Azenta (AZTA) Q4 2026: EPS Beat of 150% Fuels Bold FY2027 Outlook

Azenta's fiscal fourth quarter of 2026 landed well ahead of Wall Street's expectations on both key measures. Adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations came in at $0.28 against a consensus estimate of $0.11, a gap of roughly 151%. Revenue from continuing operations reached $167.1 million, topping the $160.2 million estimate by 4.3% and rising about 5% year over year.

The outsized EPS beat carried an important asterisk. A net pre-tax credit of $2.41 million in stock-based compensation flowed through results after unvested awards tied to the former CEO's departure were reversed. That one-time item gave adjusted earnings a meaningful lift, so the headline EPS number overstates the underlying operating improvement somewhat, though the revenue beat was clean.

At the segment level, Sample Management Solutions posted organic growth of 4%, driven by Sample Repository Services and Consumables and Instruments, while Multiomics was essentially flat on an organic basis. Sanger Sequencing and Next Generation Sequencing revenue declined, partially offset by growth in Gene Synthesis, which is precisely where management is placing its strategic bets through the newly licensed Elegen technology and the SynPlexity acquisition.

For fiscal 2027, Azenta guided reported revenue from continuing operations to $648 million to $660 million, with organic growth of 3% to 5% and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 200 to 250 basis points. The company acknowledged that the Elegen and SynPlexity deals will dilute EBITDA margins by roughly 100 basis points, meaning the base business is carrying the bulk of the margin improvement the guidance implies.

CEO Martin Madaus framed the year ahead as one of execution rather than transformation, saying the company is focused on driving organic growth, expanding profitability and cash generation, and executing on its strategic initiatives. Free cash flow is expected to improve approximately 25% versus fiscal 2026, a figure investors will likely watch closely given that cash and equivalents fell about 31% year over year to $193.8 million as the company deployed capital into its gene synthesis strategy.