Executive Summary

Mixed quarter: revenue declined year over year on weaker capital spending and lower-priced instrument mix, but gross margin expanded materially and kits hit a record; management also booked a non-cash goodwill impairment and withheld guidance .
Q4 revenue was $6.977M vs $9.469M YoY; gross margin held at 68.1% YoY; EPS was $(0.61) vs $(0.28) YoY; operating expense excluding goodwill fell to $10.8M, reflecting restructuring and cost reductions .
BioXp kit revenue exceeded $1.0M in Q4 (company record), driven by >300% YoY growth in mRNA workflows; collaboration revenue strength continued into FY’23 ($8.690M) on milestone achievement, including Pfizer-related progress on SOLA .
Liquidity reset: cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments were $19.3M at 12/31/23, with long-term notes payable of $5.3M; company repaid $15.0M under its 2022 term loan in November 2023 and ended the year with headcount reduced to 138 .
No forward guidance provided; lack of a Q4 earnings call transcript limits external debate/clarification and may keep focus on execution around kit growth, SOLA milestones, and cost trajectory .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Record BioXp kit revenue in Q4 (> $1.0M), supported by >300% YoY growth in mRNA workflows; management emphasized rapid adoption and differentiation of mRNA and cell‑free RNA synthesis offerings .
- Gross margin expanded to 68.1% in Q4 and to 61.6% for FY’23, aided by product mix, collaboration revenue mix, and oligo insourcing that can fulfill >70% of internal needs .
- Operating discipline: Q4 OpEx ex‑goodwill down 24.4% YoY to $10.8M; restructuring lowered headcount to 138 by year-end, with further expense benefits expected in 2024 .
What Went Wrong
- Top‑line pressure: Q4 revenue fell 26.3% YoY to $6.977M amid broad capital spending weakness and a mix shift to lower-priced instruments .
- Non‑cash impairment: $11.4M goodwill impairment in Q4 increased GAAP operating loss and net loss in the period .
- Visibility: Company did not issue forward guidance; absence of a Q4 earnings call transcript limits detail on near-term trajectory and demand conditions .

Sequential performance (oldest → newest)

Metric	Q2 2023	Q3 2023	Q4 2023
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$8.652	$5.564	$6.977
Gross Margin %	65.8%	53.9%	68.1%
Operating Expenses (GAAP, $M)	$13.659	$13.118	$22.230 (incl. $11.389 goodwill)
Goodwill Impairment ($M)	$0.000	$0.000	$11.389
Net Loss ($M)	$(8.287)	$(10.631)	$(17.687)
EPS (Diluted)	$(0.28)	$(0.37)	$(0.61)

YoY Q4 comparison

Metric	Q4 2022	Q4 2023	YoY
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$9.469	$6.977	−26.3% (per PR)
Gross Margin %	68.1%	68.1%	Flat
Operating Expenses (GAAP, $M)	$14.330	$22.230	+55.1% (driven by goodwill)
Goodwill Impairment ($M)	$0.000	$11.389	N/M
Net Loss ($M)	$(8.132)	$(17.687)	N/M
EPS (Diluted)	$(0.28)	$(0.61)	N/M

Revenue mix (Q4)

Revenue Component ($USD Millions)	Q4 2022	Q4 2023
Product Sales	$3.482	$1.585
Service Revenue	$1.609	$1.438
Collaboration Revenue	$3.463	$3.304
Royalties & Other	$0.915	$0.650
Total Revenue	$9.469	$6.977

Liquidity and other KPIs

KPI	Q3 2023	Q4 2023
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash & Investments ($M)	$41.629	$19.333
Working Capital ($M)	$27.294	$22.167
Long-term Notes Payable ($M)	N/A	$5.3
Headcount (Approx., Period End)	N/A	138
BioXp Kit Revenue	N/A	>$1.0M (record)

Notes: Company repaid $15.0M under its 2022 Term Loan Agreement in Nov-2023 .

