10-Q: Seer Narrows Losses, Boosts Revenue Amid Proteomics Commercialization
Quarterly Report
Seer, Inc. reported a significant reduction in net losses and increased revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, driven by product and service sales, while managing operating expenses.
Summary
- Total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2025, increased by 2% to $4.1 million, compared to $4.0 million for the same period in 2024.
- Total revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, increased by 22% to $12.4 million, compared to $10.2 million for the same period in 2024.
- Net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2025, improved by 15% to $(18.2) million, compared to $(21.3) million for the same period in 2024.
- Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, improved by 11% to $(57.6) million, compared to $(64.9) million for the same period in 2024.
- Operating expenses decreased by 18% for the three-month period and 18% for the nine-month period, primarily due to reductions in stock-based compensation and allocated costs.
- Cash and cash equivalents were $45.0 million as of September 30, 2025, up from $40.8 million at December 31, 2024.
- Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments decreased to $251.2 million as of September 30, 2025, from $299.5 million at December 31, 2024.
- The accumulated deficit increased to $450.0 million as of September 30, 2025, from $392.4 million at December 31, 2024.
- The Class B common stock is set to automatically convert into Class A common stock on December 9, 2025, after the company decided not to pursue an extension of this date due to Nasdaq's position on listing standards.
Sentiment
Score: 6
Explanation: The company shows improving financial performance with reduced net losses and increased revenue, coupled with effective cost management. However, it remains in an early commercialization stage with significant accumulated deficits, ongoing losses, and substantial risks related to market acceptance, competition, intellectual property, and the need for future capital.
Positives
- Net loss significantly improved by 15% for the three months and 11% for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, compared to the prior year periods.
- Total revenue increased by 2% for the three months and 22% for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, driven by higher product and service sales.
- Gross profit increased by 9% for the three months and 25% for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, indicating improved efficiency in cost of revenue.
- Operating expenses decreased substantially by 18% for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, reflecting cost management efforts, particularly in R&D and SG&A.
- Cash used in operating activities decreased to $33.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, from $34.7 million in the prior year, indicating a slight improvement in operational cash burn.
Negatives
- The company continues to incur significant net losses, with an accumulated deficit reaching $450.0 million as of September 30, 2025.
- Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments decreased by approximately $48.3 million from December 31, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
- Interest income decreased by 32% for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, primarily due to lower interest rates on investments.
- Loss on equity method investment increased significantly by 65% for the three months and 462% for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, primarily due to the investment in PrognomiQ, Inc.
- Product revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2025, decreased by 5% compared to the prior year period.
Risks
- The company is an early-stage life sciences technology company with a history of net losses and expects to continue incurring losses, potentially failing to achieve and sustain profitability.
- A limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate current business and predict future viability and performance.
- Operating results may fluctuate significantly due to factors like commercialization success, market acceptance, competition, and global economic conditions.
- The addressable market for the Proteograph Product Suite may be smaller than estimated, and new market opportunities may not develop as quickly as expected, limiting sales.
- Commercialization success depends on broad scientific and market acceptance of the Proteograph, which may be difficult to achieve, especially if the company fails to improve it or introduce new compelling products.
- Health epidemics could adversely impact business and operations by reducing laboratory capacity, delaying spending, or decreasing government funding for research.
- Unfavorable U.S. or global economic conditions, including inflation, rising interest rates, or bank failures, could impair the ability to raise capital and affect demand for products.
- Reliance on single suppliers for some components and a single contract manufacturer (Hamilton Company) for instruments poses risks to meeting demand and supply.
- Products could have defects or errors, leading to claims, reduced market adoption, damage to reputation, and increased costs.
- Potential risks related to using, handling, storing, importing, exporting, and transferring biological samples, hazardous materials, and compliance with environmental health and safety regulations.
- Failure to successfully deploy and implement enhancements to Instrument Control Software and Proteograph Analysis Suite could harm commercialization efforts.
