Illumina Inc (ILMN) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Fourth Quarter 2023 Illumina Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Salli Schwartz, Vice President of Investor Relations.

女士們、先生們，美好的一天，歡迎參加 Illumina 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。現在我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁薩利·施瓦茨 (Salli Schwartz)。

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our earnings call for the fourth quarter and year-end 2023. During the call today, we will review the financial results we released after the close of market and offer commentary on our commercial and regulatory activity, after which we will host a question-and-answer session. Our earnings release can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website at illumina.com.

大家好，歡迎參加我們 2023 年第四季和年底的財報電話會議。在今天的電話會議中，我們將回顧收盤後發布的財務業績，並對我們的商業和監管活動發表評論，之後我們將舉辦問答環節。您可以在我們網站 Illumina.com 的投資者關係部分找到我們的收益報告。

Participating for Illumina today will be Jacob Thaysen, Chief Executive Officer; and Joydeep Goswami, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer. Jacob will provide an update on the state of Illumina's business, and Joydeep will review our financial results, which include GRAIL. As a reminder, GRAIL must be held and operated separately and independently from Illumina pursuant to the transitional measures ordered by the European Commission, which prohibited our acquisition of GRAIL under the EU merger regulation.

今天出席 Illumina 會議的包括執行長 Jacob Thaysen；財務長兼首席策略與企業發展長 Joydeep Goswami。 Jacob 將提供有關 Illumina 業務狀況的最新信息，Joydeep 將審查我們的財務業績，其中包括 GRAIL。需要提醒的是，根據歐盟委員會下令的過渡措施，GRAIL 必須與 Illumina 分開持有和運營，該措施禁止我們根據歐盟合併法規收購 GRAIL。

This call is being recorded, and the audio portion will be archived in the Investors section of our website.

本次通話正在錄音，音訊部分將存檔在我們網站的投資者部分。

It is our intent that all forward-looking statements regarding our financial results and commercial activity made during today's call will be protected under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected or discussed. All forward-looking statements are based upon current available information, and Illumina assumes no obligation to update these statements. To better understand the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, we refer you to the documents that Illumina files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Illumina's most recent Forms 10-Q and 10-K.

我們希望在今天的電話會議中做出的有關我們財務業績和商業活動的所有前瞻性陳述都將受到《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案》的保護。前瞻性陳述存在風險和不確定性。實際事件或結果可能與預測或討論的事件或結果有重大差異。所有前瞻性陳述均基於當前可用信息，Illumina 不承擔更新這些陳述的義務。為了更了解可能導致實際結果差異的風險和不確定性，我們建議您參閱 Illumina 向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括 Illumina 最新的表格 10-Q 和 10-K。

With that, I will now turn the call over to Jacob.

現在，我將把電話轉給雅各。

Thank you, Salli. Good afternoon, everyone. As you know, I joined Illumina as CEO a little over 4 months ago. In this time, part of my focus has been on meeting with customers to understand their priorities, hear their feedback and develop more collaborative relationships. Our customer thinks highly of Illumina and our solutions, and they want to work in strategic partnerships with us to move the whole NGS ecosystem forward. Now that we have announced that we will divest GRAIL, it has been easier for our customers to plan what their future looks like with Illumina.

謝謝你，莎莉。大家下午好。如您所知，我在 4 個多月前加入 Illumina 擔任執行長。這段時間，我的部分重點是與客戶會面，了解他們的優先事項、聽取他們的回饋並發展更多的合作關係。我們的客戶對 Illumina 和我們的解決方案評價很高，他們希望與我們建立策略合作夥伴關係，並推動整個 NGS 生態系統向前發展。現在我們已經宣布將剝離 GRAIL，我們的客戶可以更輕鬆地透過 Illumina 規劃他們的未來。

These meetings have been instructive and inspiring. During my recent trip to Europe, I was able to see firsthand how we are working with our customers, governments and the broader genomics community to accelerate whole genome sequencing adoption safely and more effectively and to understand rare diseases and cancers as a part of the standard of care. I've also learned about Germany's model project that aims to fully integrate comprehensive genomic testing into the health care system there beginning in Q2 this year.

這些會議具有啟發性和啟發性。在我最近的歐洲之行中，我親眼目睹了我們如何與客戶、政府和更廣泛的基因組學界合作，以安全、更有效地加速全基因組測序的採用，並了解罕見疾病和癌症作為標準的一部分的照顧。我還了解了德國的示範項目，該項目旨在從今年第二季開始將全面的基因組測試完全整合到當地的醫療保健系統中。

Within the hallways of our headquarters and in several global offices, I have also been connecting with our talented employees who are committed to driving innovation and continuing to build out the genomics ecosystem.

在我們總部的走廊和多個全球辦事處，我還與我們致力於推動創新並繼續建立基因組學生態系統的才華橫溢的員工保持聯繫。

I've also had an opportunity to engage with many of you at recent investor conferences. These conversations are informing my leadership agenda and importantly, having reinforced my confidence in Illumina's core business.

我還有機會在最近的投資者會議上與你們中的許多人進行交流。這些對話為我的領導議程提供了訊息，更重要的是，增強了我對 Illumina 核心業務的信心。

2023 was a dynamic year for Illumina. NovaSeq X has been the most successful high-throughput product launch in our history. We ended the year with 352 NovaSeq X shipments, above the 330 to 340 we expected, amid a challenging macroeconomic backdrop that we saw many of our customers remaining constrained in their purchasing decisions.

2023 年對 Illumina 來說是充滿活力的一年。 NovaSeq X 是我們歷史上最成功的高通量產品發布。今年年底，我們的 NovaSeq X 出貨量為 352 台，高於我們預期的 330 至 340 台，在充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟背景下，我們看到許多客戶的購買決策仍然受到限制。

In the fourth quarter, we delivered higher-than-expected consolidated revenue of approximately $1.12 billion. Americas revenue, which is more than half of our business was flat year-on-year. Europe revenue was up 17% year-on-year on a relatively easy prior year comparable. EMEA revenue declined 1%, although that included a 10 percentage point impact from sanctions in Russia. Greater China revenue was down 13% year-on-year reflecting continued geopolitical challenges and local competition in mid-throughput.

第四季度，我們實現了高於預期的合併收入約 11.2 億美元。占我們業務一半以上的美洲收入與去年同期持平。歐洲營收年增 17%，上年同期營收相對輕鬆。歐洲、中東和非洲地區的收入下降了 1%，儘管其中包括俄羅斯制裁造成的 10 個百分點的影響。大中華區營收年減 13%，反映出持續的地緣政治挑戰和中吞吐量的本地競爭。

As I've noted before, China and our customers there are important to Illumina. We've already taken certain pricing and other strategic actions that are beginning to yield results. We will share more specifics on our progress there over time.

正如我之前指出的，中國和我們在那裡的客戶對 Illumina 很重要。我們已經採取了某些定價和其他策略行動，並開始產生效果。隨著時間的推移，我們將分享更多有關我們進展的細節。

Globally, we expect our customers will remain cautious. And for now, we continue to expect 2024 results to look very similar to 2023. While some macro headlines are encouraging, we haven't yet seen that translate to increased investment in our industry and therefore, have not reflected it in our guidance. Joydeep will take you through more details in our guidance in a few minutes.

在全球範圍內，我們預計我們的客戶將保持謹慎。目前，我們仍然預計 2024 年的業績將與 2023 年非常相似。雖然一些宏觀新聞令人鼓舞，但我們尚未看到這轉化為對我們行業的投資增加，因此尚未在我們的指導中反映出來。 Joydeep 將在幾分鐘內帶您了解我們指南中的更多詳細資訊。

While we cannot control the external environment, the management team and I remain committed to accelerating value creations across the enterprise. As you are aware, I have laid out 3 key priorities that I believe will position Illumina for accelerated growth and profitability as market conditions improve. My first priority, driving our top line, is centered on continuing to grow our installed base and helping customers accelerate utilization of these instruments in new and existing applications. I discussed earlier how pleased we are with the first year of NovaSeq X shipments. For high throughput more broadly, across the NovaSeq X and NovaSeq 6000, we placed more than 400 instruments in 2023.

雖然我們無法控制外在環境，但我和管理團隊仍致力於加速整個企業的價值創造。如您所知，我列出了 3 個關鍵優先事項，我相信這些優先事項將使 Illumina 隨著市場狀況的改善而加速成長和盈利。我的首要任務是推動我們的收入成長，重點是繼續擴大我們的安裝基礎並幫助客戶加快這些儀器在新的和現有應用中的利用率。我之前討論過我們對 NovaSeq X 第一年的發貨感到非常高興。為了實現更廣泛的高通量，我們在 2023 年在 NovaSeq X 和 NovaSeq 6000 上放置了 400 多台儀器。

In 2024, we will support this growing installed base as customers launch large projects and more sequencing-intensive applications like multiomics, liquid biopsy and minimal residual disease, or MRD. We anticipate ongoing high throughput instrument orders throughout 2024, primarily coming from further conversion of NovaSeq 6000 customers to the X, from customer fleet expansions and long term, from new to high-throughput customers. With that said, given the significant number of placements in 2023, we believe we will ultimately shift fewer high-throughput instruments in 2024.

到 2024 年，隨著客戶啟動大型專案和更多定序密集型應用（例如多組學、液體活檢和微小殘留疾病 (MRD)），我們將支援這一不斷增長的安裝基礎。我們預計 2024 年將持續出現高通量儀器訂單，主要來自 NovaSeq 6000 客戶進一步轉換為 X、客戶群擴張以及長期客戶從新客戶到高通量客戶。話雖如此，鑑於 2023 年的安置數量龐大，我們相信我們最終將在 2024 年轉移更少的高通量儀器。

As you're aware, XLEAP-SBS chemistry has been the engine for our X platform, delivering significant improvements in quality, turnaround time and cost. This quarter, we will be making XLEAP available to our mid-throughput customers under existing NextSeq 1000, 2000 instruments without having to upgrade their instruments. This offering will further strengthen our leadership position around the world and drive progress in markets such as single cell, spatial and proteomics.