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue and other forward metrics	FY 2024 and beyond	N/A	No forward guidance issued	Maintained “no guidance” stance

Note: No Q4’23 earnings call transcript was found on filings or IR site; themes below reflect press releases across periods .

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q2–Q3’23)	Current Period (Q4’23)	Trend
mRNA/RNA workflows	Launched multiple kits; milestone with Pfizer boosted mix; “7 Days to mRNA” campaign (Q2/Q3) .	mRNA workflows grew >300% YoY; BioXp mRNA de novo and rapid cell‑free RNA solutions gaining traction .	Strengthening adoption .
Collaboration revenue	Achieved milestones; Pfizer SOLA progress supported margins (Q2) .	FY collaboration revenue $8.690M; continued Pfizer collaboration on SOLA .	Sustained contributor .
Cost actions/OpEx	Sequential OpEx reductions Q2–Q3; RIF to focus on profitable opportunities .	Q4 OpEx ex‑goodwill $10.8M (−24.4% YoY); headcount reduced to 138 by year-end .	Continued discipline .
Manufacturing/insourcing	In‑house oligos and instrument mfg. plans (Q2/Q3) .	Oligo insourcing at production status (≥70% needs); instrument mfg. insourcing complete; expected GM benefits 2024 .	Margin tailwinds .
Macro/capital spending	Industry-wide capital spending weakness pressured revenue (Q3) .	Same driver for Q4 YoY revenue decline; mix shift to lower-priced instruments .	Persistent headwind .

“I’m pleased with our operating execution in a challenging macro environment during 2023. Our company experienced record BioXp kits sales and expanding gross margin against the backdrop of significant cost cutting initiatives undertaken to align our operating structure with our strategic vision for growth.” — Todd R. Nelson, Ph.D., Founder & CEO .
“Our rapid and flexible mRNA synthesis kits are game-changing and unlock tremendous value by providing customers control over their screening and discovery on timelines that were not possible previously.” — Todd R. Nelson, Ph.D. .

No Q4’23 earnings call transcript was available on SEC filings or the company’s IR site; therefore, no Q&A highlights or clarifications were accessible for this period .

S&P Global consensus for TBIO Q4’23 revenue and EPS was unavailable in our system due to missing mapping; as a result, we cannot provide a quantitative beat/miss assessment vs. Street estimates at this time. We attempted to retrieve estimates but could not due to the CIQ mapping issue. If needed, we can re-run once mapping is updated.

Q4 showed improving quality of revenue (kits/collaboration) and margin resilience (68.1%) despite macro-driven instrument softness—a constructive mix pivot for long-term profitability .
Execution on cost controls is tangible, with Q4 OpEx ex‑goodwill at $10.8M (−24.4% YoY) and headcount at 138; further savings expected to accrue in 2024 .
Insourcing of oligos (≥70% of needs) and instrument manufacturing completed, setting up structural gross margin tailwinds in 2024 .
Liquidity declined through year-end following debt repayment; cash of $19.3M at 12/31/23 and $5.3M long-term notes payable warrant continued monitoring of runway and funding needs .
Strategic collaboration with Pfizer and the SOLA platform remain important drivers of high-margin collaboration revenue and external validation of the technology roadmap .
No guidance and lack of a Q4 call keep near-term visibility limited; watch for updates on kit growth momentum, SOLA milestones, and operating expense trajectory as catalysts for sentiment .
Macro sensitivity persists: management explicitly cited broad capital spending weakness; stabilization or improvement in customer budgets could disproportionately benefit instruments while kits and collaborations provide resilience .

Supporting references and source documents:

Q4’23 8-K and press release, including detailed financial tables and commentary .
Preliminary Q4’23 press release (Feb 26, 2024) .
Q3’23 8-K and press release .
Q2’23 8-K and press release .
Company IR: Q4’23 news release and quarterly results hub .