Quantum-Si Inc (QSI) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Quantum-Si Q2 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's call is being recorded.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Quantum-Si 第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的通話正在錄音。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Risa Lindsay. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的第一位演講者麗莎·林賽 (Risa Lindsay)。請繼續。

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Earlier today, Quantum-Si released financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025. A copy of the press release is available on the company's website. Joining me today are Jeff Hawkins, our President and Chief Executive Officer; as well as Jeff Keyes, our Chief Financial Officer.

大家下午好，感謝大家的參與。今天早些時候，Quantum-Si 發布了截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日的第二季財務業績。新聞稿副本可在該公司網站上查閱。今天與我一起出席的還有我們的總裁兼執行長傑夫霍金斯 (Jeff Hawkins) 和財務長傑夫凱斯 (Jeff Keyes)。

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that management will be making certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements involve material risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to materially differ from those anticipated. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties appears in the section entitled Forward-Looking Statements of our press release. For a more complete list and description of risk factors, please see the company's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，管理層將根據聯邦證券法做出某些前瞻性陳述。這些聲明涉及重大風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果或事件與預期有重大差異。有關這些風險和不確定性的更多資訊請參閱我們新聞稿中題為「前瞻性陳述」的部分。有關風險因素的更完整清單和描述，請參閱本公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。

This conference call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of the live broadcast date today, August 5, 2025. Except as required by law, the company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

本次電話會議包含時間敏感訊息，僅截至今天（2025 年 8 月 5 日）的直播日期準確。除法律要求外，本公司不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明的意圖或義務。

During this call, we will also be referring to certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with US generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is included in the press release filed earlier today.

在本次電話會議中，我們也將參考某些未依照美國公認會計原則或 GAAP 編製的財務指標。今天稍早提交的新聞稿中包含了這些非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的對帳。

With that, let me turn the call over to Jeff Hawkins.

說完這些，讓我把電話轉給傑夫霍金斯。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us. On today's call, we will provide a business update and review our operating results for the second quarter of 2025. After that, we will open the call for questions.

下午好，感謝您加入我們。在今天的電話會議上，我們將提供業務更新並回顧 2025 年第二季的營運表現。之後，我們將開始提問。

I will begin with a reminder of our three corporate priorities: to accelerate commercial adoption, to deliver on our innovation road map, and to preserve financial strength. Our first corporate priority is to accelerate commercial adoption. The second quarter of 2025 marked the first full quarter of activity with the NIH funding and indirect cost cap uncertainties in full effect. During the quarter, we observed a near halt in capital purchases by US academic labs. As a result, revenue for the second quarter was $591,000. This result was below our expectations, driven entirely by capital sales of new instruments.

首先，我想回顧我們的三個公司優先事項：加速商業應用、實現我們的創新路線圖以及保持財務實力。我們的首要任務是加速商業應用。2025 年第二季是 NIH 資金和間接成本上限不確定性全面生效的第一個完整季度。在本季度，我們觀察到美國學術實驗室的資本購買幾乎停止。因此，第二季的收入為 591,000 美元。這結果低於我們的預期，完全是由新工具的資本銷售所致。

On the positive side, consumable purchases in the quarter were slightly ahead of our expectations, with customers across all market segments performing well. As communicated on our last earnings call, we believe that pharma and biotech represent a good opportunity for continued growth in terms of both new instrument sales and ongoing consumable sales.

從正面的一面來看，本季的消耗品採購量略高於我們的預期，所有細分市場的客戶都表現良好。正如我們在上次收益電話會議上所傳達的那樣，我們相信製藥和生物技術在新儀器銷售和持續消耗品銷售方面都代表著持續成長的良好機會。

During the second quarter, our commercial team executed on specific initiatives to increase our funnel of opportunities in these market segments. I am pleased to report that we more than doubled our funnel of opportunities in pharma and biotech during the quarter, from approximately 30 at the end of the first quarter to more than 60 at the end of the second quarter.

在第二季度，我們的商業團隊執行了具體舉措，以增加我們在這些細分市場中的機會管道。我很高興地報告，本季我們在製藥和生物技術領域的機會增加了一倍以上，從第一季末的約 30 個增加到第二季末的 60 多個。

While we are pleased with these results, we are fully aware of the longer sales cycle associated with this market segment. We also know that not every one of these opportunities will result in a sale. But for those that do, our experience with customers in this market segment is that they are consistent buyers of consumables once operational with our technology.

雖然我們對這些結果感到滿意，但我們充分意識到這個細分市場的銷售週期較長。我們也知道，並非所有這些機會都會帶來銷售。但對於那些確實需要的用戶，我們與該細分市場客戶的經驗是，一旦採用我們的技術，他們就會成為消耗品的持續購買者。

During the quarter, we also spoke with several customers who have budgeted to spend on consumables, but simply can't purchase an instrument at this time. Strategically, our goal is to create a large installed base of customers who consistently purchase consumables and apply our technology in their day-to-day research.

在本季度，我們還與幾位已預算購買消耗品但目前無法購買儀器的客戶進行了交談。從策略上講，我們的目標是建立一個龐大的客戶群，他們持續購買耗材並在日常研究中應用我們的技術。

We expect that the results of their research projects will also generate scientific publications, further validating the utility of our technology. Based on this customer feedback, we believe that in the current environment, having a single instrument acquisition model via capital sales is constraining the number of users of our technology as well as the capture of consumable revenue.

