DNAHIGH SIGNALFINANCIAL10-K

Ginkgo Bioworks shows severe cash burn with a 70% decline in cash reserves to $167M while maintaining significant operating losses, raising going concern questions.

The dramatic cash depletion combined with continued large operating losses (-$171M cash flow) suggests potential liquidity constraints within 12-18 months if the burn rate continues. While the company has reduced losses and cut R&D spending significantly, the revenue decline of 25% indicates the cost-cutting may be coming at the expense of growth, creating a challenging path to profitability.

Comparing 2026-02-26 vs 2025-02-25View on EDGAR →
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

The financial picture shows a company in aggressive cost-cutting mode, with R&D expenses slashed 43% and capital expenditures reduced 88%, leading to meaningful improvements in operating losses (44% reduction) and cash burn (47% improvement). However, these cuts coincided with a 25% revenue decline and a concerning 70% drop in cash reserves to $167M, while inventory was nearly eliminated. The overall trajectory suggests a company buying time through severe cost reduction but facing fundamental challenges in maintaining growth while achieving cash flow sustainability.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT CHANGES
Inventory
Balance Sheet
-98.9%
$4.4M→$46K

Inventory drawn down 98.9% — strong sell-through or deliberate destocking; watch for supply constraints.

Capital Expenditure
Cash Flow
-87.7%
$62.5M→$7.7M

Capex reduced 87.7% — investment cycle winding down or capital discipline; may improve near-term free cash flow.

Cash & Equivalents
Balance Sheet
-70.2%
$561.6M→$167.2M

Cash declined 70.2% — significant cash burn or deployment; verify adequacy of remaining liquidity runway.

Operating Cash Flow
Cash Flow
+46.5%
-$319.6M→-$171.1M

Operating cash flow surged 46.5% — exceptional cash generation, highest quality earnings signal.

Operating Income
P&L
+43.7%
-$559.8M→-$315.3M

Operating leverage kicking in — revenue growth outpacing cost growth, a hallmark of scaling businesses.

Net Income
P&L
+42.8%
-$547.0M→-$312.8M

Net income grew 42.8% — bottom-line growth signals improving overall business health.

R&D Expense
P&L
-42.5%
$424.1M→$243.8M

R&D spending cut 42.5% — could signal cost discipline or concerning reduction in innovation investment.

Stockholders Equity
Balance Sheet
-29%
$716.1M→$508.6M

Equity decreased 29% — buybacks or losses reducing book value, monitor solvency ratios.

Revenue
P&L
-25.1%
$227.0M→$170.2M

Revenue softened 25.1% — monitor whether this is cyclical or structural.

Current Assets
Balance Sheet
-21.7%
$602.7M→$471.8M

Current assets declined 21.7% — monitor working capital adequacy and short-term liquidity.

LANGUAGE CHANGES
NEW — 2026-02-26
PRIOR — 2025-02-25
ADDED
As of February 16, 2026, there were 49,941,878 shares of Class A common stock, 8,982,474 shares of Class B common stock, and 3,000,000 shares of non-voting Class C common stock outstanding.
government in the biotechnology sector, adverse effects from the U.S.
Other sections of this Annual Report describe additional factors that could adversely affect the business, financial condition or results of Ginkgo.
Ginkgo sells services to government and commercial customers in two business segments: cell engineering , where we provide tools and biological R D services across a range of industries, and biosecurity , where we provide services to customers who are working to identify, monitor, prevent, mitigate, and ultimately protect humanity from biological threats.
Historically, Ginkgo s primary service offering has been cell engineering R D services ( solutions ) where Ginkgo performs technical activities.
In 2024, Ginkgo expanded its service offering to include services that provide our customers cell engineering tools for biological R D, where Ginkgo enables its customers to conduct certain in-house R D activities themselves.
Our data assets comprise best practices for cell engineering, along with sequences and host cells that have been honed through dozens of programs and can be directly reusable for our cell engineering solutions.
We now offer licenses to our host cells and other IP assets, such as our broad metagenomic library.
Our role is to enable the customer's success: we provide R D tools and solutions that help them access more biological design space in order to discover and optimize functionality and develop efficient manufacturing methods for their products.
Innovators in agricultural technology tap into biological diversity to develop new crop protection strategies, to combat resistance, and to provide safer, low residue options for growers that meet consumer expectations and regulatory guidelines.
REMOVED
As of February 17, 2025, there were 45,808,499 shares of Class A common stock, 9,225,101 shares of Class B common stock, and 3,000,000 shares of non-voting Class C common stock outstanding.
government in the biotechnology sector, the frequency and scale of biological risks and threats, and the future potential and commercial applications of artificial intelligence ( AI ) and the biotechnology sector.
Ginkgo sells services in two business segments: cell engineering , where we provide biological R D services for our customers across a range of industries, and biosecurity , where we provide services to government and commercial customers so they can work to identify, monitor, prevent, mitigate, and ultimately protect humanity from biological threats.
Historically, Ginkgo s primary service offering has been end-to-end cell engineering R D services ( solutions ).
In 2024, Ginkgo expanded its service offering to include services that provide our customers cell engineering tools for biological R D, which are intended to provide more targeted and bespoke resources to customers that continue to conduct in-house R D.
Our Codebase is a data asset comprising best practices for cell engineering, along with sequences and host cells that have been honed through dozens of programs and can be directly reusable for our end-to-end cell engineering solutions.
Our role is to enable: we provide our customers with R D solutions and tools that help them access more biological design space in order to discover and optimize functionality and develop efficient manufacturing methods for their products.
Agriculture Agriculture likewise faces an urgent need for innovation to address growing pressure on growers and food systems.
The government agencies we partner with are tasked with safeguarding the future of national agriculture and food security, public health and biosecurity, energy independence and environmental sustainability, as well as healthcare, wellbeing, and longevity.
The end-to-end cell engineering solutions that we sell A selection of our end-to-end cell engineering solutions offerings are described below.
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