- International business exposes the company to various business, regulatory, legal, political, operational, financial, and economic risks, including data privacy regulations and trade restrictions.
- Reliance on third-party distributors for international sales means less control over their efforts and potential harm if relationships deteriorate or they fail to perform.
- The life sciences technology market is highly competitive, with larger, more established competitors, and failure to compete effectively could harm business.
- The company may need to raise additional capital in the future, which could result in dilution to stockholders or restrictive debt terms.
- Acquisitions or strategic investments could divert management's attention, result in dilution, disrupt operations, and harm operating results.
- The company may not realize the benefits of its investment in PrognomiQ, Inc., which is a separate entity and may pursue different business models or be acquired by competitors.
- Failure to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting could harm operating results, financial condition, and stock price.
- Changes in financial accounting rules, regulations, standards, or practices could result in unfavorable accounting changes or restatements.
- Products could become subject to government regulation as medical devices by the FDA and other agencies, even if not intended for diagnostic purposes, leading to expensive and time-consuming approval processes.
- Inability to obtain, maintain, and enforce sufficient intellectual property protection, or if the scope is not broad enough, could allow competitors to develop similar products.
- The U.S. law relating to the patentability of certain inventions in life sciences technology is uncertain and rapidly changing, potentially impacting existing or future patents.
- Inability to protect intellectual property rights globally, as foreign laws may be less extensive and enforcement difficult.
- Issued patents could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged, leading to increased competition.
- Lack of awareness of all third-party intellectual property rights could lead to infringement claims.
- Inability to protect the confidentiality of trade secrets could materially adversely affect technology value.
- Claims challenging the inventorship of patents and other intellectual property could lead to loss of rights or costly litigation.
- Inability to protect and enforce trademarks and trade names could harm competitive position.
- Patent terms may be inadequate to protect competitive position for a sufficient amount of time.
- Involvement in lawsuits to defend against third-party claims of infringement or to protect intellectual property could be expensive, time-consuming, and unsuccessful.
- Non-compliance with procedures, document submissions, and fee payments for patent agencies could reduce or eliminate patent protection.
- Reliance on a license from a third party (BWH) and potential future licenses, with risks of termination or inability to obtain additional necessary licenses.
- Failure to comply with obligations under license or collaboration agreements could lead to damages or loss of intellectual property rights.
- Products contain third-party open-source software, and failure to comply with licenses could restrict sales or require disclosure of proprietary software.
- Intellectual property rights may not address all potential threats, allowing competitors to develop similar products without infringement.
- An active trading market for Class A common stock may not be sustained, and failure to maintain Nasdaq listing requirements could negatively impact stock price and access to capital markets.
- The market price of Class A common stock has been and may continue to be volatile due to various factors.
- The multi-class structure of common stock concentrates voting control with certain stockholders, potentially depressing the trading price of Class A common stock.
- Sales of a substantial number of shares by existing stockholders could cause the price of Class A common stock to decline.
- The company has not paid dividends in the past and does not expect to in the future, limiting return on investment to stock value.
- Bylaw provisions designate Delaware courts as exclusive forums for certain disputes, potentially limiting stockholders' ability to choose judicial forums.
- Delaware law and provisions in organizational documents might discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control or management.
- Ability to use net operating losses to offset future taxable income may be limited by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and state tax laws.
- Operating as a public company incurs significant increased costs and management resources for compliance.
- ESG matters are subject to evolving expectations and may expose the company to reputational, cost, and other risks.
- If facilities or third-party manufacturers' facilities become unavailable or inoperable due to disasters or crises, research, development, and commercialization could be adversely impacted.
Future Outlook
The company expects to continue incurring significant expenses and operating losses in the near term as it invests to support anticipated growth, including broad commercialization of the Proteograph Product Suite, R&D for new products, building sales and marketing infrastructure, expanding manufacturing, and protecting intellectual property. Despite ongoing losses, the company believes its current cash and investments of $251.2 million are sufficient to fund operations for at least the next twelve months. The company also anticipates potential future capital raises to support business expansion, strategic investments, and other initiatives.
