Akoya Biosciences, Inc. (AKYA) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
Overview
The earnings call reveals strong financial performance with record revenue growth and optimistic guidance for future margin improvements. The Q&A section highlights strategic partnerships and expected growth in reagents, supporting an optimistic outlook. Despite some macroeconomic pressures, the company's strategic focus on less impacted areas and new product developments bolster confidence. The projected breakeven in operating cash flow further enhances the positive sentiment. However, lack of detailed guidance in some areas tempers expectations slightly, leading to a positive but not strong positive rating.
Key Financial Performance
Total Revenue Q4 2023 $26.5 million, a 25% growth compared to Q4 2022.
Full Year Revenue 2023 $96.6 million, representing a 29% growth from the prior year.
Product Revenue Q4 2023 $16.7 million, with 51 instruments sold generating $9.2 million in instrument revenue.
Reagent Revenue Q4 2023 $6.9 million, reflecting a 52% increase from the prior year period.
Services and Other Revenue Q4 2023 $9.8 million, an increase of 78% over the prior year period.
Gross Profit Q4 2023 $16.6 million, representing a 38% growth over the prior year period.
Gross Margin Q4 2023 62.7%, up from 56.8% in the prior year period.
Operating Expenses Q4 2023 $26.1 million, down from $29.6 million in the prior year period.
Cash and Cash Equivalents Approximately $83.1 million as of December 31, 2023.
Operating Highlights
New Product Launches: The rollout of the PhenoCycler-Fusion 2.0 sets a new industry standard in capacity, multiplexing, and data quality, allowing customers to process twice as many samples per week. The PhenoImager HT 2.0 upgrade results in a fivefold increase in workflow speed.
Partnerships: Partnership with Thermo Fisher to deliver advanced spatial multiomic workflows and collaboration with Enable Medicine to release MaxFuse, an AI-driven multimodal data integration algorithm.
Market Positioning: Akoya has the largest installed base in the spatial biology market with nearly 1,200 instruments and over 1,160 peer-reviewed publications citing its technologies.
Operational Efficiencies: Operating expenses grew only 4% in 2023, while revenue grew 29%, indicating effective cost management.
Revenue Growth: Fourth quarter revenue reached $26.5 million, a 25% increase year-over-year, with full year revenue of $96.6 million, a 29% growth.
Strategic Focus for 2024: Key initiatives include expanding applications and workflow efficiencies, achieving operating cash flow break-even, and driving clinical partnerships for high-value companion diagnostics.
Risk or Challenges
Macro Pressures: Ongoing macro pressures impacting capital equipment purchases, prolonged instrument sales cycles, and continued underperformance in the business in China are anticipated to persist at least through the first quarter of 2024.
Regulatory Issues: The company is navigating regulatory challenges associated with the clinical utility of spatial technologies, particularly in the context of emerging clinical biomarker efforts.
Competitive Pressures: The competitive landscape in the spatial biology market is intensifying, necessitating continuous innovation and strategic partnerships to maintain market leadership.
Supply Chain Challenges: There are ongoing efforts to refine reagent manufacturing, operations planning, and supply chain efforts to enhance revenue mix and operational efficiency.
Economic Factors: Economic factors, including market conditions in China, are affecting sales performance and are expected to continue influencing the company's results in the near term.
Guidance & Outlook
Installed Base: Akoya's installed base now stands at nearly 1,200 instruments, the largest in the field, covering the entire spectrum of spatial biology markets.
Reagent Revenue Growth: Reagent revenue grew 52% from the prior year period, driven by investments in reagent menu expansion and workflow simplification.
Partnerships: Announced partnerships with Thermo Fisher and Enable Medicine to enhance spatial multiomic workflows and data integration.
Scientific Advisory Board: Established a Scientific Advisory Board with prominent leaders in immunobiology to inform strategic direction.
