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BIO-RAD LABORATORIES, INC.

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Business Summary

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. is a multinational life science and clinical diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets a broad portfolio of instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables. The company operates in two industry segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics, both operating worldwide. The Life Science segment serves a market estimated at approximately $19 billion in worldwide sales, while the Clinical Diagnostics segment serves a market estimated at approximately $16 billion in worldwide sales. The company has direct operations in over 36 countries outside the United States through subsidiaries focused on sales, customer service, and product distribution.

The markets served by Bio-Rad's product groups are highly competitive, with competitors ranging from early-stage companies to large multinational corporations. Major competitors in the Life Science segment include Becton Dickinson, Danaher, Merck KGaA, Qiagen N.V. and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Major competitors in the Clinical Diagnostics segment include Abbott Laboratories, Becton Dickinson, bioMérieux, Danaher, DiaSorin, Werfen, QuidelOrtho, Roche, Siemens Healthineers, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Tosoh. The company focuses its competitive efforts on market segments where the technology, performance, and application of its products provide customers with differentiated capabilities that offer specific advantages over the competition.

Bio-Rad generates revenue through the sale of products, services, license of intellectual property and rental of instruments. Revenue in the Clinical Diagnostics business is largely recurring, as laboratories generally standardize on specific testing platforms that rely on a supplier's instruments, reagents, and consumables, generating recurring revenue through ongoing sales of test kits and consumables for each sample processed. The company sells more than 12,000 products and services to a diverse client base comprised of scientific research, healthcare, education and government customers worldwide. The company's customer base includes university and research institutions, hospital, public health and commercial laboratories, diagnostic manufacturers, and companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries.

The Life Science segment develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables used to separate, purify, characterize, and quantify biological materials, including cells, proteins, and nucleic acids. These products are utilized in research and biopharmaceutical laboratory environments, as well as in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, quality control processes, food safety testing, and science education applications. The Life Science segment generated approximately 40% of consolidated net sales for the year ended December 31, 2025, with sales of $1.02 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025, a decrease of 0.7% compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The segment offers a broad portfolio comprising thousands of life science products distributed globally, with principal customers including universities and medical schools, industrial research organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotechnology companies, and food producers and testing laboratories.

The Clinical Diagnostics segment designs, manufactures, markets, and supports diagnostic test systems, informatics solutions, test kits, and specialized quality controls for clinical laboratories in the global diagnostics market. The segment supplies several thousand products supporting more than 300 clinical diagnostic tests within the IVD market. The Clinical Diagnostics segment generated approximately 60% of consolidated net sales for the year ended December 31, 2025, with sales of $1.56 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of 1.6% compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The segment's portfolio consists of reagents, instruments, and software, which are typically provided as integrated systems to support standardized laboratory workflows and reproducible test results, with principal customers including hospital laboratories, diagnostic reference laboratories, transfusion laboratories, and physician office laboratories.

In June 2025, Bio-Rad acquired all equity interests of Stilla Technologies, a commercial-stage life science company that develops and markets next-generation droplet digital PCR systems. The acquisition purchase consideration consisted of $166.5 million cash consideration paid to the sellers, $47.6 million cash payments to debtors on behalf of Stilla, $15.0 million of cash paid to escrow accounts, and the fair value of contingent consideration of $28.6 million , with contingent consideration of up to $50.0 million payable upon achievement of certain milestones. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the company repurchased 1,205,381 shares of Class A common stock for $295.5 million . In December 2025, the company impaired the IPR&D asset associated with the 2021 acquisition of Dropworks, Inc. amounting to $81.7 million , and discontinued development of the IPR&D asset associated with the 2022 acquisition of Curiosity Diagnostics, recording an impairment charge of $127.7 million and recognizing $36.6 million of previously unrealized foreign currency translation gains. As of December 31, 2025, $284.6 million remained available for repurchases under the 2023 Share Repurchase Program.

Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2025 were $2.58 billion , compared to $2.57 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of 0.7% . On a currency neutral basis, sales were essentially flat compared to the same period in 2024. Net income was $759.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to a net loss of $1,844.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Diluted earnings per share was $27.85 for 2025 compared to a diluted loss per share of $65.36 for 2024. The change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable was a gain of $900.4 million for 2025 compared to a loss of $2.66 billion for 2024, primarily resulting from holding gains of $872.6 million on the investment in Sartorius in 2025 compared to holding losses of $2.68 billion in 2024.