Management Comments
- Management believes that broader access to the proteome is essential for understanding its complexity and accelerating biological insights, as well as expanding end-markets.
- Management believes the new Proteograph workflow, featuring Proteograph ONE Assay and SP200 Automation Instrument, represents a transformative milestone by significantly improving the scalability, reproducibility, and affordability of deep proteomic analysis.
- Management expects a highly efficient sales model due to the Proteograph workflow's integration with existing proteomics laboratories and complementarity with large-scale genomics research.
- Management is focused on removing barriers to access the Proteograph, including through the Seer Technology Access Center (STAC) service offering.
- Management expects to continue to incur significant losses and does not expect positive cash flows from operations for the foreseeable future, as investments are made to support anticipated growth.
Industry Context
The company operates in the evolving and highly competitive life sciences technology market, specifically in proteomics and genomics. The industry is characterized by rapid innovation, with new technologies and solutions constantly emerging, including those leveraging artificial intelligence (AI). The company's Proteograph Product Suite aims to address historical industry-wide limitations in deep proteomic analysis, such as scalability, reproducibility, and cost. The market's growth is influenced by research and development spending by academic, research, and commercial institutions, which can be affected by government funding, macroeconomic conditions, and scientific community acceptance. Regulatory changes, particularly concerning in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) and laboratory developed tests (LDTs) by the FDA, also pose a dynamic environment for companies in this sector.
Management Changes
| Role | Previous Person | New Person | Effective Date | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee Member | NA | Isaac Ro | 2025-09-02 | Appointed to resolve potential non-compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(c)(2)(A) regarding Audit Committee composition and financial expert requirement. |
| Board of Directors Member | NA | Deep Nishar | 2025-08-08 | Entered into a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan for the sale of up to 15,831 shares of Class A common stock. |
Corporate Governance
| Change Type | Description | Effective Date | Impact Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee Composition | Appointment of Isaac Ro to the Audit Committee to meet Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(c)(2)(A) requirements for at least three members and an audit committee financial expert. | 2025-09-02 | Resolved potential non-compliance with Nasdaq listing standards, enhancing corporate governance and investor confidence. |
| Common Stock Structure | The Class B common stock, which carries 10 votes per share, is set to automatically convert into Class A common stock (one vote per share) on December 9, 2025. A proposed amendment to extend this date was withdrawn due to Nasdaq's position. | 2025-12-09 | Will increase the relative voting power of Class A common stockholders and simplify the capital structure, potentially impacting control over corporate matters. |
Legal Proceedings
- A lawsuit filed on December 28, 2023, by Giulio Caracciolo and Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare Sapienza Universita di Roma against the company, BWH, and other inventors, alleging wrongful exclusion as an inventor on certain licensed patents, was dismissed with prejudice on October 25, 2024.
- On October 7, 2024, PreOmics GmbH and Biognosys AG filed a petition for Inter Partes Review before the USPTO, challenging the validity of select claims of U.S. Patent No. 11,435,360, which is exclusively licensed from BWH. The PTAB instituted review of certain claims on April 17, 2025.
- On November 18, 2024, an anonymous third party initiated a nullity action against European Patent EP3554681 in Germany, exclusively licensed from BWH.
- On January 13, 2025, an anonymous third party initiated a cancellation request against Utility Model Patent No. 202017007363 in Germany, exclusively licensed from BWH.
- On May 27, 2025, an anonymous third party filed an Opposition to European Patent 4,056,263, exclusively licensed from BWH.
Related Party Transactions
- As of September 30, 2025, the company recorded $0.3 million in related party receivables from PrognomiQ, Inc., mainly from product sales and services revenue.
- For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, the company recognized revenue of $0.3 million and $0.8 million, respectively, primarily from services to PrognomiQ.