如您所知，XLEAP-SBS 化學一直是我們 X 平台的引擎，在品質、週轉時間和成本方面實現了顯著改進。本季度，我們將在現有 NextSeq 1000、2000 儀器下向中通量客戶提供 XLEAP，而無需升級他們的儀器。該產品將進一步加強我們在全球的領導地位，並推動單細胞、空間和蛋白質組學等市場的進步。

As we grow installed base, we will remain focused on supporting our customers as they launch new projects. This will build momentum for consumables demand this year and going forward. Already, our efforts to develop this demand is paying off. In Q4, we saw higher-than-expected growth in ex consumable sales following the late October launch of our much anticipated 25B rating kit. More recently, in January, we launched a 1.5B kit, which, together with the 25B and the 10B flow cells, allows us to offer a full suite of products to the NovaSeq X customers. While we will continue to see customers reduce their inventories of NovaSeq 6000 consumables as they transition to the X, building pull-through on the NovaSeq X will drive our overall high throughput consumables growth this year.

隨著我們安裝基礎的擴大，我們將繼續專注於為客戶啟動新專案提供支援。這將為今年和未來的消耗品需求創造動力。我們為開發這項需求所做的努力已經取得了回報。在第四季度，繼 10 月底推出備受期待的 25B 評級套件後，我們看到除消耗品銷售成長高於預期。最近，一月份，我們推出了 1.5B 套件，它與 25B 和 10B 流動槽一起，使我們能夠為 NovaSeq X 客戶提供全套產品。雖然我們將繼續看到客戶在過渡到 X 時減少 NovaSeq 6000 耗材的庫存，但在 NovaSeq X 上建立牽引將推動我們今年整體高通量耗材的成長。

Turning to my second priority. I'm focused on delivering operational excellence by applying greater rigor throughout our P&L, while sustaining innovation and growth. We have launched a multiyear effort focusing on improving our margins through greater productivity and pursuing additional areas for cost savings. In January, we took an additional action to further optimize our global workforce. Over the past year, we have made cumulative role reductions totaling approximately 12%. Our most recent actions included an adjustment that we aligned with our late 2023 portfolio optimization efforts. You'll see us continue to take steps to not only manage our near-term cost but also to build our agility to deliver more sustained growth and margins over time.

轉向我的第二要務。我致力於透過在損益表中應用更嚴格的要求來實現卓越運營，同時保持創新和成長。我們開展了多年的努力，重點是透過提高生產力和尋求其他領域的成本節約來提高利潤。一月份，我們採取了額外行動來進一步優化我們的全球員工。去年，我們累計裁員約 12%。我們最近採取的行動包括根據 2023 年末的投資組合優化工作進行的調整。您將看到我們繼續採取措施，不僅管理短期成本，而且增強敏捷性，以便隨著時間的推移實現更持續的成長和利潤。

Illumina is taking a highly disciplined approach to support our customers, employees and partners and to deliver shareholder returns throughout a range of macroeconomic environments.

Illumina 正在採取高度嚴格的方法來支持我們的客戶、員工和合作夥伴，並在一系列宏觀經濟環境中為股東帶來回報。

Moving to my third priority, which is working to resolve GRAIL as quick as possible. Since joining Illumina, I've made it an imperative to move with speed on GRAIL. In December, we announced that we would divest GRAIL with a goal of finalizing the terms of the transaction by the end of the second quarter this year. We'll continue to pursue parallel path. The divestiture will be executed through a third-party sale or capital markets transaction, consistent with the European Commission's divestiture order.

接下來是我的第三個優先事項，即盡快解決 GRAIL 問題。自從加入 Illumina 以來，我就下定決心要在 GRAIL 上快速前進。去年 12 月，我們宣布將剝離 GRAIL，目標是在今年第二季末之前敲定交易條款。我們將繼續追求並行的道路。剝離將透過第三方銷售或資本市場交易執行，符合歐盟委員會的剝離令。

To date, we have been able to make swift progress. GRAIL's Form 10 has been confidentially filed with the SEC. Advisers are actively moving the process forward on both sale and capital market path. The special committee of the Board that we established in Q3 continues to help ensure this process move forward efficiently. I'm encouraged by the momentum we've entered 2024 with, and I'm committed to seeing our initiative through.

到目前為止，我們已經取得了快速進展。 GRAIL 的表格 10 已秘密提交給 SEC。顧問們正在積極推動銷售和資本市場的進程。我們在第三季設立的董事會特別委員會繼續幫助確保這一進程有效推進。我對我們進入 2024 年的勢頭感到鼓舞，並且我致力於推動我們的舉措取得進展。

For now, I will ask Joydeep to share more detail on our results for 2023 and our outlook for 2024.

現在，我將請 Joydeep 分享更多關於我們 2023 年業績和 2024 年展望的細節。

Thank you, Jacob. I'll start by reviewing our consolidated financial results followed by segment results for core Illumina and GRAIL, and then conclude with my remarks on our current outlook for 2024. I'll be discussing non-GAAP results, which includes stock-based compensation. I encourage you to review the GAAP reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures, which can be found in today's release and in the supplementary data available on our website.

謝謝你，雅各。我將首先回顧我們的綜合財務業績，然後是核心 Illumina 和 GRAIL 的部門業績，然後以我對 2024 年當前前景的評論作為結束。我將討論非 GAAP 業績，其中包括基於股票的薪酬。我鼓勵您查看這些非 GAAP 指標的 GAAP 調整表，您可以在今天的新聞稿和我們網站上提供的補充資料中找到這些調整表。

In the fourth quarter, consolidated revenue of $1.12 billion was up 4% year-over-year, both on a reported and constant currency basis. Consolidated revenue was flat from the third quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income was $22 million or $0.14 per diluted share, which included dilution from GRAIL's non-GAAP operating loss of $152 million for the quarter. Non-GAAP EPS exceeded our expectations, driven by higher revenue and gross margin and lower operating expense for the quarter. Our non-GAAP tax rate was 55.4% for the quarter and 41.8% for full year 2023 compared to 29.3% in Q4 2022 and 26% for full year 2022.

第四季綜合營收為 11.2 億美元，按報告收入和固定匯率計算，年增 4%。合併收入與 2023 年第三季持平。非 GAAP 淨利潤為 2,200 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.14 美元，包括 GRAIL 本季度 1.52 億美元的非 GAAP 營運虧損帶來的稀釋。由於本季收入和毛利率上升以及營運費用下降，非公認會計原則每股收益超出了我們的預期。我們本季的非公認會計準則稅率為 55.4%，2023 年全年為 41.8%，而 2022 年第四季為 29.3%，2022 年全年為 26%。

Although both periods reflect the impact of R&D capitalization requirements, the impact to our effective tax rate in 2023 was more significant due to our lower earnings. In addition, our non-GAAP tax rate for both years include a meaningful impact from the consolidation of GRAIL's losses. Absent the impact of GRAIL, our full year 2023 core tax rate was in the mid-20s. Our non-GAAP weighted average diluted share count for the quarter was approximately 159 million.

儘管這兩個時期都反映了研發資本要求的影響，但由於我們的收益較低，對 2023 年有效稅率的影響更為顯著。此外，我們這兩年的非公認會計準則稅率還包括 GRAIL 虧損合併帶來的重大影響。如果沒有 GRAIL 的影響，我們 2023 年全年的核心稅率為 20 多歲。本季我們的非 GAAP 加權平均稀釋股票數量約為 1.59 億股。

Moving to segment results. Core Illumina fourth quarter revenue of $1.1 billion was up 3% year-over-year on both a reported and constant currency basis, and included an anticipated reduction of approximately 5 percentage points from 2 primary categories: one, the decrease in COVID surveillance and the effect of sanctions in Russia that together represented approximately 3 percentage points and two, the year-over-year reduction in China revenue that represented approximately 2 percentage points. Despite these impacts, core Illumina revenue exceeded expectations due to stronger-than-projected NovaSeq X placements, an uptake in X consumables with strong early demand for the 25B flow cell that launched in Q4. Core Illumina sequencing consumables revenue of $687 million was flat year-over-year.

轉向細分結果。 Core Illumina 第四季營收為 11 億美元，按報告匯率和固定匯率計算，年增 3%，其中兩個主要類別預計將減少約 5 個百分點：一是新冠病毒監測的減少和俄羅斯制裁的影響合計約佔3個百分點，而中國的收入年減約2個百分點。儘管存在這些影響，但由於 NovaSeq X 的投放量強於預期、X 耗材的使用以及對第四季度推出的 25B 流通池的早期需求強勁，Illumina 的核心收入超出了預期。 Core Illumina 定序耗材營收為 6.87 億美元，與去年同期持平。

Stronger-than-expected NovaSeq X consumables purchases were largely offset by the anticipated reduction in NovaSeq 6000 consumables and the impact of pricing transitions as customers continue to adopt the NovaSeq X. Total sequencing consumables revenue was also impacted by COVID, Russia and China factors that I previously noted as well as the continued impact of macroeconomic conditions on customers' purchasing behavior. COVID surveillance contributed approximately $4 million in total revenue in Q4 2023 compared to $20 million in Q4 2022.

強於預期的NovaSeq X 耗材採購量在很大程度上被NovaSeq 6000 耗材的預期減少以及客戶繼續採用NovaSeq X 帶來的定價轉變的影響所抵消。測序耗材總收入還受到新冠肺炎、俄羅斯和中國因素的影響，這些因素包括：我之前註意到宏觀經濟狀況對顧客購買行為的持續影響。 COVID 監測在 2023 年第四季貢獻了約 400 萬美元的總收入，而 2022 年第四季為 2000 萬美元。

Turning to sequencing activity. Total activity on our connected high and mid-throughput instruments grew 46% year-over-year in the quarter following the 29% year-over-year growth we reported in Q3. Sequentially, Q4 sequencing activity grew 13% from Q3. As a reminder, we believe this data is a useful reference that shows the general activity trends across our installed base and is directionally correlated with revenue over time.

轉向測序活動。繼第三季報告年增 29% 後，本季我們連接的高吞吐量和中吞吐量儀器的總活動年增 46%。隨後，第四季的定序活動比第三季成長了 13%。提醒一下，我們相信這些數據是一個有用的參考，它顯示了我們安裝基礎上的整體活動趨勢，並且與一段時間內的收入呈方向相關。

Sequencing instruments revenue for core Illumina of $161 million grew 10% year-over-year in Q4, driven primarily by NovaSeq X, which more than offset the decline in NovaSeq 6000 shipments. Growth in high-throughput instruments was partially offset by the expected decline in mid- and low-throughput shipments due to capital purchase and cash flow constraints that continue to impact our customers' purchasing behaviors as well as local competition in China.

第四季度，核心 Illumina 的定序儀器收入為 1.61 億美元，年增 10%，這主要是由 NovaSeq X 推動的，這遠遠抵消了 NovaSeq 6000 出貨量的下降。高通量儀器的成長被中低通量出貨量的預期下降部分抵消，這是由於資本購買和現金流限制繼續影響我們客戶的購買行為以及中國當地的競爭。

For NovaSeq X, we exited Q4 with 390 orders since launch. Our shipments of 79 NovaSeq X instruments in Q4 brought our total installed base to 352 instruments. While we expect most of our NovaSeq 6000 customers to transition to the NovaSeq X over time, we are still very early in this transition. As of the end of 2023, our net installed base for NovaSeq 6000 was approximately 1,770 instruments, which reflects approximately 110 instruments that have been deactivated between 2017 and 2023. The majority of these were in 2023 due to customer transitions to NovaSeq X. We expect this to increase in 2024 as customers continue to ramp up utilization of NovaSeq X.

對於 NovaSeq X，自推出以來，我們在第四季度結束時收到了 390 個訂單。第四季我們出貨了 79 台 NovaSeq X 儀器，使我們的總安裝基數達到 352 台儀器。雖然我們預計大多數 NovaSeq 6000 客戶會隨著時間的推移過渡到 NovaSeq X，但我們仍處於這一過渡的早期階段。截至2023 年底，我們的NovaSeq 6000 淨安裝基數約為1,770 台儀器，這反映了2017 年至2023 年間停用的約110 台儀器。其中大部分是在2023 年由於客戶過渡到NovaSeq X 而發生的。我們預計隨著客戶繼續提高 NovaSeq X 的使用率，這一數字將在 2024 年增加。

Additionally, going forward, we will be reporting our annual instrument installed base figures on a net basis, which accounts for instruments that have been decommissioned or inactivated since launch. The information included on this slide includes additional details to help you with your modeling. We will be posting this presentation to our Investor Relations website following our prepared remarks.

此外，展望未來，我們將以淨值報告年度儀器安裝基數，其中包括自推出以來已退役或停用的儀器。此投影片中包含的資訊包括可協助您進行建模的其他詳細資訊。在我們準備好的評論之後，我們將在我們的投資者關係網站上發布此簡報。

Core Illumina sequencing service and other revenue of $152 million was up 16% year-over-year, driven primarily by an increase in revenue from strategic partnerships and higher instrument service contract revenue on a growing installed base.

Core Illumina 定序服務和其他收入為 1.52 億美元，年增 16%，這主要是由於戰略合作夥伴關係收入的增加以及安裝基礎不斷增長的儀器服務合約收入的增加。

Moving to the rest of core Illumina P&L. Core Illumina non-GAAP gross margin of 64.7% for the quarter decreased 260 basis points year-over-year, primarily driven by the mix of lower-margin strategic partnership revenue, lower instrument margins due to the NovaSeq X launch, which is typical with a new platform introduction, and increased field services and installation costs partially offset by lower freight costs. Core Illumina non-GAAP operating expenses of $507 million were down $21 million year-over-year, primarily due to continued expense reduction initiatives and lower performance-based stock compensation expense year-over-year. As a result of these factors and higher revenue, core Illumina non-GAAP operating margin was 18.5% in Q4 2023 compared to 17.8% in Q4 2022.

轉向 Illumina 核心損益表的其餘部分。 Core Illumina 本季非 GAAP 毛利率為 64.7%，較去年同期下降 260 個基點，這主要是由於策略合作夥伴收入利潤率較低、NovaSeq X 推出導致儀器利潤率較低（這是典型的新平台的推出以及增加的現場服務和安裝成本被較低的貨運成本部分抵消。 Core Illumina 的非 GAAP 營運費用為 5.07 億美元，比去年同期減少 2,100 萬美元，這主要是由於持續的費用削減計劃以及基於業績的股票補償費用同比下降。由於這些因素和更高的收入，2023 年第四季 Illumina 的核心非 GAAP 營業利潤率為 18.5%，而 2022 年第四季為 17.8%。

Transitioning to financial results for GRAIL. GRAIL revenue of $30 million for the quarter grew 30% year-over-year, driven primarily by adoption of Galleri. GRAIL non-GAAP operating expenses totaled $167 million and increased $1 million year-over-year.

轉向 GRAIL 的財務表現。 GRAIL 本季營收為 3000 萬美元，年增 30%，這主要是由於採用了 Galleri。 GRAIL 非 GAAP 營運費用總計 1.67 億美元，較去年同期增加 100 萬美元。

Moving to consolidated cash flow and balance sheet items for the quarter. Cash flow provided by operations was $224 million. Capital expenditures were $51 million, and free cash flow was $173 million. We did not repurchase any common stock. We ended the quarter with approximately $1.05 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

轉向本季的合併現金流量和資產負債表項目。營運提供的現金流為 2.24 億美元。資本支出為 5,100 萬美元，自由現金流為 1.73 億美元。我們沒有回購任何普通股。截至本季末，我們擁有約 10.5 億美元的現金、現金等價物和短期投資。

Moving now to 2024 guidance. As Illumina continues to move as quickly as possible to resolve GRAIL, given the uncertainty around the specific timing and impact of the GRAIL divestment, the company is focusing its 2024 financial outlook on core Illumina. Our guidance does not assume any impact for the potential divestment of GRAIL in 2024. Upon the completion of the divestment, we will provide non-GAAP EPS guidance for the full year 2024.

現在轉向 2024 年指導。隨著 Illumina 繼續盡快解決 GRAIL 問題，考慮到 GRAIL 撤資的具體時間和影響的不確定性，該公司將 2024 年的財務前景重點放在核心 Illumina 上。我們的指引不會對 2024 年 GRAIL 的潛在剝離產生任何影響。剝離完成後，我們將提供 2024 年全年的非 GAAP 每股收益指引。

As Jacob mentioned, our outlook assumes the current challenging macroeconomic environment persists in 2024, and tighter funding and budget pressures continue to impact our customers' purchasing decisions. We expect full year 2024 core revenue to be approximately flat from 2023, reflecting the following offsetting factors. We expect core Illumina sequencing instrument revenue to decline in the high teens year-over-year driven primarily by a decrease in NovaSeq X instrument placements. The reduction reflects the expected transition in our adoption curve to early majority customers from early adopters and the lower backlog entering 2024 compared to 2023. We also expect capital and cash flow constraints to continue to impact purchasing behavior and moderate instrument placements in 2024.

正如 Jacob 所提到的，我們的展望假設當前充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境在 2024 年持續存在，資金和預算壓力收緊將繼續影響客戶的購買決策。我們預計 2024 年全年核心收入將與 2023 年大致持平，反映出以下抵銷因素。我們預計 Illumina 核心定序儀器收入將年減十多歲，這主要是由於 NovaSeq X 儀器投放量的減少。這項減少反映了我們的採用曲線從早期採用者到早期多數客戶的預期轉變，以及與2023 年相比，進入2024 年的積壓情況有所減少。我們也預期資本和現金流限制將持續影響2024年的購買行為和適度的儀器配置。

We expect core Illumina sequencing consumables revenue to grow in the low single digits year-over-year, driven primarily by modest growth in high-throughput consumables, as increased NovaSeq X consumables purchases and sequencing volume outpaced the expected decline in NovaSeq 6000 consumables and the impact of pricing transitions.

我們預計核心Illumina 定序耗材收入將同比以低個位數增長，這主要是由於高通量耗材的適度增長推動的，因為NovaSeq X 耗材採購和測序量的增加超過了NovaSeq 6000 耗材和測序量的預期下降。定價轉變的影響。

Moving to annual pull-through. Going forward, we will be calculating and providing pull-through figures based on the instruments' net installed base. As I mentioned previously, supplemental information is included in our earnings presentation to help with modeling, which will be posted to our Investor Relations website following our prepared remarks. Importantly, this does not change reported revenue in any way. We expect annual pull-through for NovaSeq 6000 of approximately $700,000 to $800,000 per system in 2024, as customers continue to transition sequencing volume to NovaSeq X.

轉向年度拉動。展望未來，我們將根據儀器的淨安裝基數計算並提供拉動數據。正如我之前提到的，我們的收益報告中包含了補充信息，以幫助建模，這些信息將在我們準備好的評論之後發佈到我們的投資者關係網站上。重要的是，這不會以任何方式改變報告的收入。隨著客戶繼續將定序量轉移到 NovaSeq X，我們預計到 2024 年，NovaSeq 6000 每個系統的年度拉動約為 700,000 至 800,000 美元。

We expect annual pull-through for NextSeq 1000, 2000 in the range of $80,000 to $130,000 per system in 2024, which primarily reflects the impact of customers transitioning to X lead chemistry as it becomes available on NextSeq 1000, 2000. We expect annual pull-through for MiSeq in the range of $30,000 to $40,000. We expect the remainder of our pull-through ranges to be in line with historical guidance.

我們預計到2024 年，NextSeq 1000, 2000 的年度拉動將在每個系統80,000 至130,000 美元的範圍內，這主要反映了客戶過渡到X 先導化學的影響，因為X 鉛化學在NextSeq 1000, 2000 上可用. MiSeq 的費用在 30,000 美元到 40,000 美元之間。我們預計其餘的調整範圍將與歷史指引一致。

We expect core Illumina total sequencing revenue to be approximately flat year-over-year. This includes intercompany sales to GRAIL of approximately $30 million, which are eliminated in consolidation.

我們預計 Illumina 的核心總定序收入將與去年同期基本持平。其中包括公司間向 GRAIL 銷售的約 3,000 萬美元，該金額在合併中被抵銷。

We expect core Illumina non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 20%. Our operating margin expectations reflect the benefit of our continued gross margin improvement and expense reduction initiatives offset by normalization of our performance-based compensation as well as the impacts of inflation and market-based merit increases.

我們預計 Illumina 核心非 GAAP 營運利潤率約為 20%。我們的營業利潤率預期反映了我們持續毛利率改善和費用削減舉措所帶來的好處，這些好處被我們基於績效的薪酬正常化以及通貨膨脹和基於市場的績效增長的影響所抵消。

For the first quarter of 2024, we expect core Illumina revenue in the range of $1.03 billion to $1.04 billion, reflecting a year-over-year decrease of 3.5% to 4.5%, driven predominantly by the following factors. We expect lower NovaSeq X instrument shipments year-over-year given that we are entering 2024 with a more modest backlog compared to the significant preorder book we entered 2023 following the launch of NovaSeq X. We expect the increase in NovaSeq X consumables purchases year-over-year to be largely offset by the anticipated reduction in NovaSeq 6000 consumables and the impact of pricing transitions consistent with the trend we saw in Q4. We expect an increase in sequencing service and other revenue year-over-year driven by strategic partnership initiatives and higher instrument service contract revenue on a growing installed base.

2024 年第一季度，我們預計 Illumina 核心營收在 10.3 億美元至 10.4 億美元之間，年減 3.5% 至 4.5%，主要由以下因素驅動。我們預計NovaSeq X 儀器出貨量將同比下降，因為與2023 年推出NovaSeq X 後進入的大量預訂相比，我們進入2024 年時的積壓量更為溫和。我們預計NovaSeq X 耗材採購量將在今年有所增加同比增長在很大程度上被 NovaSeq 6000 耗材的預期減少以及與我們在第四季度看到的趨勢一致的定價轉變的影響所抵消。我們預計，在戰略合作夥伴計劃以及不斷增長的安裝基礎上更高的儀器服務合約收入的推動下，測序服務和其他收入將同比增長。

For the first quarter, we expect core Illumina non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 18%. Lastly, for the first quarter, we expect core Illumina non-GAAP net other expense of approximately $12 million with the year-over-year increase driven primarily by lower interest income on our lower cash balance following the repayment of our convertible notes in mid-2023.

我們預計第一季 Illumina 核心非 GAAP 營運利潤率約為 18%。最後，我們預計第一季核心 Illumina 非 GAAP 淨其他費用約為 1200 萬美元，同比增長主要是由於我們在中期償還可轉換票據後現金餘額較低，利息收入減少。2023 年。

I will now turn it back over to Jacob for his closing remarks. Thank you.

現在我將把它轉回給雅各布，讓他作結束語。謝謝。

Thanks, Joydeep. Before we close and move to Q&A, I want to discuss what I believe success looks like, both this year and the years ahead. Illumina has the opportunity to truly drive the next-generation sequencing ecosystem forward. We will deepen our relationships with our customers, and seek out greater ways to collaborate and partner with them to drive greater adoption of NGS.

謝謝，喬伊迪普。在我們結束並進行問答之前，我想討論一下我認為今年和未來幾年的成功是什麼樣的。 Illumina 有機會真正推動下一代定序生態系統向前發展。我們將加深與客戶的關係，並尋求更好的方式與他們合作和合作，以推動 NGS 的更廣泛採用。

Our goal is to make our customers the heroes in their labs and to support them as they expand their work in genomics and multiomics. In turn, this will help capitalize our market-leading innovation and continue to differentiate Illumina and maintain our industry-leading position across research and clinical markets. We will also continue to drive innovation that is focused on our customers' priorities. This includes evolving our sequencing platform and delivering greater sample-to-answer solutions. There is an opportunity to further integrate customers' workflow to build our share of wallet as we create greater value for our customers.

我們的目標是讓我們的客戶成為實驗室中的英雄，並在他們擴展基因組學和多組學方面的工作時為他們提供支援。反過來，這將有助於利用我們市場領先的創新，繼續使 Illumina 脫穎而出，並保持我們在研究和臨床市場的行業領先地位。我們也將繼續推動專注於客戶優先事項的創新。這包括改進我們的測序平台並提供更好的樣本到答案解決方案。當我們為客戶創造更大價值時，我們有機會進一步整合客戶的工作流程來建立我們的錢包份額。

Our comprehensive strategy work is well underway, and we will share more with you later this year. I'm excited to be part of Illumina's leadership team that is driving our unmatched core business forward. Thank you for joining.

我們的全面策略工作正在順利進行，我們將在今年稍後與您分享更多資訊。我很高興成為 Illumina 領導團隊的一員，該團隊正在推動我們無與倫比的核心業務向前發展。感謝您的加入。

I'll now invite the operator to open the line for Q&A.

我現在邀請接線員打開線路進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Douglas Schenkel with Wolfe Research.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自 Wolfe Research 的 Douglas Schenkel。

I want to ask just about the 25B chip release and what you're seeing in the field entering the early part of the year. As you know, 25B reduces the cost per genome to about $200, but it also requires customers to have enough samples to run to fully use up the flow cells. So what are -- what have you seen in the first few months of availability? What's spending on X consumables? How did that trend relative to Q3? And are you seeing signs in the field that sample access is not a problem as you see folks move to the 25B?

我想詢問有關 25B 晶片發布的信息以及您在今年年初對該領域所看到的情況。如您所知，25B 將每個基因組的成本降低至約 200 美元，但它也要求客戶有足夠的樣本進行運行，以完全用完流動槽。那麼，在推出的最初幾個月裡，您看到了什麼？ X 消耗品的花費是多少？與第三季相比，這趨勢如何？您是否看到現場跡象表明，當您看到人們轉向 25B 時，樣本訪問不再是問題？

Thanks, Doug. And that was nice one question there. So let me start by saying that we've been very pleased with the pickup of the 25B since the launch in late November. In fact, it's kind of performed over our expectations and have been very well received by the customers. So we continue to expect that this will continue to really drive X performance, but also, of course, it's completely now unleashed the full performance of the instrument, and thereby, we also expect that the 25B -- the availability of the 25B will have more customers to jump on to the X wagon here. I think we are seeing customers being able to load it. Of course, many of them are still doing validation work, but we are seeing that they have big enough projects to load the flow cells.

謝謝，道格。這是一個很好的問題。首先我要說的是，自 11 月底推出以來，我們對 25B 的皮卡感到非常滿意。事實上，它的表現超出了我們的預期，並受到了客戶的好評。因此，我們繼續期望這將繼續真正推動 X 性能，而且，當然，它現在已經完全釋放了儀器的全部性能，因此，我們也期望 25B - 25B 的可用性將具有更多的顧客可以在這裡登上X車。我認為我們看到客戶能夠加載它。當然，他們中的許多人仍在進行驗證工作，但我們看到他們有足夠大的項目來加載流通池。

Yes. And just maybe one quick add, right? About 40% of our X customers so far have adopted the 25B.

是的。也許只是一個快速補充，對吧？到目前為止，我們大約 40% 的 X 客戶已經採用了 25B。

Correct.

正確的。

And our next question will come from Puneet Souda with Leerink Partners.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Leerink Partners 的 Puneet Souda。

So maybe just following up on that point. I mean sort of help us just understand how do you get to the low single-digit growth rate this year. There's obviously 25B. There's reductions that are happening in -- from just the X installs. Cost per database is lower. China continues to be challenging, and then the market backdrop is challenging too. So just maybe talk to us a little bit about sort of how do you continue to have confidence in the sort of the low single-digit sequencing consumable growth rate?

所以也許只是跟進這一點。我的意思是幫助我們了解今年的低個位數成長率是如何實現的。顯然有25B。僅 X 安裝量正在減少。每個資料庫的成本較低。中國仍充滿挑戰，市場背景也充滿挑戰。所以也許可以和我們談談您如何繼續對這種低個位數的定序耗材成長率充滿信心？

And I would really appreciate if you could provide us some context around and details around GRAIL as well. What's the progress there? Any level of interest that you're finding? And what are you contemplating for spend on GRAIL this year?

如果您能為我們提供一些有關 GRAIL 的背景信息和詳細信息，我將不勝感激。那裡的進展如何？您發現什麼程度的興趣？今年您打算在 GRAIL 上花多少錢？

All right. Thanks for that, Puneet. And let me start by the latter part of this question about GRAIL, and then I'll have Joydeep chime in on our expectations here on consumables growth. But as I mentioned, we are very pleased with the announcement that we made here in December that we are now divesting GRAIL for sure, and I'm actually very pleased with the progress so far. We have our advisers really moving ahead and now in connection and in conversations with [the relevant] parties.

好的。謝謝你，普尼特。讓我從有關 GRAIL 的問題的後半部分開始，然後我將請 Joydeep 插話我們對消耗品增長的期望。但正如我所提到的，我們對 12 月在這裡宣布的我們現在肯定要剝離 GRAIL 的聲明感到非常高興，而且我實際上對迄今為止的進展感到非常滿意。我們的顧問正在真正向前邁進，現在正在與[相關]各方進行聯繫和對話。

We are continuing to run a dual track, of course, via a capital market initiative or it can be a transaction. And so we still expect to be on track with the time line. We were previously talking about that we would have -- we will have all the terms finalized by end of Q2. So we are -- at this point, we are not talking about -- since we are expecting to finish up with GRAIL this year, we're not having any guidance on the expenditure for GRAIL this year.

當然，我們將繼續實行雙軌制，透過資本市場舉措，也可以透過交易。因此，我們仍然希望能夠按時完成任務。我們之前討論過我們將在第二季末敲定所有條款。所以我們——在這一點上，我們不是在談論——因為我們預計今年會完成 GRAIL，所以我們對今年 GRAIL 的支出沒有任何指導。

Yes. And to address your question about the low single digits, consumables growth, Puneet, so let me start by saying we were very encouraged by the uptake of the 25B and 10B flow cells that we saw in the fourth quarter. We're also very pleased to see the elasticity, the growth in underlying sequencing activity being driven by X customers, right? So both of those are good. We saw that uptick on sequencing activity now for the second quarter in a row. So again, it's broad-based. It's both research and clinical customers. And it's quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth.

