Tom Stevens's questions to Pacific Biosciences of California Inc (PACB) leadership • Q2 2025
Question
Tom Stevens asked about the long-term strategy for the reusable flow cell, questioning if the focus has shifted to prioritizing gross margin over higher throughput. He also asked how recent progress on unit costs impacts the long-term gross margin outlook.
Answer
President and CEO Christian Henry affirmed the company's strategy is to pursue both higher throughput and lower costs to compete with short-read sequencing on price and scale. Regarding margins, he said that while long-term guidance is unchanged, the objective is a dramatic increase driven by innovations like the reusable cell and ongoing cost reductions, with a near-term goal of exiting 2025 with gross margin above 40%.