我們期望他們的研究計畫成果也能產生科學出版物，進一步驗證我們技術的實用性。根據客戶的回饋，我們認為，在當前環境下，透過資本銷售的單一儀器採購模式限制了我們技術的使用者數量以及消耗品收入的獲取。

To address the capital sales headwinds and given our favorable cost to produce the Platinum Pro instrument, we have recently launched an expanded set of instrument acquisition options that allow customers to have our instrument in their lab, purchase and run consumables without having to find the capital dollars to acquire the instrument upfront.

為了解決資本銷售阻力，並考慮到我們生產 Platinum Pro 儀器的優惠成本，我們最近推出了一套擴展的儀器採購選項，允許客戶在他們的實驗室中使用我們的儀器，購買和運行消耗品，而無需預先尋找資本來購買儀器。

While we are still in the early days of offering these new instrument acquisition options, we have already secured our first few customers using this approach, and they have purchased consumables to begin using our technology in their research.

雖然我們仍處於提供這些新儀器採購選項的早期階段，但我們已經透過這種方法獲得了第一批客戶，他們已經購買了耗材並開始在他們的研究中使用我們的技術。

In summary, we view growing our installed base not just as a revenue driver, but as a strategic moat. With every new lab that implements Platinum Pro, we expect to see increasing consumable sales, scientific validation, and customer advocacy. The cumulative impact of this cycle is key to long-term value creation.

總而言之，我們認為擴大安裝基礎不僅是一種收入驅動力，而且是一種戰略護城河。隨著每個實施 Platinum Pro 的新實驗室，我們期望看到消耗品銷售、科學驗證和客戶宣傳的增加。這一周期的累積影響是長期價值創造的關鍵。

While the capital headwinds in the market are going to impact short-term commercial results, we are optimistic about the opportunity to continue to grow our customer base using a mix of instrument acquisition options, which in turn will drive more consumable revenue and generate more published evidence demonstrating the value of our technology.

雖然市場上的資本逆風將影響短期商業業績，但我們對透過多種儀器採購方式繼續擴大客戶群的機會持樂觀態度，這反過來將推動更多的消費品收入並產生更多公開的證據來證明我們技術的價值。

Strategically, a large installed base of active users is the key to long-term success, and we will take advantage of our favorable cost to produce Platinum Pro and our strong balance sheet to continue to execute on that installed base growth despite the capital market headwinds. Furthermore, we remain confident in the long-term market opportunity in proteomics and the technology road map we are executing against to capitalize on that opportunity.

從策略上講，龐大的活躍用戶群是長期成功的關鍵，儘管面臨資本市場的阻力，我們將利用優惠的成本生產 Platinum Pro，並利用強勁的資產負債表繼續實現安裝群的成長。此外，我們仍然對蛋白質體學的長期市場機會以及我們正在執行的技術路線圖充滿信心，以利用這一機會。

Our second priority is to deliver on our innovation road map. We continue to make solid progress across all of our development programs. Our version 4 sequencing kit is currently undergoing validation studies, and we expect to launch the kit during the current quarter. This kit will further increase proteome coverage via increased amino acid detection and the addition of a new enzyme that is engineered specifically to provide high-efficiency cutting of the amino acid directly preceding a proline.

我們的第二個優先事項是實現我們的創新路線圖。我們在所有發展項目中繼續取得紮實進展。我們的 4 版定序試劑盒目前正在進行驗證研究，我們預計將在本季推出該試劑盒。該試劑盒將透過增加氨基酸檢測和添加專門設計的新酶來進一步增加蛋白質組的覆蓋率，該新酶可高效切割脯氨酸之前的氨基酸。

In addition, as part of this version 4 sequencing kit launch, we also expect to release an expanded set of 24 barcodes that will allow customers to increase the multiplexing level of their experiments while maintaining the same level of analytical performance they experienced with the original set of 8 barcodes.

此外，作為此版本 4 定序試劑盒發布的一部分，我們還預計將發布一組擴展的 24 個條碼，這將允許客戶提高其實驗的多路復用水平，同時保持與原始 8 個條碼組相同的分析性能水平。

Turning now to library preparation. Our version 3 library preparation kit remains on track for launch by the end of 2025. The program continues to progress well, and the data supporting lowering the sample input quantity continues to show great promise.

現在轉向圖書館準備。我們的第 3 版文庫製備試劑盒仍有望於 2025 年底推出。該計劃繼續進展順利，支持降低樣本輸入量的數據繼續顯示出巨大的希望。

At this stage in the program, we believe that we will be able to lower the sample input quantity by at least 100-fold as compared to our current library prep kit. This lower input concentration requirement is expected to allow our customers to be able to process a broader range of biological samples and study biologically relevant proteins that are at a much lower concentration than our current library prep kit can accommodate.

在專案的這個階段，我們相信與目前的文庫製備試劑盒相比，我們將能夠將樣本輸入量降低至少 100 倍。較低的輸入濃度要求有望使我們的客戶能夠處理更廣泛的生物樣本，並研究比我們目前的文庫製備試劑盒所能容納的濃度低得多的生物相關蛋白質。

When combined with the V4 sequencing kit, we believe customers will experience a meaningful level of improvement in overall system performance and be able to pursue some of the more complex biological sample work that to date has been difficult to do with the existing kits.