- For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, related party revenue from PrognomiQ was $0.5 million and $2.0 million, respectively, with product sales accounting for $0.4 million and $1.6 million of those amounts.
- On August 12, 2024, the company purchased $10.0 million of PrognomiQ's Series D Preferred Stock.
- On July 31, 2025, the company made an additional $1.9 million investment in PrognomiQ's Series D Preferred Stock.
- As of September 30, 2025, the carrying value of the investment in PrognomiQ was $4.5 million, and the company recognized a loss on equity method investment of $1.4 million for the three months and $4.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
Stakeholder Impact
- Shareholders: Potential for dilution if future capital raises involve equity, and continued stock price volatility due to ongoing losses, early commercialization, and intellectual property challenges. The automatic conversion of Class B to Class A common stock will alter voting power dynamics.
- Employees: Past reductions in force and ongoing cost-saving measures may impact morale and retention. The ability to attract and retain qualified personnel is critical for growth and commercialization.
- Customers: Continued product development and service offerings aim to meet evolving needs, but product defects, supply chain disruptions, or failure to achieve market acceptance could negatively impact customer satisfaction and adoption.
- Suppliers: Reliance on single suppliers for critical components and instruments creates supply chain risk, potentially affecting product availability and quality.
- Creditors: The company's significant accumulated deficit and ongoing losses indicate a reliance on existing cash and investments, and potentially future capital raises, to meet obligations.
Next Steps
- Broadly commercialize the Proteograph Product Suite.
- Attract, hire, and retain qualified personnel.
- Continue to build sales, marketing, service, support, and distribution infrastructure.
- Build-out and expand in-house nanoparticle (NP) manufacturing capabilities.
- Continue to engage in research and development of other products and enhancements to the Proteograph Product Suite.
- Implement operational, financial, and management information systems.
- Obtain, maintain, expand, and protect the intellectual property portfolio.
- Build infrastructure to operate and scale as a public company.
- The Class B common stock will automatically convert into Class A common stock on December 9, 2025.
Key Dates
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 2017-03-16 | Company incorporated in Delaware. |
| 2020-08-01 | Transfer of certain assets to PrognomiQ, Inc. to enable growth of ecosystems around new applications leveraging the Proteograph solution. |
| 2021-05-26 | European Medical Device Regulation 2017/745 became effective. |
| 2022-05-26 | European In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation 2017/746 became effective. |
| 2023-01-01 | California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) took effect. |
| 2023-01-01 | Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) took effect. |
| 2023-07-01 | Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) took effect. |
| 2023-12-15 | Effective date for ASU No. 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, for annual periods beginning after this date. |
| 2023-12-28 | Giulio Caracciolo and Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare Sapienza Universita di Roma filed a lawsuit against the company, BWH, and other inventors. |
| 2023-12-31 | Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA) took effect. |
| 2024-01-01 | Recently enacted California legislation limits the use of state NOLs for tax years beginning on or after this date and before January 1, 2027. |
| 2024-02-01 | FDA issued a final rule replacing the QSR with Quality Management System Regulation (QMSR). |
| 2024-03-03 | Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC. |
| 2024-05-03 | Company's Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program of up to $25.0 million of Class A common stock. |
| 2024-05-01 | FDA published a final rule to regulate LDTs, which was later vacated. |
| 2024-06-01 | U.S. Supreme Court overruled the case that established the Chevron doctrine. |
| 2024-07-07 | Company notified Nasdaq of non-compliance with Audit Committee listing rule following 2025 annual meeting. |
| 2024-08-12 | Company purchased $10.0 million of PrognomiQ's Series D Preferred Stock. |
| 2024-10-07 | PreOmics GmbH and Biognosys AG filed a petition for Inter Partes Review before the USPTO challenging U.S. Patent No. 11,435,360. |