Business Outlook

A key growth vector for Bio-Rad is the acquisition of Stilla Technologies, which strengthens the company's offering in droplet digital PCR and facilitates entry into new molecular testing markets. The strategic rationale for the transaction was to strengthen the offering in droplet digital PCR and facilitate entry into new molecular testing markets. The contingent consideration of up to $50.0 million is payable upon the achievement of certain technological development and sales-related milestones, with the technological milestone commencing from the Acquisition Date through December 31, 2026 and the sales-related milestone through December 31, 2027.

Another growth vector is the company's continued investment in research and development activities across all areas of its business. As of December 31, 2025, the company had approximately 790 employees worldwide focused on research and development, including degreed scientists, engineers, software developers and other technical support staff. The company regularly invests in companies that are engaged in the development of new technologies that either complement or expand its existing portfolio of products. Research and development has played a major role in Bio-Rad's growth and is expected to continue to do so in the future.

Consolidated gross margin was 51.9% for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to 53.7% for the year ended December 31, 2024. Gross margin for the Life Science segment decreased by approximately 2.5 percentage points from the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily driven by one-time inventory write-offs after extensive evaluations of product portfolios as a result of recent acquisitions, higher material costs and reduced fixed manufacturing absorption. Gross margin for the Clinical Diagnostics segment decreased by approximately 1.4 percentage points from the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily driven by higher material costs and reduced fixed manufacturing absorption. Consolidated selling, general and administrative expense increased to $844.3 million or 32.7% of sales for 2025 compared to $814.0 million or 31.7% of sales for 2024, primarily due to higher restructuring costs.

The company made significant changes to its organizational structure over the past few years, including restructurings approved in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The company expects that it will need to continue to improve and further integrate its IT systems, reporting systems and operating procedures by training and educating employees with respect to these improvements and integrations on an ongoing basis in order to effectively run its business. The company's ability to implement its business plan in a rapidly evolving market requires effective planning, reporting and analytical processes.

Capital expenditure for purchases of property, plant and equipment was $157.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $165.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Research and development expense was $275.6 million or 10.7% of sales for 2025 compared to $295.9 million or 11.5% of sales for 2024. As of December 31, 2025, $284.6 million remained available for repurchases under the 2023 Share Repurchase Program. Bio-Rad has never paid a cash dividend and has no present plans to pay cash dividends.

Reduced government spending, along with ongoing challenges in the biopharma market and among small biotech companies, continues to negatively impact the company's business. The company expects these conditions to continue in 2026. The market in China, which represents a mid-single digit percentage of the company's 2025 consolidated net sales, remains uncertain as a result of these factors. The company also faces headwinds from moderating economic growth and changing government policies in China that will continue to affect commercial opportunities in the country.

The company faces constraints from global economic and geopolitical conditions, including inflationary pressures, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, conflicts in the Middle East, and new tariffs announced by the United States with countermeasures from other countries. These events have impacted and are expected to continue to impact the global economic and geopolitical environment, and could lead to higher prices, inflation and possibly a recession, which could lead to higher costs for products and lower revenue, and could adversely impact profitability and competitiveness.

Risk Factors

The company's significant international operations expose it to additional costs and legal and regulatory risks, with foreign entities generating approximately 60% of net sales during the twelve months ended December 31, 2025. Changes in the market value of the company's position in Sartorius AG materially impact financial results, with a 10% depreciation/appreciation on the quoted stock prices for ordinary and preference shares of Sartorius at December 31, 2025 resulting in an approximate loss/gain of $566.9 million reported in the financial statements. The company faces risks from reductions in government funding and capital spending programs of customers, as reduced government spending along with ongoing challenges in the biopharma market and among small biotech companies continues to negatively impact the business. The company has substantial debt of approximately $1.2 billion of outstanding long-term indebtedness as of December 31, 2025, primarily consisting of the 3.3% Senior Notes due in March 2027 and the 3.7% Senior Notes due in March 2032, which could restrict future operations. The company is subject to substantial government regulation, and the EU in-vitro Diagnostics Regulation has required the company to modify or re-register some products and is expected to continue to result in additional costs for ongoing compliance.