我們相信，與 V4 定序試劑盒結合使用時，客戶將體驗到整體系統性能的顯著提升，並能夠進行一些迄今為止使用現有試劑盒難以完成的更複雜的生物樣本工作。

Next, I would like to provide an update on the Proteus development program. As a reminder, Proteus incorporates a new instrument and consumable architecture that will offer significantly more reads per sample, more samples per run, and greater workflow automation than our current platforms.

接下來，我想提供有關 Proteus 開發計劃的最新進展。提醒一下，Proteus 採用了新的儀器和耗材架構，與我們目前的平台相比，它將提供每個樣本更多的讀數、每次運行更多的樣本以及更高的工作流程自動化。

To be clear, Proteus is not just an incremental improvement over Platinum Pro. It is expected to be a huge leap in capabilities, and we believe it will be a multiyear growth driver for the company. We are pleased to report that we remain on track to successfully perform protein sequencing on a prototype Proteus system by the end of 2025. Hitting this milestone in 2025 sets us up well to deliver on the launch of Proteus in the second half of 2026.

需要明確的是，Proteus 不僅僅是 Platinum Pro 的漸進式改進。預計這將是公司能力上的巨大飛躍，我們相信這將成為公司多年的成長動力。我們很高興地報告，我們預計在 2025 年底前在原型 Proteus 系統上成功進行蛋白質定序。2025 年實現這一里程碑將為我們在 2026 年下半年推出 Proteus 奠定良好基礎。

In terms of interim milestones of the Proteus development program, we are pleased to share two important milestones since our last call. First, during our first quarter 2025 earnings call, we communicated that we had completed the development of a set of fluorescent dyes capable of supporting the transfer of our current sequencing chemistry onto the Proteus platform.

就 Proteus 開發計畫的中期里程碑而言，我們很高興分享自上次通話以來的兩個重要里程碑。首先，在 2025 年第一季財報電話會議上，我們宣布我們已經完成了一組螢光染料的開發，該染料能夠支援將我們目前的定序化學轉移到 Proteus 平台上。

Since our last call, we have been able to demonstrate an additional die and more importantly, when we look at this expanded die set in the context of the overall optical performance we are observing with this new system, we are confident that there is room to add even more dies as we seek to scale our recognizer set from its current level to our end-state goal of covering all 20 amino acids.

自從上次通話以來，我們已經能夠展示額外的晶片，更重要的是，當我們在新系統觀察到的整體光學性能的背景下查看這個擴展的晶片組時，我們有信心還有空間添加更多的晶片，因為我們試圖將我們的識別器組從目前的水平擴展到覆蓋所有 20 種氨基酸的最終目標。

Second, we completed feasibility of wafer-scale surface chemistry processing and have made that our standard process to produce consumables to support the Proteus development program. This is an important milestone as we look to the future commercialization of Proteus and scale-up of chip production.

其次，我們完成了晶圓級表面化學處理的可行性研究，並將其作為生產耗材的標準流程，以支援Proteus開發計畫。這是我們展望 Proteus 未來商業化和晶片生產規模化的一個重要里程碑。

Wafer-scale processes are more scalable and cost-effective for high-volume production, but are often not achieved until much later in the development cycle or even post-launch, given the complexity of developing such a process. Demonstrating feasibility for wafer-scale processing so early in the program is a significant accomplishment by our surface chemistry team and sets us up well for the remainder of the development program and for our future commercial production needs.

晶圓級製程對於大批量生產而言更具可擴展性和成本效益，但考慮到開發此類製程的複雜性，通常要到開發週期的後期甚至發布後才能實現。在專案初期就展示晶圓級處理的可行性是我們表面化學團隊的一項重大成就，為我們剩餘的開發計劃和未來的商業生產需求奠定了良好的基礎。

Finally, I would like to spend a few minutes updating you on two other exciting initiatives within our R&D organization. The first is about our amino acid recognizer development program. As part of our recognizer development program, we have designed and screened millions of candidates. As part of that process, we have amassed what we believe may be the richest set of data in the industry about how mutations inserted into engineered proteins affect their binding to end-terminal amino acids, the kinetic properties of those binding interactions, binder specificity, stability, and many other features.

最後，我想花幾分鐘時間向您介紹我們研發部門的另外兩個令人興奮的舉措。第一個是關於我們氨基酸識別器開發計劃。作為我們識別器開發計劃的一部分，我們已經設計並篩選了數百萬個候選識別器。作為這個過程的一部分，我們累積了我們認為可能是業內最豐富的數據集，關於插入工程蛋白質的突變如何影響其與末端氨基酸的結合、這些結合相互作用的動力學特性、結合劑特異性、穩定性和許多其他特徵。

This proprietary data set presents a significant opportunity to leverage state-of-the-art AI tools trained on this proprietary database to design new amino acid recognizers and accelerate the path to full proteome coverage.

該專有資料集提供了一個重要的機會，可以利用在該專有資料庫上訓練的最先進的人工智慧工具來設計新的氨基酸識別器，並加速實現全面蛋白質組覆蓋的進程。

We recently used this approach to complete our first AI-based recognizer design, achieving a binder that meets specifications within one design cycle. By using AI to design initial clones, we eliminate combinatorial screening and move directly to downstream assays, thus significantly shortening our timeline to produce candidate binders for testing and sequencing. We look forward to sharing more about this approach and the impact we believe it can have on the timing to achieve full proteome coverage at our Analyst Day later this year.

