Twist Bioscience Revenue Hits $459M, Guides FY27 to $550M

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST) reported record fiscal 2026 revenue of $459.4 million on 12 November 2026, a 22% increase over $376.6 million a year earlier, with fourth-quarter revenue of $126.6 million up roughly 28% from $99.0 million. The synthetic DNA maker also guided fiscal 2027 revenue to $550 million-$560 million, about 21% growth at the midpoint, and said it expects to be adjusted EBITDA positive for the year.

Context — Why Twist Bioscience's Fiscal 2026 Results Matter Now

The company's fiscal 2026 closed with $582 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, up from $232 million a year earlier after it raised roughly $425 million in net proceeds through an equity offering and at-the-market sales. That capital position is the balance-sheet fact behind management's stated plan to fund capacity, automation and new products without returning to markets.

Twist frames itself around customization at scale. CEO and co-founder Emily M. Leproust said in the report that AI is expanding what scientists can design and that personalized medicine is lifting demand for unique molecules, describing an ambition to make Twist "indispensable to the next generation of discovery, diagnostics and therapeutics." Those are the company's words and its own expectations, not established outcomes.

The report's own comparison is the prior fiscal year. Revenue growth of 22% follows a base of $376.6 million, and the fourth quarter marked the fifteenth consecutive quarter of sequential growth. Adjusted EBITDA improved to negative $35.9 million for the full year from negative $46.9 million in fiscal 2025.

The catalyst chain runs through mix. DNA Synthesis and Protein Solutions grew 31.7% for the year, faster than NGS Applications at 14.1%, and that faster-growing segment is where the company has been adding antibody discovery, characterization and screening services.

Gross margin improvement of 1.7 points to 52.4% arrived while research and development spending fell to $71.8 million from $80.3 million. The company did not disclose in the report which programs drove that reduction.

Data — What Twist Bioscience's Numbers Show

Fourth-quarter gross margin reached 53.1%, up from 51.3% a year earlier. Full-year cost of revenues rose to $218.6 million from $185.6 million, a slower increase than revenue, which is what produced the margin expansion.

Metric	FY2026	FY2025
Total revenue	$459.4M	$376.6M
Gross margin	52.4%	50.7%
Net loss	$130.2M	$77.7M
Adjusted EBITDA	$(35.9)M	$(46.9)M
Cash and investments	$582M	$232M

Fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $20.6 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, from $27.1 million, or $0.45 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter turned positive at $2.2 million against negative $7.8 million a year earlier.

The full-year net loss widened because fiscal 2025 included a $48.8 million gain on sale of business, a non-recurring item the reconciliation strips out. Selling, general and administrative expenses climbed to $301.2 million from $247.0 million, and the company also booked $7.2 million in litigation settlement costs, net of recoveries, in fiscal 2026 with nothing comparable a year earlier.

Operating volume tells the same growth story. Twist physically shipped roughly 1.3 million genes in fiscal 2026 versus approximately 938,000 in fiscal 2025, and served about 4,100 customers against roughly 3,800.

Analysis — What It Means for Life Sciences Tools and TWST

Twist sits in the synthetic biology and life-sciences tools cohort, where revenue durability depends on research budgets and biopharma spending rather than on a single product cycle. The 31.7% DSPS growth against 14.1% NGS growth matters because it shows the newer protein and antibody work scaling faster than the legacy sequencing business.

The most consequential line in the guidance is the assumption of $100 million in fiscal 2027 revenue from AI drug discovery. That is a single customer category carrying roughly 18% of the midpoint revenue target, and the report's own risk section flags the possibility that demand from customers pursuing AI-enabled drug discovery may not continue at current rates. If that demand normalizes, the growth rate compresses.

The counter-argument is balance sheet and cost discipline. With $582 million in cash and a $75 million capital expenditure plan described as part of a two-year investment program, Twist can absorb a slower AI contribution without external financing. Adjusted EBITDA breakeven in the fourth quarter is the first evidence that operating use is arriving.

Positioning follows the profitability signal. Growth-biotech holders have been waiting for the adjusted EBITDA crossover, and the fourth-quarter print delivered it. The offset is that the full-year net loss widened, so anyone valuing the equity on GAAP earnings still sees a company burning capital.

Outlook — What to Watch Next for Twist Bioscience

The first quarter of fiscal 2027 carries guidance of $130 million-$132 million, about 26% growth at the midpoint and continued sequential growth. Full-year gross margin guidance sits at approximately 52.5% to 53%, a modest step up from the 52.4% just reported.

The company said it will hold a conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the day of the release to discuss results, with a replay available for two weeks. Its Annual Report on Form 10-K is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 16 November 2026.

Watch the DSPS and NGS split each quarter, since the guidance assumes sequential growth in both. Watch whether the AI drug discovery revenue line approaches the $100 million assumption, because that is the largest single swing factor in the plan. Management did not disclose customer concentration for that category.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Twist Bioscience's fiscal 2027 guidance mean for retail investors?

It sets the company's own expectation of $550 million-$560 million in revenue, roughly 21% growth at the midpoint, with adjusted EBITDA positive for the year. Management also guided first-quarter revenue to $130 million-$132 million. These are forward-looking company statements, not results, and the report notes that a reconciliation of full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to GAAP net loss is not available without unreasonable effort.

Why did Twist Bioscience's net loss widen while revenue grew?

Fiscal 2025 included a $48.8 million gain on sale of business that fiscal 2026 did not repeat, which distorts the year-over-year comparison. Fiscal 2026 also carried $7.2 million in litigation settlement costs, net of recoveries, and selling, general and administrative expenses rose to $301.2 million from $247.0 million. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes those items, improved to negative $35.9 million from negative $46.9 million.

What happens next for Twist Bioscience shareholders?

The next scheduled disclosures are the fourth-quarter and full-year conference call and webcast on the release date, and the Form 10-K expected on 16 November 2026. Beyond that, quarterly results will test whether both segments keep growing sequentially and whether AI drug discovery revenue tracks toward the $100 million full-year assumption. The company has not disclosed terms of any customer agreements behind that figure.

Bottom Line

Twist's first positive adjusted EBITDA quarter and $582 million cash pile now carry a fiscal 2027 plan that leans heavily on $100 million of AI drug discovery revenue.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. CFD trading carries high risk of capital loss.