是的。為了解決您關於消耗品成長低個位數的問題，Puneet，首先我要說的是，我們對第四季度看到的 25B 和 10B 流通池的採用感到非常鼓舞。我們也很高興看到 X 客戶推動底層定序活動的彈性和成長，對嗎？所以這兩個都很好。我們看到測序活動連續第二季有所上升。再說一遍，它的基礎廣泛。它既是研究客戶，也是臨床客戶。這是季度環比和同比增長。

So what's offsetting expected growth in X consumables, as you rightly pointed out, is the expected price transition as customers move from the NovaSeq 6000 to the X. This is very similar to the price transition that you saw when you were moving from HiSeq to 6000 and then, of course, some of the expected again, reduction in 6000 consumables as customers switch from one platform to the other, right? So those -- that is the really big piece on the -- what's leading to the lower -- or the low single-digit growth rate in consumables in 2024.

因此，正如您正確指出的那樣，抵消 X 耗材預期增長的是客戶從 NovaSeq 6000 轉向 X 時預期的價格轉變。這與您從 HiSeq 轉向 6000 時看到的價格轉變非常相似當然，隨著客戶從一個平台切換到另一個平台，消耗品將減少6000 件，這也是我們所期望的，對嗎？因此，這些才是導致 2024 年消費品成長率較低或較低的個位數成長率的真正重要因素。

And our next question will come from Vijay Kumar with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Evercore ISI 的 Vijay Kumar。

I had a two-part question on this GRAIL. I know it was a confidential S-1. When will that be made public? And the reason I ask is GRAIL's operating losses were $700 million last year. It's really hard to foresee a capital market transaction with those kind of spend levels, so I would be very curious to see what the S-1 assumptions are on GRAIL. And on consumable pull-through, $700,000 to $800,000 on NovaSeq 6000, Joydeep, is there like a cadence perhaps, Q1, we're starting at the low end? And is the assumption we exit Q4 at the high end of that range?

我對這個聖杯有一個由兩個部分組成的問題。我知道這是一封機密的 S-1。什麼時候會公開？我問的原因是 GRAIL 去年的營運虧損為 7 億美元。很難預見這樣的支出水準下的資本市場交易，所以我很好奇 GRAIL 的 S-1 假設是什麼。在耗材拉通方面，NovaSeq 6000、Joydeep 上的耗材價格為 700,000 美元到 800,000 美元，是否有一個節奏，Q1，我們從低端開始？假設我們在該範圍的高端退出第四季？

Yes. So let's start with the GRAIL question. And obviously, we'd like to provide as much information to all of you as possible. Right now, as you say, the filing is confidential, and I don't think it will be public available before very late in Q1, maybe dripping into Q2 here. So I think that's where we are at this. But as soon as it's available, we'll make sure you know.

是的。那麼讓我們從 GRAIL 問題開始。顯然，我們希望向大家提供盡可能多的信息。現在，正如您所說，該文件是保密的，我認為在第一季末之前它不會公開，也許會進入第二季。所以我認為這就是我們現在的處境。但一旦可用，我們會確保您知道。

And then, Vijay, I want to be sure. You're asking about NextSeq 6000 -- sorry, NovaSeq 6000 pull-through numbers and how they modulate through the year?

然後，維傑，我想確定一下。您詢問的是 NextSeq 6000 - 抱歉，NovaSeq 6000 的拉通資料以及它們在一年中的變化如何？

Correct, Joydeep. Is there an assumption we start at the low end and exit the year at the high end or above the high end of that range?

正確，喬伊迪普。是否假設我們從低端開始，並在高端或高於該範圍的高端結束今年？

No, there isn't. I think, again, pull-through, I will reemphasize, is a calculated number, so it's more of the total amount of consumables sold in any quarter divided by the number of now the active installed base in the quarter, right? So -- and we don't have an assumption in terms of quarterly spread on that.

不，沒有。我想，我將再次強調，拉動是一個計算得出的數字，所以它更多的是任何季度銷售的消耗品總量除以該季度當前活躍安裝基數的數量，對嗎？因此，我們對此沒有季度利差的假設。

And our next question will come from Dan Arias with Stifel.

我們的下一個問題將由 Dan Arias 和 Stifel 提出。

Jacob or Joydeep, on the 6000 to X transition and just sort of thinking about the clinical side of things, a big part of that bucket are these commercial labs that are watching their own margins pretty tightly and trying to find ways to be just more efficient. So are you sensing that maybe you could see X adoption faster than in maybe in a normal environment in order for those folks to take advantage of the cost savings? It seems like they're incentivized to do that, but I also know that the clinical wheel spins slowly. So I'm just not sure whether that's a factor for them.

Jacob 或 Joydeep，從 6000 到 X 的過渡中，考慮到臨床方面的問題，其中很大一部分是這些商業實驗室，他們非常嚴格地關注自己的利潤，並試圖找到提高效率的方法。那麼您是否感覺到，也許您可以看到 X 的採用速度比正常環境中更快，以便這些人能夠利用成本節省？似乎他們有動力這樣做，但我也知道臨床輪子旋轉得很慢。所以我不確定這是否是他們的一個因素。

Yes. Of course, it's a relevant hypothesis to come in with. What we have seen is that most of our clinical customers are using the opportunity with the lower cost of X to actually expand the depth of sequencing, providing bigger panels and so on. So what we're seeing is that most of the current panels continue to run on the NovaSeq 6000 and thereby continue to also drive volume there.

是的。當然，這是一個相關的假設。我們看到的是，我們的大多數臨床客戶正在利用 X 成本較低的機會來實際擴展定序深度，提供更大的 panel 等。因此，我們看到的是，大多數當前面板繼續在 NovaSeq 6000 上運行，從而繼續推動那裡的銷售。

And then they are, right now, validating many of the new assays or the new assays that might not have been possible in the 6000 due to the cost and so on to be on the X. So we're quite encouraged about that. We've also seen several of our specialty labs customer now order tens of NovaSeq X. So I'm encouraged that we will see a lot of volume here going forward on this.

然後他們現在正在驗證許多新的檢測方法，或者由於成本等原因在 6000 中不可能實現的新檢測方法將在 X 上進行。所以我們對此感到非常鼓舞。我們還看到我們的幾位專業實驗室客戶現在訂購了數十台 NovaSeq X。因此，我很高興我們將在這方面看到大量的訂單。

And our next question will come from Subha Nambi with Guggenheim Securities.

我們的下一個問題將來自古根漢證券公司的 Subha Nambi。

You spent about $1 billion on R&D in 2022 relative to 2019. The revenue has grown at 6% CAGR. However, R&D has grown 12% CAGR. Why can't you reduce R&D spend in dollar terms from current levels over the next 1 or 2 years? Can you outline where the spend is allocating?

與 2019 年相比，2022 年研發支出約為 10 億美元。收入複合年增長率為 6%。然而，研發的複合年增長率為 12%。為什麼不能在未來 1 或 2 年內減少以美元計算的研發支出？您能概述一下支出的分配嗎？

Yes, thank you. You're right that we continue to believe that there's a lot of innovation that is required, thereby investment into R&D in order to drive the whole NGS ecosystem forward. We -- as I said, one of the things -- what I said previously is one of the things that I was really excited about is the pipeline of innovation that we have in running right now and thereby, also there will be a lot of innovation coming out from Illumina over the next period of time here. And we continue to believe that we are in the early stages of the whole opportunities here in NGS but even also in multiomics, and thereby, we continue to make investment into that.

是的，謝謝。你說得對，我們仍然相信需要大量創新，因此需要投資研發以推動整個 NGS 生態系統向前發展。正如我所說，我之前所說的讓我真正興奮的事情之一是我們現在正在運行的創新管道，因此，也會有很多Illumina 在接下來的一段時間內將推出創新成果。我們仍然相信，我們正處於 NGS 乃至多組學領域所有機會的早期階段，因此，我們將繼續對此進行投資。

You're also right that there has been an increase in R&D, and we're certainly looking to change that trajectory over time. We still believe that a high level of investment is required, but you will see here over the next years that the percentage spend in R&D versus revenue will start to come down.

你說得也對，研發一直在增加，我們當然希望隨著時間的推移改變這種軌跡。我們仍然認為需要高水準的投資，但您將在接下來的幾年中看到研發支出與收入的百分比將開始下降。

Just to add, Subha, I think we have made reductions in R&D over the last year. It's been very strategic in terms of specific aspects of the portfolio that we had considered as longer -- much longer time of payoffs or more risky. And we have also -- our overall R&D includes spend in certain areas like medical affairs, et cetera, that we were doing to support customers. And as they have matured, right, we have been able to pull back on investment there without affecting innovation.

只是補充一下，Subha，我認為我們去年減少了研發費用。就投資組合的特定方面而言，我們認為這些方面非常具有戰略意義——回報時間更長或風險更大。我們的整體研發也包括在醫療事務等某些領域的支出，這些都是我們為支持客戶而進行的。隨著它們的成熟，我們已經能夠在不影響創新的情況下減少對它們的投資。

And we'll take a question from Mason Carrico with Stephens.

我們將回答梅森·卡里科和史蒂芬斯提出的問題。

So for high-throughput customers who have already purchased an X, could you talk about the conversations you're having around the potential fleet expansions? I mean what portion of those opportunities, whether it's orders or shipments, have already come through and how many remain an opportunity this year?

那麼，對於已經購買了 X 的高吞吐量客戶，您能否談談您圍繞潛在的機隊擴張進行的對話？我的意思是，這些機會中的哪些部分（無論是訂單還是發貨）已經實現，今年還有多少機會？

Yes. I think, I mean, we certainly see a lot of our high-end customers, the high-volume customers that started buying 1 or 2 NovaSeq X, is starting to consider purchasing more instruments. So they're using the first few X to validate assays on. And then they want to expand into -- use the additional Xs to actually run in production. But very few customers have still gone into production mode, and thereby, there is a real big opportunity in front of us.