我們最近使用這種方法完成了我們的第一個基於人工智慧的識別器設計，在一個設計週期內實現了符合規格的活頁夾。透過使用人工智慧設計初始克隆，我們消除了組合篩選並直接進入下游分析，從而大大縮短了我們產生用於測試和定序的候選結合劑的時間表。我們期待在今年稍後的分析師日上分享更多有關這種方法的信息，以及我們認為它對實現全面蛋白質組覆蓋的時間的影響。

Our second initiative is around post-translational modifications or PTM detection. At our November 2024 Investor and Analyst Day, our Head of Research, Dr. Brian Reed, shared data about various applications of our single-molecule kinetic detection technology.

我們的第二個舉措是關於翻譯後修飾或 PTM 檢測。在 2024 年 11 月的投資者和分析師日上，我們的研究主管 Brian Reed 博士分享了有關我們的單分子動力學檢測技術的各種應用的數據。

One of those applications was combining a pre-sequencing detection-only cycle with a standard protein sequencing run to provide site-specific peptide-linked PTM detection regardless of the location of the PTM. We believe that the advantage of this approach is that it will allow Platinum Pro users to detect, quantify, and identify the sequence position of a given PTM, providing data and insights far beyond those provided by current technologies.

其中一個應用是將預測序檢測循環與標準蛋白質定序運行相結合，以提供位點特異性勝肽連接 PTM 檢測，而不管 PTM 的位置如何。我們相信這種方法的優點在於它將允許 Platinum Pro 用戶檢測、量化和識別給定 PTM 的序列位置，提供遠遠超出目前技術所提供的數據和見解。

In addition, this combined approach can detect a PTM that may be very deep into a peptide and would not otherwise be detected via a sequencing-only approach today. We are pleased to report that this combined method for PTM detection has met our internal technology feasibility thresholds and has been successfully transferred to our product development team to begin developing commercial kits.

此外，這種組合方法可以檢測勝肽深處的 PTM，而目前僅透過定序方法無法檢測到。我們很高興地報告，這種用於 PTM 檢測的組合方法已經達到了我們內部技術可行性的門檻，並已成功轉移到我們的產品開發團隊開始開發商業試劑盒。

Our initial discussions with customers about this approach have made it clear just how difficult this type of PTM analysis is using current technologies and how beneficial it would be to their research to have these kits and associated automated software tools available on a low-cost platform like Platinum Pro.

我們與客戶就此方法進行的初步討論已經明確了使用當前技術進行此類 PTM 分析的難度，以及在 Platinum Pro 等低成本平台上提供這些套件和相關自動化軟體工具將對他們的研究有多大益處。

We are excited about the potential to make PTM discovery accessible to all researchers and expect to provide more updates on the timing of commercial release at our upcoming Investor Day.

我們很高興能夠讓所有研究人員都能發現 PTM，並期待在即將到來的投資者日上提供更多有關商業發佈時間的更新。

Our third priority is to preserve our financial strength. While the capital headwinds in the market are going to impact short-term commercial results, we are optimistic about the opportunity to continue to grow our customer base using a mix of instrument acquisition options.

我們的第三個優先事項是維持我們的財務實力。雖然市場上的資本逆風將影響短期商業業績，但我們對利用多種儀器採購選項繼續擴大客戶群的機會感到樂觀。

We firmly believe that a large installed base of active users is a strategic advantage that will create long-term value for our shareholders, and we are uniquely positioned to grow that installed base now despite the market headwinds because of our strong balance sheet and the steps we have taken over the past two years to be in this position financially.

我們堅信，龐大的活躍用戶群是一種戰略優勢，將為我們的股東創造長期價值，而且儘管面臨市場逆風，但由於我們擁有強大的資產負債表以及過去兩年為保持這一財務狀況所採取的措施，我們目前仍處於獨特的地位，可以擴大這一安裝群。

I'll now turn the call over to Jeff to review our financial results.

我現在將電話轉給傑夫來審查我們的財務結果。

Thanks, Jeff. Now I'll review the details of our operating results for the second quarter of 2025. Revenue in Q2 2025 was $591,000, which consisted of revenue from our Platinum line of instruments, consumable kits, and related services. Gross profit was $351,000, and gross margin was 59%. As I have said in the past, our gross margin percentage will be somewhat variable for the foreseeable future as we work through our continued commercialization efforts and may be impacted by the timing and mix of instruments versus consumable sales.

謝謝，傑夫。現在我將回顧我們 2025 年第二季的經營績效詳情。2025 年第二季的收入為 591,000 美元，其中包括我們的白金系列儀器、耗材套件和相關服務的收入。毛利為351,000美元，毛利率為59％。正如我過去所說的那樣，隨著我們不斷進行商業化努力，我們的毛利率在可預見的未來將有所變化，並且可能會受到儀器與消耗品銷售的時間和組合的影響。

Our margin has also been impacted and may continue to be impacted by the acquisition costs and any accounting adjustments to underlining inventory, some of which predates the commercial launch of the Platinum line of instruments. To this end, our gross margin for Q2 2025 includes approximately a 13% benefit or inventory utilized during the quarter that was carried at low or no value.

