Start here if you're new
what it is
Cytek sells cell-analysis machines, reagents, and software that help labs read single cells.
how it gets paid
Last year Cytek Biosciences made $201M in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 0.5% last year. Revenue was up 166% from the prior-year quarter.
what just happened
$139M in quarterly revenue came with 51.4% gross margin and a -$0.04 EPS.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
0.9% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$0.05 fy2024 eps est
$2B fy2026 rev est
20.0% operating margin
xvary composite: 47/100 — below average
What they do
Cytek sells cell-analysis machines, reagents, and software that help labs read single cells.
FSP → full spectrum profiling → reads more of each cell’s light signal, so one machine does more work. That matters because Cytek had $201M of 2025 revenue and 34% was recurring, so your second sale is less lonely than the first. The ugly contrast is still there: 51.4% gross margin versus -20.0% operating margin.
How they make money
$201M
annual revenue · their business grew +0.5% last year
total revenue
$201M
+0.5%
The products that matter
sells instruments and reagents
Product Sales
$133M · 66% of revenue
This is still the center of gravity. It generated $133M and grew 3%, which tells you the core hardware engine is moving, just not quickly.
largest segment
service contracts and consumables
Services & Consumables
$68.5M · 34% of revenue
This $68.5M segment grew 21% last year and now makes up 34% of sales. It's smaller than Product Sales, but it is the part of the business acting like an engine.
fastest growth
next-gen flow cytometry platform
Aurora Evo System
no breakout disclosed
Management has pointed to Aurora Evo as a 2026 growth driver, but this page does not disclose how much of the $205M–$212M revenue guide depends on it. That's a real information gap.
execution watch
Key numbers
$201M
2025 revenue
That is the top line. It tells you the company is still small enough that one bad quarter matters.
34%
recurring mix
Recurring revenue is the part you do not have to re-sell. At 34%, it is real but not dominant.
51.4%
gross margin
Gross margin is the slice left after making the product. 51.4% beats a pure hardware story.
20.0%
operating margin
Operating margin is profit after overhead. Negative means the business still burns cash on the way to the finish line.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $22M (4% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CTKB right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
$139M in quarterly revenue came with 51.4% gross margin and a -$0.04 EPS.
Revenue was up 166% from the prior-year quarter. Gross margin was 51.4%, and the latest EPS printed at -$0.04.
$139M
revenue
-$0.04
eps
51.4%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The $139M quarter matters because it is 166% above the prior-year quarter, while gross margin stayed at 51.4%.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk here is the instrument business staying stuck in low-single-digit growth.
med
core product demand stays slow
Product Sales generated $133M and grew 3%. That is still 66% of revenue. If the biggest segment stays this slow, the fast-growing recurring side has to do all the work.
At the low end of 2026 guidance, revenue reaches $205M. That is only $3.5M more than last year.
med
margin pressure hits a thin operating base
Gross margin was 51.4%, but operating margin was only 2.4%. Translation: even modest cost pressure can erase a lot of what little operating profit exists.
A business with a 2.4% operating margin does not get many bad quarters for free.
med
the recurring mix shift stalls
Services & Consumables grew 21% and reached 34% of revenue. That is the bull case in one sentence. If that growth rate fades, you lose the part of the story that makes the business model look better over time.
A slower recurring segment would leave investors looking at 1% total growth again, just with a nicer narrative.
med
guidance execution is the whole near-term debate
Management guided to $205M–$212M for 2026. That range is not heroic. Missing it would be a credibility problem because the bar already sits low.
This risk frames the next four quarters: investors are debating a growth reacceleration, not just another steady year.
Combined, these risks sit on top of a $201.5M revenue base with only 2.4% operating margin. That means the downside comes less from debt and more from small misses carrying outsized valuation consequences.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
recurring mix
Does 34% become closer to 40%
Services & Consumables is the better part of the story. If that mix keeps climbing from 34% while staying near 21% growth, the model gets meaningfully better.
core demand
Product Sales needs more than 3%
The core business produced $133M and grew 3%. You want to see that number move up, because two-thirds of revenue still depends on it.
next earnings
Q1 2026 has to support the guide
The next report needs to show progress toward the $205M–$212M full-year target. Early slippage would matter because the guidance range is already modest.
margin risk
51.4% gross margin cannot drift lower
Gross margin still gives management something to work with. If it slips while operating margin stays around 2.4%, the earnings profile gets fragile fast.
Analyst rankings
coverage depth
thin
in human-speak, there is not much sell-side air cover here. You should treat consensus signals with caution because small-cap coverage can be sparse.
what matters instead
$205M–$212M
That guidance range is the real ranking system for now. Beat it and the story improves. Miss it and the Street will not need a fancy model to notice.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CTKB is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$5
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive