Bio-Rad Posts Modest Growth Amid Challenging Market Conditions
Bio-Rad, a leading life science research and clinical diagnostics company, has reported a modest 0.5% increase in total revenue for the third quarter of 2026, reaching approximately $656 million.
According to Jon DiVincenzo, Bio-Rad's President and Chief Operating Officer, this marks the company's first quarter of currency-neutral growth this year, with gross margin expanding to 54.5% on a non-GAAP basis.
In the Clinical Diagnostics segment, revenue returned to growth, supported by quality systems and diabetes products. The Life Science business, excluding process chromatography, saw a 2.5% year-over-year increase in revenue, driven by the company's genomics portfolio, including its Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) business.
The ddPCR instrument revenue increased more than 20% for the third consecutive quarter, supported by both conversions from traditional qPCR and competitive wins. Bio-Rad attributes these wins to its expanded portfolio, market-leading assay library, and simplified workflow.
While consumable performance continues to improve, pull-through has not yet normalized, and this could continue into 2027. However, the pace of placements over the past year gives Bio-Rad confidence that as those systems ramp to full utilization, pull-through will normalize with them.
Looking ahead, Bio-Rad remains excited about the opportunity in ddPCR, citing numerous applications for its technology and low penetration rates across various markets, including biopharma R&D, clinical diagnostics, and applied testing.
Conditions remain mixed across Bio-Rad's key end markets, with encouraging developments in some areas and continued pressure in others. However, the company views these trends as constructive for demand over the coming years, particularly in biopharma where it is seeing signs of improving customer activity.