我們的利潤率也受到了影響，並且可能繼續受到收購成本和任何基礎庫存會計調整的影響，其中一些調整早於白金系列儀器的商業推出。為此，我們 2025 年第二季的毛利率包括本季使用的約 13% 的收益或庫存，這些收益或庫存以低價或零價值計價。

For the six months ended June 30, 2025, revenue was $1.4 million, gross profit was $837,000, and gross margin was 58%. As Jeff mentioned earlier, our year-over-year revenue was impacted in the second quarter by continued capital market headwinds driven by uncertainty in the NIH funding affecting the macro market. We were impacted partially in the first quarter by this concept, but in the second quarter, we felt the full impact.

截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日的六個月，收入為 140 萬美元，毛利為 837,000 美元，毛利率為 58%。正如傑夫之前提到的，由於美國國立衛生研究院 (NIH) 資金的不確定性影響了宏觀市場，導致資本市場持續逆風，從而影響了我們第二季度的同比收入。我們在第一季受到了這個概念的部分影響，但在第二季度，我們感受到了全面的影響。

Turning to operating expenses. GAAP total operating expenses for the second quarter of 2025 were $30.5 million compared to $26.8 million in the second quarter of 2024, while adjusted operating expenses were $23.8 million for the second quarter of 2025 compared to $24.4 million for the second quarter of 2024.

談到營運費用。2025 年第二季的 GAAP 總營運費用為 3,050 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 2,680 萬美元；2025 年第二季的調整後營運費用為 2,380 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 2,440 萬美元。

For the six months ended June 30, 2025, GAAP total operating expenses were $56.1 million compared to $50.4 million in the same period in 2024, and adjusted operating expenses were $46.6 million compared to $46.3 million for the same period in 2024.

截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日的六個月，GAAP 總營運費用為 5,610 萬美元，而 2024 年同期為 5,040 萬美元，調整後營運費用為 4,660 萬美元，而 2024 年同期為 4,630 萬美元。

The flat overall adjusted operating expense year-over-year continues to highlight our very tight cost controls we have in the organization, while still funding innovation and significant development progress of our Proteus platform and other programs that did not exist in the same period in 2024. Keeping our overall spend flat would not have been possible without continued cost control measures and allocating our capital to fund and accelerate the highest return projects for our shareholders.

整體調整後的營運費用同比持平，繼續凸顯了我們在組織中非常嚴格的成本控制，同時仍為我們的 Proteus 平台和 2024 年同期不存在的其他專案的創新和重大開發進展提供資金。如果不持續採取成本控制措施並分配資本來資助和加速為股東帶來最高回報的項目，我們就不可能保持整體支出穩定。

Of note in our GAAP total operating expenses for the quarter is an expense of approximately $3.4 million that represents our net estimated expense and cash outlay after receipt of insurance proceeds in relation to a preliminary settlement of the Delaware stockholder litigation that we initially disclosed in May 2024. The final settlement associated with this case is subject to various approvals, but we anticipate these to be completed in either Q4 of this year or Q1 of 2026.

值得注意的是，本季度我們的 GAAP 總營運費用中有一項費用約為 340 萬美元，該費用代表我們在收到與我們於 2024 年 5 月首次披露的特拉華州股東訴訟初步和解有關的保險收益後的淨估計費用和現金支出。與此案相關的最終解決方案需要獲得多方批准，但我們預計這些解決方案將在今年第四季或 2026 年第一季完成。

Next, our dividend and interest income in the second quarter of 2025 was $2.3 million compared to $2.9 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $4.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to $6.5 million in the same period in 2024. Overall, this change is reflecting lower interest rates year-over-year as well as relative lower invested balances. As of June 30, 2025, we had $214.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable securities that we continue to earn a great safe return on.

接下來，我們 2025 年第二季的股息和利息收入為 230 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 290 萬美元，截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日的六個月的股息和利息收入為 490 萬美元，而 2024 年同期為 650 萬美元。總體而言，此變更反映了同比較低的利率以及相對較低的投資餘額。截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日，我們擁有 2.142 億美元的現金、現金等價物和有價證券投資，我們繼續從中獲得豐厚的安全回報。

As an update, we continue to track the changing landscape of tariffs on our business and potential customer purchases. From an acquisition cost of our inventory standpoint, we have seen some minor impacts but continue to believe that we will see no material impact on our inventory acquisition costs in the near term based on current information.

作為更新，我們將繼續追蹤我們業務和潛在客戶購買的關稅變化情況。從庫存採購成本的角度來看，我們看到了一些輕微的影響，但根據目前的訊息，我們仍然相信短期內我們的庫存採購成本不會受到重大影響。

Much of our materials and inventory on hand now up to and through one year of consumption was acquired prior to any tariff impacts, limiting our near-term exposure. We continue to monitor the situation and are working on realistic mitigation strategies to limit our overall exposure long-term.

我們目前庫存的大部分可供一年消費的材料和庫存都是在受到關稅影響之前獲得的，這限制了我們近期的風險敞口。我們將繼續監測情況並制定切實可行的緩解策略，以長期限制我們的整體風險。

Regarding import tariffs related to other countries we sell into, to date, we have not seen any impact and continue to believe we will not have any impact based on scientific and medical devices being historically exempted from import tariffs. As Jeff mentioned earlier and evidenced in this quarter's results, the NIH funding impact on the overall capital market continues to create uncertainty for us and many other capital device manufacturers.