是的。我認為，我的意思是，我們當然看到很多高端客戶，即開始購買 1 或 2 個 NovaSeq X 的大批量客戶，正在開始考慮購買更多儀器。因此他們使用前幾個 X 來驗證檢測。然後他們想要擴展到——使用額外的 X 在生產中實際運行。但很少有客戶仍然進入生產模式，因此，我們面前有一個真正的巨大機會。

I think that less than half of our high-volume customers have purchased an X so far, so I think there's still a lot of opportunities there. But as also mentioned, some of the high-volume customers that have purchased 1 or 2 have now put orders in for 10 instruments. So I think we're still in the very early stages, and there should be a lot of opportunities here, both in '24 and '25, to drive more placements.

我認為到目前為止，我們的大批量客戶中只有不到一半購買了 X，所以我認為那裡仍然有很多機會。但正如也提到的，一些購買了 1 或 2 台儀器的大批量客戶現在已經下了 10 台儀器的訂單。所以我認為我們仍處於非常早期的階段，無論是在 24 年還是在 25 年，這裡應該有很多機會來推動更多的展示位置。

Yes. I'd just add, we weren't expecting to see that before the launch of the 25B flow cell, right? So really, you're in very early innings there, and we do expect to see those fleet expansions come in, in this year.

是的。我想補充一點，在 25B 流通池推出之前我們並沒有想到會看到這一點，對嗎？所以說真的，你還處於早期階段，我們確實希望看到今年機隊的擴張。

And we have a question from David Westenberg with Piper Sandler.

大衛·韋斯特伯格和派珀·桑德勒向我們提出了一個問題。

I'm actually going to hit on the -- some of the competition coming in. A couple of different things we saw at AGBT, for example, a combination of spatial and sequencing on one platform. How do you see that stacking competitively? Would you pursue a strategy like that? And then on Ultima, the $100 genome, some of the specs look significantly better than it did a couple of years ago. How do you feel stacked up against the $100 price with some of your key bells and whistles?

事實上，我要談談即將到來的一些競爭。我們在 AGBT 上看到了一些不同的東西，例如，一個平台上的空間和排序的組合。您如何看待這種堆疊的競爭性？你會採取這樣的策略嗎？然後在售價 100 美元的 Ultima 基因組上，一些規格看起來比幾年前要好得多。與 100 美元的價格以及一些關鍵的附加功能相比，您感覺如何？

Yes. Thanks, Dave. And of course, we're tracking, of course, everything that is happening out in the market and we take our competition very seriously. But I think you've also heard me on the multiomics place. I think you've heard me speak multiple times about multiomics. So we have an intention also to be in that space. I think we were now talking about moving forward as a starting point with proteomics here with our relationships with SomaLogic.

是的。謝謝，戴夫。當然，我們正在追蹤市場上發生的一切，我們非常認真地對待我們的競爭。但我想你也聽過我在多組學領域的發言。我想您已經多次聽我談論過多重組學。所以我們也有意進入這個領域。我認為我們現在正在討論以我們與 SomaLogic 的關係作為蛋白質體學的起點。

But I think you can see that -- actually, we believe there is many more modalities that can be available on the instruments. So I think the -- where we -- where Illumina is doing it, that we will go out and provide that insight when we're ready to put something in the market and speak less about it when it's more in the future.

但我認為你可以看到，實際上，我們相信這些工具可以使用更多的模式。因此，我認為 Illumina 正在做的事情是，當我們準備好將某些產品推向市場時，我們將走出去並提供洞察力，而當未來更多時，我們將少談論它。

Secondly, we feel with the NovaSeq X where we come out with a very attractive price point for a lot of different applications and not only a very few ones. So I think we feel that we have a very attractive solution. But I also remind you that it's not only the cost per sequencing that -- anymore that is relevant, but also you need to look at the whole cost of the whole workflow, how many manual steps you have, how much waste you are -- is instrument spending and so on. So I think if you dig into the details, you will actually realize that Illumina has a very attractive and very differentiated platform.

其次，我們認為 NovaSeq X 為許多不同的應用（而不僅僅是極少數應用）提供了非常有吸引力的價格點。所以我認為我們覺得我們有一個非常有吸引力的解決方案。但我也提醒您，這不僅僅是每次測序的成本——不再相關，而且您還需要查看整個工作流程的整體成本，有多少手動步驟，有多少浪費——就是儀器開支等等。所以我認為，如果你深入研究細節，你實際上會意識到 Illumina 擁有一個非常有吸引力且非常差異化的平台。

We'll take a question from Conor McNamara with RBC.

我們將接受加拿大皇家銀行康納·麥克納馬拉的提問。

Just a financial question on margins. You're guiding to 18% in Q1 and 20% for the whole year. So how do we think about the cadence of the margin progression? And I guess same on tax rate. Just you talked about a mid-20s for the core Illumina tax rate. How should we think about that in '24?

只是關於利潤的財務問題。您預計第一季的成長率為 18%，全年的成長率為 20%。那我們如何看待保證金進展的節奏呢？我想稅率也是如此。剛才您談到 Illumina 的核心稅率為 20 多歲。 24世紀我們該如何思考這個問題？

Yes. So the tax rate, again, is something that should be -- you should expect to be relatively constant as you go into -- and again, for core Illumina into 2024. And this is, again, core Illumina, right? We are not giving guidance this year yet on the consolidated number.

是的。因此，對於核心 Illumina 來說，稅率再次應該是——你應該期望在進入 2024 年時相對穩定。這又是核心 Illumina，對吧？我們今年尚未就綜合​​數字給出指導。

In terms of the operating margin cadence, again, that is -- typically, that does go up as the gross margins tend to go up as we move into greater volume and -- through the year. In terms of operating margin, you will see a decrease in -- potentially in Q2 as the merit and the other inflation-related aspects come into play. But then you will see after that, a quarter-on-quarter increase as we move into the rest of the year.

就營業利益率而言，通常情況下，隨著我們全年產量的增加，毛利率往往會上升，營業利益率確實會上升。就營業利潤率而言，隨著業績和其他與通膨相關的因素發揮作用，您可能會在第二季度看到營業利潤率的下降。但之後你會看到，隨著我們進入今年剩餘時間，季度環比增長。

And then, of course, I think on the -- sorry, just one other thing, right? I know there's been some movement in terms of the R&D capitalization piece, but that is something we're monitoring very carefully. It is past the House, but it still needs to get through the Senate and the President signing. If we get that, you can expect a further improvement in the tax rate, right? But we are not building that into our assumptions at this point.

然後，當然，我想到了——抱歉，還有一件事，對吧？我知道研發資本方面發生了一些變化，但我們正在非常仔細地監控這一點。眾議院已經通過，但還需要參議院和總統簽署。如果我們得到了這一點，你可以期待稅率進一步提高，對嗎？但目前我們還沒有將其納入我們的假設中。

And our next question will come from Sung Ji Nam with Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題將由豐業銀行的 Sung Ji Nam 提出。

Just on the MRD assay under development with Janssen, was wondering if you might be able to comment whether that's a tumor-informed or a tumor-naive approach or something different altogether and whether that might have -- whether there might be potential for that to be developed into a IBD assay in the future for clinical applications?

就在與楊森一起開發的 MRD 檢測中，我想知道您是否可以評論一下這是一種腫瘤知情方法還是腫瘤幼稚方法，還是完全不同的方法，以及是否有可能 - 是否有潛力未來能否開發成IBD檢測用於臨床應用？

Yes. Thanks for the question. So again, to remind everyone, the approach that Illumina has is quite unique. It's a whole genome-based MRD assay. It is initially a tumor-informed assay, but it does have the potential with more data and behind it to, at some point, move into a tumor naive, right?

是的。謝謝你的提問。再次提醒大家，Illumina 的方法非常獨特。這是一種基於全基因組的 MRD 檢測。它最初是一種基於腫瘤的檢測，但它確實具有獲得更多數據的潛力，並且在某些時候，它可以進入腫瘤原始檢測，對嗎？

In terms of being capable of being IBD, of course, as you know, we have invested very heavily in platforms and technologies and infrastructure that allow us to move assays to be IBD when the time is right, right? So right now, the agreement we have with pharma has been mainly to explore this in various forms. But we can go move into IBD when the time is right.

當然，就成為 IBD 的能力而言，如您所知，我們在平台、技術和基礎設施方面投入了大量資金，使我們能夠在適當的時候將檢測轉為 IBD，對嗎？所以目前我們與製藥公司達成的協議主要是以各種形式來探索這一點。但當時機成熟時，我們可以進入 IBD。

Let me also add that we have no intention of providing that through a CLIA lab -- commercial CLIA lab. We do have our CLIA lab that, of course, is running very few samples, but we're not going out and commercialize it through our CLIA lab. In fact, we're very interested to work with customers and partners to continue to develop this.

我還要補充一點，我們無意透過 CLIA 實驗室（商業 CLIA 實驗室）提供這項服務。我們確實有我們的 CLIA 實驗室，當然，運行的樣品很少，但我們不會透過我們的 CLIA 實驗室將其商業化。事實上，我們非常有興趣與客戶和合作夥伴合作繼續開發這項產品。

And we'll take our next question from Patrick Donnelly with Citi.

我們將回答花旗銀行帕特里克唐納利 (Patrick Donnelly) 提出的下一個問題。

Joydeep, maybe a quick one for you and the follow-up would be probably more for Jacob. But just on the gross margin piece, can you talk about a 4Q step down a little bit, came in a little light of where we were. Can you just talk about anything that impacted that in 4Q, the right way to think about the progression there throughout '24?

Joydeep，也許對你來說是一個快速的，而後續的可能對雅各布來說會更多。但就毛利率而言，您能否談談第四季的下降一點，稍微考慮一下我們的情況。您能否談談對第四季度產生影響的任何事情，以及思考整個 24 年進展的正確方法？

And then on the gross margin kind of pricing initiatives, Jacob, how are you thinking about just the price side? Again, I know someone mentioned AGBT. Competitors are making noise, kind of saying they're seeing discounting in the market, particularly on kind of the mid-throughput side. So just curious, as you've taken a look here, what you're thinking about on the pricing side.

