8-K: Ginkgo Bioworks Q3 2025 Revenue Drops 56%, Net Loss Widens

Ginkgo Bioworks reported a significant 56% decrease in total revenue for Q3 2025, alongside a wider GAAP net loss, while reaffirming its full-year 2025 revenue outlook.

Summary

• Total revenue for Q3 2025 was $39 million, a 56% decrease from $89 million in the comparable prior year period.
• Excluding a $45 million non-cash deferred revenue release in Q3 2024, total revenue in Q3 2025 decreased by 11% from the comparable prior year period.
• Cell Engineering revenue was $29 million, a 61% decrease from $75 million in the comparable prior year period; excluding the non-cash deferred revenue release, Cell Engineering revenue decreased slightly.
• Biosecurity revenue was $9 million, compared to $14 million in the comparable prior year period.
• GAAP net loss was $(81) million, compared to $(56) million in the comparable prior year period, primarily due to the non-cash deferred revenue release in the prior year.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $(56) million, down from $(20) million in the comparable prior year period, primarily attributable to the non-cash deferred revenue release in the prior year.
• Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance as of September 30, 2025, was $462 million.
• Reaffirmed full-year 2025 Total revenue outlook of $167-$187 million.
• Reaffirmed full-year 2025 Cell Engineering revenue outlook of $117-$137 million.
• Reaffirmed full-year 2025 Biosecurity revenue outlook of at least $40 million.
• Announced the extension of a multi-year strategic partnership with Bayer for agricultural biological products.
• Awarded a project agreement through BARDA's BioMaP-Consortium with a total contract value of up to $22.2 million for monoclonal antibody biomanufacturing and anti-filovirus medical countermeasure production.
• Expanding the frontier autonomous lab in Boston, soon to feature 46 major instruments on 36 Reconfigurable Automation Carts (RACs).

Sentiment

Score: 3

Explanation: While the company highlights strategic partnerships and future AI potential, the significant year-over-year declines in all key revenue metrics, widening net loss, and decreased Adjusted EBITDA indicate a challenging financial quarter. The reaffirmation of full-year guidance provides some stability but doesn't fully offset the poor Q3 performance.

Positives

• Extended a multi-year strategic partnership with Bayer to continue advancing research and development of biological products for agriculture, building on the success of a nitrogen fixation platform.
• Awarded a project agreement through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority's (BARDA) BioMaP-Consortium with a total contract value of up to $22.2 million to develop innovations in monoclonal antibody biomanufacturing and produce an anti-filovirus medical countermeasure.
• Expanding the frontier autonomous lab in Boston as a showcase, soon to have 46 major instruments on 36 Reconfigurable Automation Carts (RACs) to apply AI reasoning models and lab-in-the-loop to scientific challenges.
• Maintained a strong cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities balance of $462 million as of September 30, 2025.
• Reaffirmed full-year 2025 revenue outlook, indicating confidence in meeting prior guidance despite Q3 declines.

Negatives

• Total revenue decreased by 56% to $39 million in Q3 2025 from $89 million in Q3 2024.
• Cell Engineering revenue decreased by 61% to $29 million in Q3 2025 from $75 million in Q3 2024.
• Biosecurity revenue decreased to $9 million in Q3 2025 from $14 million in Q3 2024.
• GAAP net loss widened to $(81) million in Q3 2025 from $(56) million in Q3 2024.
• Adjusted EBITDA declined significantly to $(56) million in Q3 2025 from $(20) million in Q3 2024.
• Cash and cash equivalents decreased from $561,572 thousand as of December 31, 2024, to $111,065 thousand as of September 30, 2025.

Risks

• Ability to realize near-term and long-term cost savings associated with site consolidation plans, including the ability to terminate leases or find sub-lease tenants for unused facilities.
• Volatility in the price of securities due to factors such as changes in competitive and highly regulated industries, variations in competitor performance, and changes in laws and regulations affecting the business.
• Ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and to identify and realize additional business opportunities, including with respect to solutions and tools offerings.
• Risk of downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology.
• Uncertainty regarding the demand for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services.
• Changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging competition, and evolution in industry demands, standards, and regulations.
• Outcome of any pending or potential legal proceedings against the company.
• Ability to realize the expected benefits from and the success of Foundry platform programs and Codebase assets.
• Ability to successfully develop engineered cells, bioprocesses, data packages, or other deliverables.
• Product development, production, or manufacturing success of customers.
• Exposure to the volatility and liquidity risks inherent in holding equity interests in other operating companies and other non-cash consideration received for services.
• Potential negative impact on the business from restructuring or the failure to realize anticipated savings associated therewith.
• Uncertainty regarding government budgetary priorities and funding allocated to government agencies, including potential adverse effects from a U.S. government shutdown.