關於我們銷售到的其他國家的進口關稅，到目前為止，我們還沒有看到任何影響，並且仍然相信，基於科學和醫療設備歷來免徵進口關稅，我們不會受到任何影響。正如 Jeff 之前提到的以及本季業績所證明的那樣，NIH 的資助對整體資本市場的影響繼續為我們和許多其他資本設備製造商帶來不確定性。

To this end, we have deployed several capital acquisition models that gets our Platinum Pro units in the hands of customers that don't have budgets for capital spend but do have budgets for consumable purchases. Though these new models are in their early stages, we are optimistic on their impact and ability to drive consumable volume. Having said that, until we get more momentum on these new models and have more clarity on the NIH funding environment, providing any details around top-line financial guidance will be challenging.

為此，我們部署了幾種資本收購模式，將我們的 Platinum Pro 設備交到沒有資本支出預算但有消耗品購買預算的客戶手中。儘管這些新模式尚處於早期階段，但我們對其影響力和推動消費量的能力持樂觀態度。話雖如此，在我們對這些新模型獲得更多動力並對 NIH 資助環境有更清晰的了解之前，提供有關頂級財務指導的任何細節都將具有挑戰性。

As our new models get momentum and we get more clarity around final NIH funding, we hope to provide more clarity in future quarters.

隨著我們的新模型不斷發展，並且我們對 NIH 最終資金的了解也越來越清晰，我們希望在未來幾季提供更清晰的說明。

Next, as we announced in early July, we priced a $50 million registered direct offering that closed on July 8. This capital raise will be used for both development and commercialization activities and further strengthen our capital resources to execute on our long-term plans.

接下來，正如我們在 7 月初宣布的那樣，我們定價 5000 萬美元的註冊直接發行，並於 7 月 8 日結束。此次籌集的資金將用於開發和商業化活動，並進一步加強我們的資本資源以執行我們的長期計劃。

We have stated in the past that we're going to be realistic and opportunistic in our capital approach, especially in the challenging markets that we and many of our peers have seen over the last several years. For this offering, we saw an opportunity to bring more capital into the company at a reasonable price, and we took advantage of it. Going forward, we'll continue to ensure the company is well-positioned to take advantage of any appropriate capital opportunity.

我們過去曾表示，我們將採取現實和機會主義的資本方式，特別是在過去幾年我們和許多同行所面臨的充滿挑戰的市場中。對於此次發行，我們看到了以合理價格為公司注入更多資本的機會，我們也抓住了這個機會。展望未來，我們將繼續確保公司能夠充分利用任何適當的資本機會。

Regarding 2025 guidance, we are revising our annual estimate for adjusted operating expenses from $103 million or less to $98 million or less. And for total cash use, we're still expecting to utilize $95 million or less, which now is inclusive of any cash payment in relation to the case I mentioned earlier that was not previously included in our annual estimate.

關於 2025 年的指導，我們正在將調整後的營運費用年度估算從 1.03 億美元或更少修改為 9,800 萬美元或更少。就總現金使用量而言，我們仍預計將使用 9500 萬美元或更少的金額，其中包括與我之前提到的案件有關的任何現金支付，而這些支付之前並未包含在我們的年度估算中。

Overall, these net improvements are based on more efficient and effective use of the funds that we have and overall efficiencies in our development projects while still maintaining our development delivery timelines.

總體而言，這些淨改進是基於更有效地利用我們現有的資金和提高我們開發專案的整體效率，同時仍保持我們的開發交付時間表。

And finally, as I mentioned earlier, we ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $214.2 million. We now anticipate that this balance, along with the $50 million from the registered direct offering that we completed in July will provide runway into the second quarter of 2028.

最後，正如我之前提到的，本季末我們的現金、現金等價物和有價證券總額為 2.142 億美元。我們現在預計，這筆餘額加上我們 7 月完成的註冊直接發行的 5,000 萬美元將為 2028 年第二季提供支撐。

Now I'll turn the call over to the operator to open the line for questions.

現在我將把電話轉給接線員，以便解答疑問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Scott Henry, AGP.

斯科特·亨利（Scott Henry），AGP。

Certainly, challenging times. When we look -- think about the $600,000 for 2Q, how much of that is overseas? How much or in pharma biotech? I'm just trying to get an understanding of the size of the base foundation of revenues before we go into the NIH-impacted markets.

確實，這是一個充滿挑戰的時代。當我們看——想想第二季的 60 萬美元，其中有多少是在海外？製藥生物技術領域有多少？在我們進入受 NIH 影響的市場之前，我只是想了解一下基本收入的規模。

Yes. So Scott, we don't break out the distribution by pharma, biotech, or sort of a specific segment, but we have historically said that sort of giving guidance around what our installed base looks like. And the installed base of the company sits right now at about 65% of it is outside the US and about 35% of that installed base is here in the US. And that -- and within any given region, it encompasses sort of all the types of customers, academics, other industrial, pharma, biotech, government research labs. So that's sort of the breakdown.

是的。史考特，我們不會根據製藥、生物技術或某個特定領域來細分分佈，但我們過去曾說過，這會對我們的安裝基礎提供指導。目前，該公司約 65% 的安裝基數位於美國境外，約 35% 的安裝基數位於美國境內。而且 — — 在任何特定區域內，它涵蓋了所有類型的客戶、學術界、其他工業、製藥、生物技術、政府研究實驗室。這就是某種程度上的細分。

Okay. And I guess just to get at the question in another way. I mean, do you think we're kind of -- is $500,000 to $600,000, is that sort of the bottom, and we should start to grow out of that, particularly with the different model? Or how should we think about the rest of 2025 given these dynamics?

