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President & CEO John Hanna confirmed that both heart and lung volumes grew well in Q2, with heart showing steady movement. COO Keith Kennedy addressed the Epic timeline, stating the project is ahead of schedule, with pilot sites going live in Q3 and a target of 10% of volume on Epic by year-end 2025.

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CEO John Hanna stated the company remains on track with its guidance, anticipating a potential second-half procedure uptick from the IOTA program. He explained that the new AlloSure-specific CPT code is critical for securing in-network contracts with private payers. This allows for payment at a contracted rate on the first claim, avoiding the lengthy and uncertain appeals process associated with unlisted codes.

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CEO John Hanna explained the hires are a reinvestment to restore previous staffing levels, with two-thirds in field sales and one-third in marketing. CFO Abhishek Jain confirmed the incremental spend is roughly $10 million. Jain also affirmed the Q4 ASP of ~$1,335 is a good starting point for 2025 and that growth is expected to be stronger in H2 2025 as new hires become fully productive.

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CFO James Hippel explained the margin expansion ramp is driven by the timing of the Exosome divestiture roll-off, ongoing productivity initiatives, and natural revenue seasonality, not necessarily an assumed top-line acceleration. President & CEO Kim Kelderman noted a handful of stimulus-related instrument shipments to China and, while not providing a specific breakout, stated the growth between consumables and instruments was "relatively similar."

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President and CEO Sam Raha affirmed that the company can increase R&D investment in oncology while adhering to its discipline of growing revenue faster than operating expenses. He explained this will be achieved through a deliberate reallocation of existing R&D funds and by leveraging strategic partnerships to manage development costs and accelerate market entry. He did not provide specific financial figures but assured that the company's P&L profile would continue to strengthen.

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An executive, likely CFO Scott Leffler, confirmed the Q4 guide does not assume any specific weather-related headwind and that the prior period benefit was a little over $8 million, similar to last year's ~$7 million. President and CEO Paul Diaz added that EMR integration pull-through varies, with some sites showing immediate adoption while larger systems will see a ramp through Q4 and into 2025.

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EVP & CFO Gerald Herman attributed the cash outflow to the timing of specific tax payments which are not expected to recur. Chairman, CEO & President Frank Laukien added these were sizable payments of $50-60M. Herman also noted CapEx is being scaled back in H2. Laukien addressed the aftermarket question by highlighting strong performance in diagnostics consumables, implying softness in other aftermarket segments, but did not provide a granular breakdown.

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Executive VP & CFO Roop Lakkaraju projected Q3 revenue to be similar to Q2, with a seasonal step-up in Q4, and noted the organic guide did not decrease. He expects Q3 margins to be similar to Q2, with improvement in Q4 due to mix and absorption. President & COO Jonathan DiVincenzo added that ddPCR instrument sales were soft year-over-year but highlighted that the Continuum platform is positioned to expand the market by targeting qPCR conversions, while the Stila-derived QX700 series will also help drive broader digital PCR adoption.

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An executive, likely CFO Roop Lakkaraju, confirmed that surcharges are embedded in the guidance and the company's strategy is to preserve customer continuity and market share, not assume total demand destruction. CEO Norman Schwartz added that products shipped to China from Europe and Singapore help mitigate tariff impacts. Regarding the guidance ramp, executives acknowledged the challenge but expressed confidence based on commercial team feedback and stable win rates, despite longer instrument sales cycles. On capital allocation, CEO Norman Schwartz stated there is a 'real appetite for doing something meaningful' and larger, given moderating asset valuations and the company's balance sheet capacity for a deal in the billion-dollar range.

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COO Jon DiVincenzo explained that Stilla's new platform and Bio-Rad's global reach create a strong synergy. CFO Roop Lakkaraju added that Stilla expands their market opportunity at both the entry and high-end of digital PCR without cannibalization and is expected to be accretive in 18-24 months. Lakkaraju confirmed the Q1 revenue decline guidance and stated the workforce reduction was broad-based, primarily in OpEx, to align with current market softness.

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EVP and CFO Roop Lakkaraju confirmed the guidance is conservative and quantified the Q3 diagnostics pull-forward as being in the 'low single-digit millions'. President and COO Jon DiVincenzo explained the QX Continuum launch was postponed to allow for performance refinements to meet Bio-Rad's high product standards, calling it a prudent decision for a market leader.