Management Priorities

Management's message emphasizes that the company is a multinational developer, manufacturer and worldwide distributor of its own life science research and clinical diagnostics products, organized into two reportable segments: Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics, with the mission to provide scientists with specialized tools needed for biological research and health care specialists with products needed for clinical diagnostics. Management notes that current global economic and geopolitical conditions remain uncertain, and the company relies on the support of many governments for both research and healthcare. Management states that reduced government spending, along with ongoing challenges in the biopharma market and among small biotech companies, continues to negatively impact the business, and that these conditions are expected to continue in 2026. Management believes that the company's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, together with cash flow from operations and the unsecured Revolving Credit Agreement, will be adequate to meet current objectives for operations, research and development, capital additions for manufacturing and distribution, plant and equipment, information technology systems and acquisitions of reasonable proportion to existing total available capital for the next twelve months and beyond.

View Source Annual Report on SEC.gov ↗

References

  1. [1] Item 1, Business — Life Science Segment
  2. [2] Item 1, Business — Clinical Diagnostics Segment
  3. [3] Item 1, Business — Description of Business
  4. [4] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  5. [5] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  6. [6] Item 1, Business — Description of Business
  7. [7] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  8. [8] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  9. [9] Item 8, Note 2 — Acquisitions
  10. [10] Item 8, Note 2 — Acquisitions
  11. [11] Item 8, Note 2 — Acquisitions
  12. [12] Item 8, Note 2 — Acquisitions
  13. [13] Item 8, Note 2 — Acquisitions
  14. [14] Item 7, MD&A — Cash Flows from Financing Activities
  15. [15] Item 7, MD&A — Cash Flows from Financing Activities
  16. [16] Item 7, MD&A — Impairment of purchased intangibles and related items, net
  17. [17] Item 7, MD&A — Impairment of purchased intangibles and related items, net
  18. [18] Item 7, MD&A — Impairment of purchased intangibles and related items, net
  19. [19] Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity
  20. [20] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  21. [21] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  22. [22] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  23. [23] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  24. [24] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  25. [25] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  26. [26] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  27. [27] Item 7, MD&A — Change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable
  28. [28] Item 7, MD&A — Change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable
  29. [29] Item 7, MD&A — Change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable
  30. [30] Item 7, MD&A — Change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable
  31. [31] Item 8, Note 2 — Acquisitions
  32. [32] Item 7, MD&A — Gross margin
  33. [33] Item 7, MD&A — Gross margin
  34. [34] Item 7, MD&A — Gross margin
  35. [35] Item 7, MD&A — Gross margin
  36. [36] Item 7, MD&A — Selling, general and administrative expense
  37. [37] Item 7, MD&A — Selling, general and administrative expense
  38. [38] Item 7, MD&A — Selling, general and administrative expense
  39. [39] Item 7, MD&A — Selling, general and administrative expense
  40. [40] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
  41. [41] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
  42. [42] Item 7, MD&A — Research and development expense
  43. [43] Item 7, MD&A — Research and development expense
  44. [44] Item 7, MD&A — Research and development expense
  45. [45] Item 7, MD&A — Research and development expense
  46. [46] Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity
  47. [47] Item 1A, Risk Factors — International operations
  48. [48] Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
  49. [49] Item 1A, Risk Factors — Current and future debt
  50. [50] Item 8, Note 7 — Notes Payable and Long-Term Debt
  51. [51] Item 8, Note 7 — Notes Payable and Long-Term Debt
  52. [52] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  53. [53] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  54. [54] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  55. [55] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  56. [56] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  57. [57] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  58. [58] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  59. [59] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  60. [60] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  61. [61] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  62. [62] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
  63. [63] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
  64. [64] Item 8, Consolidated Balance Sheets
  65. [65] Item 8, Consolidated Balance Sheets
  66. [66] Item 8, Consolidated Balance Sheets
  67. [67] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
  68. [68] Item 8, Note 4 — Goodwill and Other Purchased Intangible Assets
  69. [69] Item 8, Note 4 — Goodwill and Other Purchased Intangible Assets
  70. [70] Item 8, Note 10 — Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
  71. [71] Item 8, Note 16 — Segment Information
  72. [72] Item 8, Note 16 — Segment Information
  73. [73] Item 8, Note 16 — Segment Information
  74. [74] Item 8, Note 16 — Segment Information

Analysis on 6/8/2026