好的。我想只是想以另一種方式來回答這個問題。我的意思是，您是否認為我們處於某種程度——50 萬到 60 萬美元，這是底線嗎？我們應該開始擺脫這種困境，特別是採用不同的模式？或者，考慮到這些動態，我們應該如何看待 2025 年剩餘的時間？

Yes, it's a good question. The way I think about it, Scott, is two things. One is, obviously, driving the top line requires us to sell some number of machines outright capital sales. That's obviously a much faster way to grow the top line than purely through the reagents. So I think the alternate models available to customers will help us capture the consumable revenue and get that base up. And obviously, over time, that consumable run rate is a very powerful sort of component of revenue and is where the high-margin opportunity resides.

是的，這是個好問題。史考特，我對此的看法有兩點。顯然，一個原因是，推動營收成長需要我們透過直接資本銷售的方式銷售一定數量的機器。顯然，這是一種比單純通過試劑來增加收入更快的方法。因此，我認為為客戶提供的替代模型將幫助我們獲取消耗品收入並建立基礎。顯然，隨著時間的推移，消耗品運作率將成為收入中非常重要的一個組成部分，也是高利潤機會所在。

But in the short term, it doesn't sort of build on the revenue growth rate as fast as the capital sales. I think we're optimistic that this is the bottom, and we're able to start building out of this. I just don't think it's going to be an instant improvement in Q3 simply because it takes a good number of instruments out there producing consumable revenue to really to get the lift.

但在短期內，它的收入成長率並不像資本銷售那麼快。我認為我們樂觀地認為這是底部，我們能夠開始從中獲益。我只是不認為第三季會立即出現改善，因為需要大量的儀器產生消耗性收入才能真正獲得提升。

So maybe a little lighter going into Q3 sort of in terms of growth over Q2 and then hoping to see a better acceleration into Q4 between just that larger installed base and pull-through, but also perhaps we'll see some pickup in capital in Q4 that's more cyclical in nature that we've seen sort of every year in the fourth quarter.

因此，與第二季度相比，第三季度的成長可能會稍微放緩，然後希望在第四季度看到更好的加速，這不僅是因為更大的安裝基數和拉動效應，而且我們也許會看到第四季度資本有所回升，這種回升的周期性更強，就像我們每年在第四季度看到的那樣。

And just the final follow-up, and then I'll jump back in the queue. Could you just give us an example of what a typical placement would look like under the new model? Are there minimums? Is it a lease-type model? What does that look like as far as consumables and what we should expect from them?

這只是最後的後續問題，然後我會回到隊列中。您能否為我們舉個例子，說明新模式下典型的展示位置是什麼樣的？有最低限額嗎？是租賃型的模式嗎？就消耗品而言，它是什麼樣的？我們對它們有何期望？

Yes. Thanks, Scott. So we're offering several models. So obviously, a capital purchase is one opportunity. A customer can do a more classic reagent rental where they sign up for a longer-term contract that has minimums on the consumables and capture sort of the instrument revenue over a period of time. We've made third-party leasing available as well to customers.

是的。謝謝，斯科特。因此我們提供多種型號。顯然，資本購買是一個機會。客戶可以進行更傳統的試劑租賃，即簽訂一份對消耗品有最低限額的長期合同，並在一段時間內獲取儀器收入。我們也向客戶提供第三方租賃服務。

And then the last one is what you were mentioning, which is in select situations where we believe the consumable opportunity is attractive and the type of data and such that would get published from that work, we could choose to place the machine. We would do that on a shorter-term basis, so we have the ability to rotate those machines to other accounts if we don't see the consumable revenue we want.

最後一個就是你提到的，在特定情況下，我們認為消費機會很有吸引力，並且從該工作中發布的資料類型等，我們可以選擇放置機器。我們會在短期內這樣做，因此如果我們沒有看到我們想要的消耗品收入，我們就有能力將這些機器轉移到其他帳戶。

But if we do see it, I think the strategy is if the instrument is there and the people are -- customers are running it and using it and getting value out of it, for the ones that we place, we should be able to convert some of those to capital sales. Some of those may move into rentals or other models over time.

但如果我們確實看到了它，我認為策略是，如果該工具存在並且人們 - 客戶正在運行它並使用它並從中獲得價值，對於我們放置的那些，我們應該能夠將其中一些轉化為資本銷售。隨著時間的推移，其中一些可能會轉向租賃或其他模式。

But if we do place a machine, we have that ability if we don't see the type of utilization we want to be able to move those machines to another sort of site or customer lab where we believe that opportunity is in place.

但是，如果我們確實放置了一台機器，如果我們沒有看到我們想要的利用類型，我們就有能力將這些機器移動到我們認為有機會的另一個站點或客戶實驗室。

Swayampakula Ramakanth, HWC.

斯瓦亞姆帕庫拉·拉瑪坎特（Swayampakula Ramakanth），HWC。

This is RK from H.C. Wainwright. So Jeff, with the new acquisition opportunities that you're offering to your current customers or to your potential customers, do you see an increase in terms of leads as compared to going the typical capital sales? And I'm just trying to ask the question because I want to see if that can help you increase on your consumables or it's too early to call any sort of trend?

