in North America, Asia and Europe. The company divested the last of its semiconductor businesses in February 2022 for $2.9 billion in cash and since then operates solely as a life sciences company. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Azenta announced it is pursuing a sale of its B Medical Systems business, a manufacturer and global distributor of medical refrigeration devices based in Luxembourg, which has been classified as held for sale and a discontinued operation.

Azenta believes it has a unique portfolio of products and services given the breadth of solutions and services offered by its Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics segments. In the Sample Management Solutions segment, main competitors include Hamilton Company and Liconic AG for automation systems and Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for storage, consumables and services. In the Multiomics segment, main competitors include BGI Genomics Co., Ltd., Eurofins, Scientific S.E., GenScript Biotech Corporation, Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., Novogene Co., Ltd., and Twist Bioscience Corporation. The company has approximately 14,000 customers globally and serves top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the most advanced research hospitals performing clinical research and therapy development, as well as leading-edge start-ups in the biotech space, along with academic and government institutions.

Azenta generates revenue through two reportable segments: Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics. The Sample Management Solutions segment offers end-to-end sample management products and services, including Sample Repository Services (SRS) and Core Products (Automated Stores, Cryogenic Systems, Automated Sample Tube, Consumables and Instruments and Controlled Rate Thawing Devices). The Multiomics segment offers genomic and other sample analysis services, including gene sequencing, gene synthesis and related services. Most sales are completed through a direct sales force, particularly for store systems, storage services, and genomic services, supplemented by distributors for consumables and instruments. The sales process for SRS and larger automated storage systems takes months to complete and may involve a team from sales, marketing, and engineering, while sales of genomic services are generally generated with on-line orders, with the simplest requests completed in less than 24 hours and more complex projects within weeks.

Within the Sample Management Solutions segment, SRS services include a complete range of services consisting of on-site and off-site sample storage, cold chain logistics, sample transport and collection relocation, bio-processing solutions (inclusive of sample preparation and laboratory-based sample analysis), disaster recovery and business continuity, and project management and consulting. Automated stores are stand-alone systems that can store over 20 million samples in temperature ranges from ambient to -80°C, with a unique design that allows controlled temperature storage down to -80°C with the industry's highest throughput of sample retrieval. Cryogenic systems provide cryogenic storage ranging from high efficiency LN2 vapor-based cryogenic freezers to fully automated systems that preserve sample integrity and chain of custody, with long-term cryogenic storage capabilities. Automated sample tube offerings include a range of automation-friendly storage tubes with coding options such as 2D-coded, dual-coded, and tri-coded, with either external or internal threading, and instruments for faster reading, capping, and de-capping. Consumables and instruments products include a complete range of consumables, including multiple formats of racks, tubes, caps, plates and foils, used for storage and handling of samples in ambient to ultra-cold storage environments, along with instruments for labeling, bar coding, capping, de-capping, auditing, sealing, peeling, and piercing tubes and plates. Controlled rate thawing devices include a range of products for automated thawing of plasma, blood and stem cells as well as in cell and gene therapy (CGT) applications.

Within the Multiomics segment, genomic services include gene sequencing and gene synthesis services, enabling the expanding research and development of gene-based healthcare discoveries and therapies. These service offerings include Next-Generation sequencing (NGS), Sanger sequencing, gene synthesis, bioinformatics, and good laboratory practices (GLP) regulatory services. Sequencing services are available with both standard and custom services for extraction, library preparation, sequencing, and bioinformatics, supported by Ph.D.-level project managers. Gene synthesis offerings provide production of a wide range of sequence lengths and structural complexity, DNA cloning, gene fragment synthesis, oligo synthesis, and plasmid purification. The company has a network of 14 laboratories that provide genomic services, including seven in the United States, three in China, two in the United Kingdom, and one each in Japan and Germany.

During the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Azenta announced it is pursuing a sale of its B Medical Systems business, which has been classified as held for sale and a discontinued operation. On November 1, 2024, the company entered into a Cooperation Agreement with Politan Capital Management LP pursuant to which it agreed, among other things, to increase the size of the Board of Directors by three directors and appoint Quentin Koffey to the Board of Directors, to establish a new Value Creation Committee of the Board of Directors, and that two directors serving on the Board of Directors immediately prior to the execution of the Cooperation Agreement would not stand for re-election at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The Cooperation Agreement expired on October 2, 2025, though Mr. Koffey remains a member of the Board of Directors. As of November 20, 2025, the company owned approximately 103 issued U.S. patents, with various corresponding patents issued in foreign jurisdictions, and approximately 545 foreign (non-U.S.) issued patents, with approximately 32 pending U.S. patent applications. Current patents begin to expire at various dates beginning in 2025 and will continue to expire from time to time thereafter through 2044.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, total revenue from continuing operations was $634.0 million ¹, compared to $651.0 million ² in fiscal 2024. Net loss from continuing operations was $63.6 million ³, compared to net loss from continuing operations of $33.7 million ⁴ in the prior year. Diluted loss per share from continuing operations was $1.37 ⁵ versus $0.73 ⁶ in fiscal 2024. The company held cash and cash equivalents of $400.0 million ⁷ as of September 30, 2025, with total cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $470.0 million ⁸.