然後，關於毛利率類型的定價舉措，雅各布，您如何考慮價格方面？我知道有人提到了 AGBT。競爭對手們正在發出噪音，有點說他們看到市場上有折扣，特別是在中等吞吐量方面。所以只是好奇，當您看到這裡時，您在定價方面的想法是什麼。

Yes. So Patrick, in terms of sequential decrease in fourth quarter on gross margin, there are several factors there, right? One, revenue was lower, so that has an impact, obviously, in terms of just absorption of fixed costs. We also did have a higher-than-expected X contribution. And that, coupled with more of the partnership revenue, which tends to be lower margin driven, all affected our gross margin numbers. And then lastly, I will say there was a mix shift from 6000 consumables to X consumables, and that also had an impact in our overall gross margin number for Q4.

是的。那麼帕特里克，就第四季度毛利率環比下降而言，有幾個因素，對嗎？第一，收入較低，因此顯然對固定成本的吸收產生了影響。我們的 X 貢獻也確實高於預期。再加上合作夥伴收入的增加（往往是由利潤率較低驅動的），所有這些都影響了我們的毛利率數字。最後，我要說的是，從 6000 種消耗品到 X 種消耗品的混合轉變，這也對我們第四季的整體毛利率產生了影響。

I will say, and I think it leads into your question to Jacob, we have made a lot of progress in 2023 in terms of COGS productivity and we started seeing the benefits of that as we rolled out of 2023 and into 2024 as well and beyond.

我想說，我認為這引出了你向雅各提出的問題，我們在2023 年在銷貨成本生產率方面取得了很大進展，隨著我們從2023 年推出到2024 年及以後，我們開始看到它的好處。

Yes. If I -- when -- coming into the company here, Patrick, and looking into pricing and how we are thinking about pricing going forward, first, I will say that Illumina is presenting a premium product and thereby, I think also our customers are seeing that we can command a premium pricing in the industry. But I think more importantly is that only talking about cost per gigabase is probably too simplistic for most of our customers. They are more interested in the cost for the whole for sample to insight, for the whole workflows. And that is, of course, including sample prep automation but probably even more importantly, informatics, which is also a key cost driver for our customers.

是的。派翠克，如果我——當——進入公司，研究定價以及我們如何考慮未來的定價，首先，我會說 Illumina 正在推出一款優質產品，因此，我認為我們的客戶也是如此看到我們可以在行業中獲得溢價。但我認為更重要的是，對於我們的大多數客戶來說，僅談論每千兆位元組的成本可能過於簡化。他們更感興趣的是從樣本到洞察、整個工作流程的整體成本。當然，這包括樣品製備自動化，但可能更重要的是資訊學，這也是我們客戶的關鍵成本驅動因素。

So really with the DRAGEN platform and what we have in our comprehensive informatics offering, we actually can provide the customer be a very cost-attractive solution. So therefore, the thing about just talking cost per gigabase is kind of the -- maybe the old way of looking at it and the future way we look at a little more comprehensive.

因此，實際上，借助 DRAGEN 平台以及我們全面的資訊學產品，我們實際上可以為客戶提供非常具有成本吸引力的解決方案。因此，僅僅談論每千兆位元組的成本是一種——也許是舊的看待它的方式，而未來我們看待它的方式會更全面一些。

So I feel really good about that, where we are. And that said, we will now with -- in the mid-throughput with the XLEAP-SBS chemistry be available, we are coming out with a more attractive pricing, quality and more capacity on our 1000 and 2000 instruments. So I'm really excited about that and again, driving elasticity based on that new price point. So you will see us really move the [knots] on many more elements on just one pricing element.

所以我對我們所處的位置感覺非常好。也就是說，我們現在將在 XLEAP-SBS 化學物質可用的中等通量中，在我們的 1000 和 2000 儀器上推出更具吸引力的價格、品質和更大的容量。因此，我對此感到非常興奮，並再次根據新的價格點推動彈性。因此，您會看到我們確實在一個定價要素上解決了更多要素的問題。

Our next question comes from Eve Burstein with Bernstein Research.

我們的下一個問題來自伯恩斯坦研究中心的伊芙‧伯斯坦（Eve Burstein）。

I had a -- wanted to ask about NextSeq placement. So there, you ended the year with 885 placements, and that's comfortably above where you were pre-pandemic, but it's also below where you've been for the last 2 years. So how much of this do you attribute to just changing needs, obviously, post-pandemic? How much do you attribute to the capital purchase and cash flow constraints that you talked about? And how much do you attribute to competitive dynamics, which you also talked about? And then how should we think about what normalized demand here looks like going forward?

我想問有關 NextSeq 安置的問題。因此，今年年底您獲得了 885 個職位，這明顯高於大流行前的水平，但也低於過去 2 年的水平。那麼，您認為這在多大程度上歸因於疫情後需求的變化？您在多大程度上歸因於您談到的資本購買和現金流限制？您在多大程度上歸因於您也談到的競爭動態？那我們該如何思考未來的正常化需求是什麼樣的呢？

Yes. So I think the major factors I would put 2, maybe 3, right? And then there's a sub factor. So the major factors, as you rightly pointed out, coming out of COVID in '21 and '22, we had a real uptick in the amount of mid-throughput instruments and low-throughput instrument sales, right? And that has normalized a little bit as the COVID threat thankfully has reduced. We also, at the same time, did see in 2023 some of the macroeconomic conditions that led to more conservatism at our customers and more conservatism in the purchases on capital come through.

是的。所以我認為主要因素我會放 2 個，也許 3 個，對吧？然後還有一個次要因素。因此，正如您正確指出的那樣，主要因素來自 21 和 22 年的新冠疫情，我們的中通量儀器和低通量儀器銷售確實有所增加，對嗎？值得慶幸的是，隨著新冠病毒威脅的減少，這種情況已經稍微正常化了。同時，我們也確實在 2023 年看到了一些宏觀經濟狀況的出現，這些狀況導致我們的客戶更加保守，資本購買也更加保守。

The third factor in mid-throughput especially was also China, right? So if you're looking at an overall number, we did get impacted in China for competition and for macroeconomic reasons as we have repeatedly stated in our 2023 earnings calls. As far as competition goes, I mean, clearly, that was a factor in China, but that does not seem to be a huge factor in the rest of the world, right? And we did see our -- we track our competitive win rates fairly closely, and we did see that stabilize in Q3 and in Q4.

中等吞吐量的第三個因素尤其是中國，對嗎？因此，如果你看的是總體數字，我們確實在中國受到了競爭和宏觀經濟原因的影響，正如我們在 2023 年財報電話會議中反覆指出的那樣。就競爭而言，我的意思是，顯然，這在中國是一個因素，但在世界其他地區似乎不是一個重要因素，對吧？我們確實看到了——我們相當密切地跟踪了我們的競爭獲勝率，並且我們確實看到了第三季度和第四季度的穩定性。

And moving on to Dan Brennan with TD Cowen.

接下來是 Dan Brennan 和 TD Cowen。

On the X pull-through, we were coming up around $1 million in the fourth quarter and some quick math. We arrived at something like maybe $850,000 in 2024. So any comment on those numbers that they seem reasonable? And if so, could you just speak to like what would drive the assumption for that kind of sequential step down?

在 X 拉動中，我們在第四季度獲得了大約 100 萬美元，並進行了一些簡單的計算。我們得出的結論是 2024 年可能達到 85 萬美元。那麼對這些數字有什麼評論認為它們看起來很合理嗎？如果是這樣，您能否談談是什麼推動了這種連續下台的假設？

So thanks, Dan. And I think you've done more math on that than we have at this point since it's still way too early in -- way early innings here to start to look at pull-through from the X. So we haven't really done that math as of yet, and we will provide that math when we think we are more in a stable situation where it makes sense. Any other comments on that, Joydeep?

所以謝謝，丹。我認為你已經在這方面做了比我們更多的數學計算，因為現在開始考慮 X 的拉通還為時過早。所以我們還沒有真正做到這一點到目前為止，當我們認為我們處於更當穩定的情況並且有意義時，我們將提供該數學。 Joydeep 對此還有其他評論嗎？

No. I think I'll reiterate, look, it is early. I think Jacob stated earlier that many customers are just going through validation, especially on the 25B. So I will disagree with him that we haven't done the math, but the math is not relevant, and we don't want to confuse you. When this stabilizes, right, we will absolutely come out with a number, but so far, what we have seen has been encouraging to us.

不，我想我會重申一下，看，現在還早。我認為 Jacob 之前說過，許多客戶剛剛經歷驗證，尤其是 25B。所以我不同意他的觀點，我們沒有做過數學計算，但數學計算並不相關，我們不想讓你感到困惑。當這種情況穩定下來時，我們絕對會得出一個數字，但到目前為止，我們所看到的情況對我們來說是令人鼓舞的。

And we have a question from Dan Leonard with UBS.

我們有來自瑞銀集團的 Dan Leonard 的問題。

Jacob, I'm curious if you could elaborate further on the health of your diagnostics markets following your customer listening tour. And with looming FDA regulation of LDTs, how does that impact demand for your products or not?

雅各布，我很好奇您是否可以在客戶聆聽之旅之後進一步詳細說明診斷市場的健康狀況。隨著 FDA 對 LDT 的監管迫在眉睫，這會對您的產品需求產生什麼影響？

Yes. No, I think that's a good question, something also I really was eager to understand better coming into Illumina. As you know, I have a background in IBD, and I have a lot of passion for cancer diagnostic but really fighting cancers and I think how we think about it, of course, that we serve a lot of clinical customers out there that is using the Illumina ecosystem and build companies on top of that, primarily into the LDT space. And then we have our own offerings in other LDT but in all places also, IBD, on -- especially the TSO 500 and the NIPT and other places where -- and if you look into our TSO 500 business, it's been growing really fast over the last period of time. And it's more than $100 million now, and we expect to have a high double-digit growth also into this year, and we don't see any end to that right now.