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CFO Kevin Feeley confirmed a small catch-up of about 400-500 tests from Q1's weather impact was realized in Q2. He noted the Fabric acquisition contributed about $1 million to OpEx for the partial quarter, with the remainder being organic investments. CEO Katherine Stueland described the data business as healthy, with growth in patient matching and data visualization services, and expressed optimism for future collaborations.

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CFO Kevin Feeley explained that recouping lost volume is not immediate due to long wait times for specialist appointments, so the recovery may take weeks or months. He also stated that he expects revenue from the hereditary cancer business to be 'zero or near zero' in the second half of 2025 as the wind-down completes.

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CFO Kevin Feeley stated the gross margin for the hereditary cancer business was about 40%. CEO Katherine Stueland explained that a pipeline of customers was established before the Epic contract was signed and that UNC Health is the first live site, with fast followers in waiting. Kevin Feeley added that while the initial infrastructure build took 6 months, new hospital integrations will now only take 2-3 weeks, radically improving the speed of onboarding new health systems.

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CEO Katherine Stueland stated that the company will make discrete, meaningful investments with a clear ROI, such as the Epic Aura partnership and genome product enhancements. CFO Kevin Feeley added that all investments are measured for near-term payback (1-3 years). He expects OpEx dollars may increase incrementally but should decline as a percentage of revenue in the next year as revenue and gross profit growth outpace spending.

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CFO Bob McMahon stated the operating cash flow forecast was reduced to account for a one-time inventory build to mitigate tariff impacts. CEO Padraig McDonnell addressed M&A by saying that while the company remains disciplined, acquisitions are a strategic priority and will become a bigger part of Agilent's growth story, driven by a robust pipeline of opportunities rather than short-term market volatility.

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CFO Bob McMahon attributed the lower gross margin to product mix, including China stimulus orders, and a 20-30 basis point currency impact, but expects improvement. President of Life Sciences and Diagnostics Simon May noted genomics saw some impact from U.S. academic funding but also strong traction from the Magnus system. CEO Padraig McDonnell added that the overall diagnostics and clinical market grew 7%.

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CEO Padraig McDonnell noted the Infinity III builds on the success of a broad installed base, including the Infinity II and older 1100 series, which are prime for replacement. CFO Robert McMahon added that early pricing on the new system has held up nicely. McMahon also specified that roughly half of the guided $450 million in FY25 CapEx is for the NASD expansion, with maintenance CapEx expected to be 2.5-3% of sales going forward.

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CFO Shawn Vadala clarified that customer caution and order hesitation are more pronounced in China, while Western markets show more optimism. He noted that the company feels good about its Q1 cash flow performance and is managing working capital to maintain its full-year free cash flow target, which it will continue to monitor.

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President and CEO Dr. Udit Batra projected mid-single-digit growth for LC and TA, around 4% for Mass Spec, and double-digits for the smaller light scattering business. He attributed the 40%+ PFAS growth, double the market rate, to the market-leading sensitivity of the Xevo TQ Absolute mass spectrometer, compliant software, and new chemistry workflows.

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President and CEO Dr. Udit Batra stated that performance was strong across all segments, leading to the guidance raise. He explained the Q4 forecast reflects confidence in positive trends but remains prudent by modeling a Q3-to-Q4 revenue ramp similar to last year's weaker level. Regarding China, Batra reported that the market performed as expected, with orders stable year-over-year. He confirmed that the first stimulus-related order was received, signaling a tangible conversion from discussions to reality, and noted that Waters is well-positioned with an expanded distribution network and localized portfolio.

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CEO Michael Stubblefield clarified that the impact from fewer selling days is a year-over-year headwind for Q1, not a sequential one. He described it as one of the various puts and takes that are blended into the cautious outlook for the first quarter.

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CFO Maxwell Krakowiak confirmed that the tax planning benefits are largely structural, making the 19% rate a good forward-looking assumption. On cash flow, he noted that while working capital can still be improved, a planned step-up in CapEx will likely bring conversion closer to the long-term target of over 85%, down from the 100% achieved year-to-date.

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