Azenta is pursuing a sale of its B Medical Systems business, a manufacturer and global distributor of medical refrigeration devices based in Luxembourg, which is intended to simplify the company's portfolio and allow management to focus on driving revenue growth and profitability in its core Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics segments. The company continues to develop new product and service offerings and enhance existing and acquired offerings through the expertise of its research and development resources. In the Multiomics segment, the company enriched its portfolio by adding regulated services targeting analysis of adeno-associated virus, a common vector used in CGT, and continues to add value to drug discovery and development research by expanding its portfolio to include proteomics solutions. The company will continue to focus on developing processes and technologies that can streamline sample-to-data workflows.

Azenta expects that international sales, including increased sales in Asia, will continue to account for a significant portion of its revenue for the foreseeable future, and that in particular, the proportion of sales to customers in China will increase, due in large part to its significant genomic services operation in China. While continuing to have genomic services operations in China, the company also started processes to move certain operations outside of China. The company believes that the sample-based services and products businesses will continue to demonstrate a growth trajectory. A key part of the growth strategy is to continue expanding within the life science products and services markets, including diversifying product sales and service revenue by leveraging core technologies and making acquisitions of select businesses, products, services or technologies.

In fiscal year 2024, Azenta announced a transformation initiative to reduce complexity and streamline processes across its organization designed to lead to reduced costs and increased profitability. The company has identified and carried out initiatives and activities and continues to review its operations to support the objectives of the transformation initiative. Transformation costs in the period result from actions taken as part of the company's 2024 transformation plan and primarily relate to one time asset write downs associated with changes in technology, one time inventory write downs relating to restructuring actions taken in the period, and third-party consulting costs associated with process and systems re-design.

Azenta's manufacturing operations are designed to provide high quality, optimal cost, differentiated products to customers in short lead times through responsive and flexible processes, and sourcing strategies, utilizing lean manufacturing techniques. Major manufacturing facilities are in Missouri, United States, and Manchester and Wotton, United Kingdom. The company has service and support locations near customers to provide rapid response to service needs, with principal product service and support locations including Burlington, Massachusetts, and Manchester, United Kingdom. Sample management storage and transportation services are provided in Billerica, Massachusetts; Indianapolis and Plainfield, Indiana; Fresno, California; Cleveland, Ohio; Griesheim, Germany; Montreal, Canada; Singapore; and Beijing, China.

The filing does not disclose specific R&D spending levels, capital expenditure plans, share repurchase authorization amounts, or dividend policy figures for the upcoming period.

Azenta faces structural headwinds from a prolonged downturn in macroeconomic conditions, which may cause current or potential customers to delay or reduce purchases, resulting in reductions in sales and materially adversely affecting results of operations and cash flows. Reductions in the level of government funding for scientific research, increases in interest rates, and inflation are among the factors that could cause such delays or reductions. The company also faces risks from international trade disputes, including tariffs imposed in April 2025 by the United States on imports from virtually all countries, with particularly high tariffs on imports from China, which could increase manufacturing costs, decrease margins, reduce competitiveness of products, or inhibit ability to sell products or purchase necessary equipment and supplies. Additionally, the Bulk Transfer Rule, issued on December 27, 2024, prohibits and restricts bulk transfers of sensitive personal data (including genetic and health data) to countries of concern such as China, Russia, and Iran, which restricts the company's ability to engage in certain cross-border transactions involving genomic or biological samples and related data, potentially adversely affecting capacity and/or productivity of the Genomics segment.

Azenta faces execution risks related to its transformation initiatives, as failure to complete any of these initiatives or activities, or if the results do not lead to the cost savings expected, could negatively impact financial results. The company also faces risks from material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting identified as of September 30, 2024 and during fiscal year 2025, which could result in material misstatements in financial statements and a failure to meet reporting and financial obligations. The company cannot be certain as to when the remediation of the material weaknesses will be fully completed, and there can be no assurance that remediation efforts will be successful.

Azenta faces material risks from a prolonged macroeconomic downturn that may cause customers to delay or reduce purchases, potentially leading to reductions in sales and materially adversely affecting results of operations and cash flows. The company is exposed to international trade disputes and tariffs, including the April 2025 U.S. tariffs on imports from virtually all countries with particularly high tariffs on imports from China, which could increase manufacturing costs, decrease margins, and reduce competitiveness. The Bulk Transfer Rule issued on December 27, 2024 restricts bulk transfers of sensitive personal data including genetic and health data to countries of concern such as China, Russia, and Iran, which could adversely affect capacity and/or productivity of the Genomics segment. The company has identified material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2024 and during fiscal year 2025, which could result in material misstatements in financial statements and a failure to meet reporting and financial obligations. As of September 30, 2025, the company held $702.4 million ⁹ of goodwill and $101.8 million ¹⁰ in net intangible assets, and a sustained decline in stock price during the third quarter of fiscal 2025 triggered an interim quantitative goodwill impairment test, indicating that future impairment charges could materially adversely affect financial position and results of operations.

Management's message emphasizes the company's position as a leading global provider of biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences industry, supporting customers from research and clinical development to commercialization. The strategic priorities emphasized include simplifying the portfolio through the planned sale of the B Medical Systems business to allow management to focus on driving revenue growth and profitability in the core Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics segments, continuing to develop new product and service offerings and enhance existing offerings through research and development, and executing on the transformation initiative announced in fiscal year 2024 to reduce complexity and streamline processes across the organization to lead to reduced costs and increased profitability.