是的。不，我認為這是一個很好的問題，也是我非常渴望更了解 Illumina 的問題。如你所知，我有 IBD 背景，我對癌症診斷充滿熱情，但真正與癌症作鬥爭，我認為我們如何看待這一點，當然，我們為許多正在使用的臨床客戶提供服務Illumina 生態系統並在此基礎上建立公司，主要進入LDT 領域。然後，我們在其他 LDT 以及 IBD 等所有地方都有自己的產品，特別是 TSO 500 和 NIPT 以及其他地方，如果您研究一下我們的 TSO 500 業務，它的增長速度非常快最後一段時間。現在已經超過 1 億美元，我們預計今年也將實現兩位數的高成長，而且我們目前認為這種成長不會有任何結束。

So I'm really bullish around where we can bring that. And we are, of course, looking into a strategic review right now on how does that fit into the overall core business strategy. But clearly, we would also like to play in that space going forward.

所以我真的很看好我們可以實現這一點。當然，我們現在正在研究如何將其融入整體核心業務策略的策略審查。但顯然，我們也希望繼續在這個領域發揮作用。

There was another -- was there a second part of that question?

還有一個問題──這個問題還有第二部分嗎？

Regulation impact?

監管影響？

Yes. Okay. So I think the second part was the impact of the regulation. I mean, of course, we're monitoring that very, very deeply right now. And there's, of course, again, a conversation with our customers and we are helping some customers make sure they are ready for that. Our -- the larger customers can, of course, go through a single-site PMA, which helps them.

是的。好的。所以我認為第二部分是監管的影響。我的意思是，當然，我們現在正在非常非常深入地監控這一點。當然，我們再次與客戶進行對話，我們正在幫助一些客戶確保他們為此做好準備。當然，我們的大客戶可以透過單站點 PMA，這對他們有幫助。

But there's also a change that's maybe in the leveling of the different -- so some of the Class III products are considered being brought down to Class II products right now. It's still kind of on the table for consideration. But if that happens, that will certainly also reduce the requirements for getting through clinical trials and so on. So I think there's still a lot of moving elements. But what I can tell you is that, I think, Illumina is very well positioned to support the markets going forward, almost independent on where FDA is landing on this one.

但還有一個變化可能是在不同的層面上 - 因此一些 III 類產品現在被考慮降級為 II 類產品。它仍然在桌面上供考慮。但如果真的發生了，那肯定也會降低通過臨床試驗等方面的要求。所以我認為仍然有很多令人感動的元素。但我可以告訴你的是，我認為 Illumina 處於非常有利的位置來支持未來的市場，幾乎獨立於 FDA 在這一問題上的立場。

I'd just add, Jacob, that we are about the only company that has, even in our REO products, ISO 13485 classification on all our instruments and most of our consumables, and we have, obviously, the path to IBD should our customers want it, right? So we're well positioned to serve whichever direction they want to go in.

Jacob，我想補充一點，即使在我們的REO 產品中，我們也是唯一一家對我們的所有儀器和大部分消耗品進行ISO 13485 分類的公司，而且顯然，如果我們的客戶需要的話，我們有通向IBD 的途徑想要它，對嗎？因此，我們處於有利地位，可以為他們想要進入的任何方向提供服務。

And our next question will come from Kyle Mikson with Canaccord.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Canaccord 的 Kyle Mikson。

Just following guidance. So it seems like you probably had the opportunity to kind of establish an outlook that was softer than what you said in November. Could have set a low bar. You kept the range, though. Risks clearly remain. How much like visibility or comments do you have? And how much conservatism are you kind of baking in compared to prior years? And you listed some of -- what are the most material swing factors and kind of risks that we should consider in 1Q and then first half versus second half.

只需遵循指導即可。因此，您似乎有機會建立一種比 11 月所說的更溫和的前景。本來可以設定一個低標準。不過，你保留了範圍。風險顯然仍然存在。您有多少喜歡的可見度或評論？與往年相比，您的保守程度如何？您列出了我們在第一季以及上半年和下半年應該考慮的最重要的波動因素和風險類型。

And if I could just ask one for you, Joydeep, on 6000 pull-through. The $700,000, $800,000 seems like possibly aggressive compared to how HiSeq kind of declined in its years, post the 2000 launch. So just kind of walk through what you're thinking about in terms of the decline, I guess, or deterioration in 6000 pull-through?

Joydeep，我可以為你要一個 6000 拉通的嗎？與 2000 年推出後 HiSeq 多年來的下降相比，70 萬美元、80 萬美元似乎可能具有侵略性。那麼，請簡單介紹一下您對 6000 點拉動的下降或惡化的看法？

Let me address the 6000 piece first. It's maybe an easier one, right? So remember when HiSeq was -- well, NovaSeq 6000 was introduced, we didn't have as many clinical customers, right? So now we have clinical -- about 50% of our cons revenue is coming from clinical customers who have these validated assays, right, where you're not going to change platforms in the short term. So the overall reduction in pull-through will be more mitigated compared to what you saw with HiSeq.

我先說說6000塊。這也許更容易，對吧？所以還記得 HiSeq 推出時，好吧，NovaSeq 6000 推出時，我們沒有那麼多臨床客戶，對吧？所以現在我們有了臨床——我們大約 50% 的收入來自擁有這些經過驗證的檢測的臨床客戶，對吧，短期內你不會改變平台。因此，與您在 HiSeq 中看到的情況相比，拉穿的整體減少將更加減輕。

Jacob, do you want to comment on the overall guidance or you want to me to?

雅各布，您想對整體指導發表評論還是希望我發表評論？

No, you can continue.

不，你可以繼續。

So I think, overall, look, we have repeatedly said, right, we see this as a prudent approach to the overall forecast, right? And while there have been some signs in some markets that the macroeconomic conditions might be turning, we have not assumed this in our forecast. And the only place we have been pessimistic and of course, has been in China, right, where the recent news also seems to corroborate that piece.

所以我認為，總體而言，看，我們反覆說過，對吧，我們認為這是對整體預測的審慎做法，對吧？儘管一些市場有一些跡象表明宏觀經濟狀況可能正在轉變，但我們在預測中並未假設這一點。我們唯一感到悲觀的地方當然是中國，對吧，最近的新聞似乎也證實了這一點。

As far as the puts and takes, look, it's a lot about adoption of the X, right? So we're spending an inordinate amount of time making sure that our X customers can transition quickly, can adopt and get on with their assays as quickly as possible. And we will continue to do that. And of course, if the markets pick up, we are very well positioned then to benefit from any of the upsides. On the flip side, it's further macroeconomic headwinds that further reduce our customers' ability to bring on the X or the spend on consumables will affect us as well.

就看跌期權而言，這很大程度上與 X 的採用有關，對嗎？因此，我們花了大量的時間來確保我們的 X 客戶能夠快速過渡、能夠盡快採用並繼續他們的檢測。我們將繼續這樣做。當然，如果市場回暖，我們就處於有利地位，可以從任何好處中受益。另一方面，宏觀經濟的進一步不利因素進一步降低了我們客戶購買 X 的能力，或者消耗品的支出也會影響我們。

Jacob, I don't know if there's anything else you want to add.

雅各布，我不知道你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

I think we're good.

我想我們很好。

And our next question will come from Rachel Vatnsdal with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題將來自摩根大通的 Rachel Vatnsdal。

I just want to follow up to your answer on Patrick's question earlier. You mentioned that the gross margin line in 4Q was lighter due to that consumables mix shift from 6000 to the X. So can you just walk us through that dynamic a little bit more? Is this just a function of the Xs ramping, so there's less volume leverage at this point? Or is there something where X consumables are structurally lower margin? And then how should we think about that consumables mix impacting gross margin throughout '24 as well?

我只是想跟進您之前對帕特里克問題的回答。您提到，由於消耗品組合從 6000 轉向 X，第四季度的毛利率線較輕。那麼您能否向我們介紹一下這一動態？這是否只是 Xs 斜坡的函數，因此此時成交量槓桿較小？或者 X 消費品在結構上是否存在利潤率較低的情況？那我們該如何看待消耗品組合對整個 24 年毛利率的影響？

Yes. So first, easy part is, no, we have said right all through, right, that we had designed the X and X consumables that, at scale, right, they would -- we would expect the margins to be comparable to X consumables at scale. What you're seeing is, of course, early on in the adoption, you're going to see the consumables margins to be lower. We haven't fully scaled up. And as we move through '24, you will see that more or less normalized.

是的。首先，簡單的部分是，不，我們自始至終都說過，我們設計了 X 和 X 消耗品，在規模上，對，我們預計利潤率將與 X 消耗品相當。規模。當然，您所看到的是，在採用的早期，您會看到耗材利潤率較低。我們還沒有完全擴大規模。當我們進入 24 世紀時，你會發現這種情況或多或少已經正常化。

Now as you go into '24, overall gross margins will be -- have several factors, right? So one, we will have a little bit of a benefit from this lower placement of instruments. As you -- we've said, right, that we do expect that to decline a little bit. More consumables, that will lead to an increase in gross margin. We also will benefit from some uptick in terms of all the actions we have taken to improve COGS productivity. So those are the 2 largest things that will serve to improve our gross margins as we get to 2024.

現在，當你進入 24 世紀時，總體毛利率將是——有幾個因素，對嗎？因此，我們將從這種較低的儀器放置中獲得一點好處。正如您所說，我們確實預計這一數字會略有下降。更多的消耗品，這將導致毛利率的增加。我們也將受益於我們為提高銷貨成本生產力所採取的所有行動的一些進步。因此，到 2024 年，這些是有助於提高我們毛利率的兩大因素。

And that concludes our Q&A session. I will now hand the call back over to Salli Schwartz.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我現在將把電話轉回給薩莉·施瓦茨。

Thank you for joining us today. As a reminder, a replay of this call will be available in the Investors section of our website. This concludes our call, and we look forward to seeing you at upcoming conferences and other events.

感謝您今天加入我們。謹此提醒，我們網站的投資者部分將提供本次電話會議的重播。我們的通話到此結束，我們期待在即將舉行的會議和其他活動中見到您。

Thank you. That does conclude today's conference. We do thank you for your participation. Have an excellent day.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。我們非常感謝您的參與。祝你有美好的一天。