Qiagen to Miss Q1 Sales Outlook, Cuts Full-Year Revenue and EPS Guidance
The Dutch diagnostics and life sciences firm cut its full-year 2026 sales growth outlook, citing a sharp drop in immigration-related tuberculosis testing demand.
Qiagen said that its preliminary first quarter revenue rose 2 percent year over year on a reported basis but fell 1 percent at constant exchange rates (CER), missing the company’s own outlook of at least one percent growth CER, year over year.
On April 27, the Europe-based molecular diagnostics and life sciences company reported preliminary Q1 revenue of $492 million, up from $483 million a year ago. Adjusted EPS for the quarter is expected to be $.54, in line with the company’s outlook.
“Qiagen made important progress across many areas of the portfolio in the first quarter, led by solid sales growth in Sample technologies, QIAcuity and Qiagen Digital Insights,” CEO Thierry Bernard said in a statement. “QuantiFERON was affected by the significant decline in immigration testing demand, but we view this as a rebasing of demand within this testing group during 2026 and not a change in the overall long-term opportunity for latent TB testing.”
In Tuesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Qiagen were down 11 percent at $34.02.
Sample technologies was the standout segment, with sales of $170 million, up 13 percent on a reported basis from $150 million in Q1 2025 and 9 percent at CER, driven by demand for automated consumables and instrument placements. Diagnostic solutions revenue fell 1 percent to $185 million from $187 million a year ago, a decline of 4 percent at CER. PCR and nucleic acid amplification sales dropped 9 percent (13 percent CER) to $69 million from $76 million, while genomics and next-generation sequencing revenue grew 6 percent (4 percent CER) to $57 million from $53 million.
Within diagnostics, QuantiFERON was the primary drag on results, with sales falling 3 percent to $113 million from $116 million a year ago, a decline of 5 percent at CER, as immigration testing demand dropped sharply in the US and the Middle East. QIAcuity digital PCR delivered double-digit CER growth on higher consumables and instrument sales. QIAstat-Dx sales of $36 million were down 1 percent, while Qiagen Digital Insights posted “solid single-digit gains led by clinical bioinformatics,” the company said in a statement.
Qiagen reduced its full-year revenue outlook to approximately 1 percent to 2 percent from prior guidance of at least 5 percent growth at CER. The company also cut its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to at least $2.43 from at least $2.50. Qiagen said it now expects QuantiFERON full-year 2026 sales to be unchanged compared with 2025 sales of $503 million. For Q2 2026, the company guided to revenue decline of approximately 2 percent from $534 million in Q2 2025, with adjusted EPS of at least $.60.
Qiagen said it expects stronger growth in the second half of 2026, supported by planned product launches, sequential improvement in QuantiFERON sales, and contributions from the Parse Biosciences acquisition, which is “tracking ahead of the original target for 2026,” the company said.
Qiagen plans to release full Q1 results on May 6, including net income, EPS, and R&D and SG&A spending.