Future Outlook

Ginkgo Bioworks reaffirms its full-year 2025 Total revenue guidance of $167-$187 million, with Cell Engineering revenue expected to be $117-$137 million and Biosecurity revenue at least $40 million. The company anticipates AI models will significantly impact biotechnology by controlling lab automation and predicting new biological discoveries, areas where Ginkgo aims to provide essential tools and large training datasets to keep the American bioeconomy competitive.

Management Comments

• "Our recent partnership announcements are powerful examples of how Ginkgo's AI-enabled cloud lab technology can be deployed to accelerate U.S. scientific innovation." Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO.
• "The recent AI Action Plan from President Trump specifically called for investment in AI-enabled cloud laboratories to keep the American bioeconomy competitive." Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO.
• "Ginkgo's tools are designed to generate the massive, high-quality datasets that modern AI methods need, furthering the goal of the U.S. remaining at the forefront of the bioeconomy." Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO.
• "We believe AI models will impact biotechnology in two ways and Ginkgo is well-positioned to provide tools in both."
• "First, we see reasoning models controlling lab automation. Since science moves forward on the back of lab data and reasoning models are already capable of planning and analyzing experiments, we believe coupling reasoning models to automation will allow science to move as fast as human ideas."
• "Second, we see AI models that predict and generate new biological discoveries. Protein models such as AlphaFold prove the potential of large AI models. These models require the type of large training sets of biological data that Ginkgo provides."

Industry Context

The announcement highlights Ginkgo's strategic alignment with broader industry trends, particularly the integration of AI into biotechnology and the growing emphasis on the bioeconomy. The company positions its AI-enabled cloud lab technology as crucial for accelerating U.S. scientific innovation, directly referencing President Trump's AI Action Plan. This indicates a focus on leveraging AI for lab automation and biological discovery, aiming to generate the large, high-quality datasets needed for advanced AI models, similar to the impact seen with protein models like AlphaFold. The partnerships with Bayer and BARDA demonstrate engagement in key sectors like agriculture and biodefense, reflecting a move towards practical applications of synthetic biology.

Comparison to Industry Standards

• The company references "Protein models such as AlphaFold prove the potential of large AI models," implying that Ginkgo's efforts in generating large training sets of biological data are aligned with the capabilities demonstrated by leading AI models in the protein prediction space.
• Ginkgo's expansion of its frontier autonomous lab in Boston, aiming for 46 major instruments on 36 Reconfigurable Automation Carts (RACs), positions it as a leader in lab automation, a trend seen across the biotech industry to increase throughput and reduce costs.

Legal Proceedings

• The 'Merger and acquisition related expense (income)' includes 'securities litigation costs'.
• The 'Risk Factors' section mentions 'the outcome of any pending or potential legal proceedings against Ginkgo'.

Related Party Transactions

• Deferred revenue includes $311 thousand (current) and $64,786 thousand (non-current) from related parties as of September 30, 2025.
• Deferred revenue includes $795 thousand (current) and $72,260 thousand (non-current) from related parties as of December 31, 2024.
• Cell Engineering revenue includes related party revenue of zero for the three months ended September 30, 2025, compared to $46,659 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2024.
• Cell Engineering revenue includes related party revenue of $8,518 thousand for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, compared to $51,990 thousand for the nine months ended September 30, 2024.

Stakeholder Impact

• Shareholders: Negative impact due to significant revenue decline, widening net loss, and decreased Adjusted EBITDA. Potential positive impact from strategic partnerships and long-term AI strategy.
• Employees: Restructuring charges mentioned in the non-GAAP reconciliation primarily consist of employee termination costs from a reduction in force commenced in June 2024, indicating workforce adjustments.
• Customers: Continued partnership with Bayer and a new BARDA contract suggest ongoing and new customer engagement, particularly in agriculture and biodefense.
• Creditors: The company's cash position and reaffirmed outlook might provide some reassurance, but financial performance declines could be a concern.

Next Steps

• Host a videoconference on November 6, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss Q3 2025 results, recent business updates, and the company's outlook.
• Continue expanding the frontier autonomous lab in Boston.
• Offer demos of workflows running on the autonomous lab system to potential partners.

Key Dates

Recommendation

The significant decline in Q3 2025 revenue and widening losses are concerning, indicating operational challenges. However, the reaffirmation of full-year guidance, strategic partnerships with Bayer and BARDA, and continued investment in AI-enabled cloud labs suggest potential for future growth and a strong long-term vision. The substantial cash balance provides a buffer. Investors should hold to monitor if the company can stabilize revenue and improve profitability in subsequent quarters, leveraging its strategic initiatives and AI focus. The current quarter's performance does not warrant a buy, but the strategic positioning prevents a sell recommendation.

Keywords

Synthetic Biology, Bioeconomy, Cell Engineering, Biosecurity, AI-enabled Cloud Lab, Biotechnology, Genomics, Industrial Biotechnology, BARDA, Bayer, Foundry Platform, AI, Automation, R&D Solutions