Product Upgrades: Rolled out PhenoCycler-Fusion 2.0 and PhenoImager HT 2.0, enhancing throughput and workflow speed.
2024 Revenue Guidance: Projected revenue range of $114 million to $118 million for 2024.
Operating Cash Flow: Expecting to achieve operating cash flow breakeven by the end of 2024.
Gross Margin Improvement: Expect gross margin expansion of a couple of hundred basis points annually.
Reagent Revenue Strategy: Strategically positioning reagents to play a more significant role in revenue mix.
Cost Management: Continuing to manage costs effectively to support revenue growth.
Shareholder Return Plan
Common shares outstanding: 49.1 million as of December 31, 2023.
Cash and cash equivalents: Approximately $83.1 million.
Revenue guidance for 2024: $114 million to $118 million.
Key Q&A
Earnings Word Cloud
AKYA Transcript
The earnings call summary reveals several negative indicators: a reduced revenue outlook, continued customer spending pressure, and regulatory delays. Despite some operational improvements, financial metrics show significant declines in revenue and instrument sales. The Q&A section highlights concerns over cash flow, strategic uncertainties, and competitive pressures. Although there are some positive aspects, such as gross margin improvements and a focus on shareholder value, the overall sentiment leans negative due to the challenging market environment and financial constraints.
The earnings call presented a mixed outlook. Positive aspects include significant revenue growth, improved gross margins, and reduced operating losses. However, the lack of shareholder return plans, workforce reductions, and competitive pressures weigh negatively. The Q&A revealed cautious guidance and unresolved questions about cash burn and restructuring impact. The company's focus on achieving cash flow break-even by 2024, without immediate shareholder returns, suggests a cautious market reaction. Given the absence of market cap data, a neutral sentiment is prudent, reflecting balanced positive and negative factors.
The earnings call reveals strong financial performance with record revenue growth and optimistic guidance for future margin improvements. The Q&A section highlights strategic partnerships and expected growth in reagents, supporting an optimistic outlook. Despite some macroeconomic pressures, the company's strategic focus on less impacted areas and new product developments bolster confidence. The projected breakeven in operating cash flow further enhances the positive sentiment. However, lack of detailed guidance in some areas tempers expectations slightly, leading to a positive but not strong positive rating.
The earnings call summary indicates strong financial performance with 34% revenue growth, improved gross margins, and effective cost management. Despite competitive pressures and regulatory risks, the company is expanding its product offerings and market reach. The Q&A session revealed positive sentiment, with management addressing concerns and providing optimistic guidance. Although RNA chemistry capabilities are delayed, the overall outlook remains strong, with expectations for further growth and margin improvements. The lack of explicit 2024 guidance is mitigated by thematic insights, maintaining a positive sentiment.
AKYA Report
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this earnings call transcript come from?
All transcripts are sourced directly from the official live webcast or the company’s official investor relations website. We use the exact words spoken during the call with no paraphrasing of the core discussion.
How soon is the transcript available after the earnings call ends?
Full verbatim transcripts are typically published within 4–12 hours after the call ends. Same-day availability is guaranteed for all S&P 500 and most mid-cap companies.
Is the transcript edited or altered in any way?
No material content is ever changed or summarized in the “Full Transcript” section. We only correct obvious spoken typos (e.g., “um”, “ah”, repeated 10 times”, or clear misspoken ticker symbols) and add speaker names/titles for readability. Every substantive sentence remains 100% as spoken.
Why do some answers appear as “Unclear” or “Inaudible”?
When audio quality is poor or multiple speakers talk over each other, we mark the section instead of guessing. This ensures complete accuracy rather than introducing potential errors.
Who creates the AI Summary and Key Q&A highlights shown above the transcript?
They are generated by a specialized financial-language model trained exclusively on 15+ years of earnings transcripts. The model extracts financial figures, guidance, and tone with 97%+ accuracy and is regularly validated against human analysts. The full raw transcript always remains available for verification.