| 2024-10-25 | Lawsuit filed by Caracciolo and Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare Sapienza Universita di Roma dismissed with prejudice. |
| 2024-11-18 | Anonymous third party initiated a nullity action against European Patent EP3554681 in Germany. |
| 2025-01-01 | Renewed agreement with Hamilton Company for instrument manufacturing under an extended term through December 2027. |
| 2025-01-13 | Anonymous third party initiated a cancellation request against Utility Model Patent No. 202017007363 in Germany. |
| 2025-04-17 | Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the USPTO instituted Inter Partes Review of certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 11,435,360. |
| 2025-05-01 | Company advanced its commercial offering with the launch of the new Proteograph Product Suite, featuring Proteograph ONE Assay and SP200 Automation Instrument. |
| 2025-05-27 | Anonymous third party filed an Opposition to European Patent 4,056,263. |
| 2025-07-01 | The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was enacted, making permanent key elements of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. |
| 2025-07-31 | Company made an additional $1.9 million investment in PrognomiQ's Series D Preferred Stock. |
| 2025-08-08 | Deep Nishar, a Board member, entered into a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan to sell up to 15,831 shares of Class A common stock. |
| 2025-09-02 | Isaac Ro appointed to the Audit Committee, resolving potential non-compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules. |
| 2025-09-30 | End of the quarterly period covered by this report. |
| 2025-10-10 | Company filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC to seek stockholder approval to extend the automatic conversion date of Class B common stock to December 9, 2030. |
| 2025-10-31 | As of this date, 51,761,273 shares of Class A common stock and 4,026,571 shares of Class B common stock were outstanding. |
| 2025-11-05 | Company determined not to pursue the extension of the Class B common stock automatic conversion date, allowing it to convert on December 9, 2025. |
| 2025-11-06 | Date of filing of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. |
| 2025-12-09 | Automatic conversion date of Class B common stock into Class A common stock. |
| 2026-02-02 | Effective date for FDA to begin enforcing QMSR requirements. |
| 2026-07-31 | Expiration date of Deep Nishar's Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. |
| 2026-12-15 | Effective date for ASU No. 2024-03, Income statement Reporting Comprehensive Income Expense Disaggregation Disclosures, for annual reporting periods beginning after this date. |
| 2027-01-01 | End of the period for California legislation limiting the use of state NOLs. |
| 2027-12-15 | Effective date for ASU No. 2024-03, Income statement Reporting Comprehensive Income Expense Disaggregation Disclosures, for interim reporting periods beginning after this date. |
| 2027-12-31 | Extended term for the agreement with Hamilton Company for instrument manufacturing ends. |
| 2032-09-30 | Lease term for office and laboratory space in Redwood City, California, is set to end. |
| 2035-01-01 | Approximate expiration date for state net operating loss carryforwards. |
| 2037-01-01 | Projected expiration date for a third-party European patent and pending application related to identifying biomarkers in biofluids using nanoparticles. |
Recommendation
holdWhile Seer, Inc. demonstrates improving financial metrics with reduced net losses and increased revenue, indicating progress in its commercialization efforts and cost management, it remains an early-stage company with a substantial accumulated deficit and ongoing operational losses. The company's liquidity is deemed sufficient for the next 12 months, but future capital raises are anticipated. Significant risks persist, including intense competition, reliance on single suppliers, potential product defects, evolving regulatory landscape, and ongoing intellectual property challenges. The automatic conversion of Class B shares to Class A will consolidate voting power. Given the mixed signals of improving operational efficiency against a backdrop of high inherent risks and early market penetration, a 'hold' recommendation is appropriate for investors to monitor the company's ability to sustain revenue growth, achieve profitability, and navigate competitive and regulatory hurdles.
Keywords
Proteomics, Life Sciences, Biotechnology, SEC Filing, 10-Q, Proteograph Product Suite, Research and Development, Commercialization, Financial Results, Net Loss, Revenue Growth, Operating Expenses, Intellectual Property, Share Repurchase, Corporate Governance, PrognomiQ
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