這是來自 H.C. Wainwright 的 RK。那麼 Jeff，透過向現有客戶或潛在客戶提供新的收購機會，與典型的資本銷售相比，您是否看到潛在客戶數量的增加？我只是想問這個問題，因為我想看看這是否能幫助你增加消耗品，或者現在判斷任何趨勢還為時過早？

Yes, RK. So it's obviously early in the offering of these. What -- the way I would sort of tell you to think about it, and what we're seeing in the initial data is it's not that the number of leads sort of in the top of the funnel is going up. I think it's more about the customers who had progressed through the sales cycle with us.

是的，RK。因此，顯然現在提供這些服務還為時過早。什麼——我會告訴你如何去思考這個問題，我們在初始數據中看到的並不是漏斗頂部的潛在客戶數量正在增加。我認為這更多的與與我們一起經歷銷售週期的客戶有關。

They learned about the technology. They had deeper discussions with our sales folks, or our application specialists really had an understanding of it. Maybe they even performed an evaluation, and they had some interactions with our application development team, that's a part of our R&D group, and they were ready to move forward and implement, but the capital dollars got frozen or the capital dollars weren't there.

他們了解了這項技術。他們與我們的銷售人員進行了更深入的討論，或者我們的應用專家確實對此有了解。也許他們甚至進行了評估，並且與我們的應用程式開發團隊（這是我們研發團隊的一部分）進行了一些互動，他們準備繼續前進並實施，但資本被凍結或資本不存在。

So I think what we've seen as we've turned this sort of these options on and let our sales force go and talk about it is the first sort of customer accounts coming into the funnel to pursue these alternate placement models are really people who had gone on that process with us were bought into wanting to apply the tech, but just were stuck in terms of the capital dollars.

因此，我認為，當我們打開這類選項並讓我們的銷售人員去討論它時，我們看到的第一批進入渠道以追求這些替代展示位置模型的客戶帳戶實際上是與我們一起進行該過程的人，他們想要應用該技術，但在資本方面卻陷入困境。

So I don't think of it really -- today, I don't have the data to say it increases leads, and that's probably just because it's early. I think the more salient point and what we can see in the data is for those that had done the homework and were bought into implementing the technology, they're the ones who are showing up first here to get access to equipment and start running. So I think it's more about maybe a better sort of win rate coming out the back of the sales process by being able to offer multiple options to customers in the current capital market.

所以我實際上並沒有想到這一點——今天，我沒有數據表明它會增加潛在客戶，這可能只是因為現在還為時過早。我認為更突出的一點以及我們在數據中看到的是，對於那些已經做好功課並願意實施這項技術的人來說，他們是第一個出現在這裡、獲得設備並開始運行的人。因此，我認為，透過在當前資本市場中為客戶提供多種選擇，或許可以在銷售過程中實現更高的成功率。

So another question started to be on the same topic, though. Let's say, if the world did not change as tough as it has been in the last few months. So if the capital funding was still available, what's the delta you think you missed by losing those opportunities?

因此，另一個問題開始涉及同一主題。假設世界沒有像過去幾個月那樣發生如此艱難的變化。那麼，如果資本資金仍然可用，您認為失去這些機會會造成多大的損失？

I don't want to speculate at what that number is, RK. I can tell you that our sales force still is certainly incentivized when capital dollars are available to sell the machine outright. So we haven't made some sort of wholesale adjustment here where our sales force can just flip to these alternate sort of models in all scenarios. They still have their compensation targets, and selling instruments for capital is a big component of that. I think we have the luxury of doing these models for a couple of reasons.

我不想猜測這個數字是多少，RK。我可以告訴你，當有足夠的資金直接銷售機器時，我們的銷售人員仍然會受到激勵。因此，我們還沒有做出某種批發調整，我們的銷售人員可以在所有情況下轉向這些替代類型的模型。他們仍然有自己的薪酬目標，而出售工具獲取資本是其中一個重要的組成部分。我認為我們有能力製作這些模型有幾個原因。

I think one is we have a fairly low cost to build a Platinum Pro device compared to other devices in our sort of competitive equipment that's in this market. We have sort of a favorable profile. We obviously have a strong balance sheet, so we can invest in the building of that equipment to drive this user base. And I think we have a very experienced sales force where we can give them sort of a menu of options and know that when the capital dollars are there, they will go and try to capture those.

我認為，首先，與市場上同類競爭設備相比，我們製造 Platinum Pro 設備的成本相當低。我們的形像很美好。我們顯然擁有強大的資產負債表，因此我們可以投資建造該設備來推動這一用戶群。我認為我們擁有一支非常有經驗的銷售隊伍，我們可以為他們提供一系列選項，並且知道當資金到位時，他們會去嘗試獲取這些選項。

And when they've exhausted all those options, they'll resort to one of these other approaches to ensure we get -- at the end of the day, we get the user, we get the consumable revenue, and we get the corresponding sort of advocacy from customers, people talking about it, people presenting and publishing data.

當他們用盡所有這些選擇之後，他們會採取其他方法之一來確保我們最終獲得用戶，獲得可消費的收入，並獲得來自客戶、談論它的人、展示和發布數據的人的相應支持。

So that's how I sort of think about it. I think it would be complete speculation by me to try to say, are we capitating any sales or not? I think we're not right now based on what I just laid out, but it's something we will obviously closely monitor and make sure it's not doing that.

這就是我對此的看法。我認為，如果我試圖說“我們是否對任何銷售額進行資本化”，那將完全是猜測。根據我剛才所述，我認為現在還沒有，但我們顯然會密切監視並確保不會發生這種情況。

So last question from me. So based on the new plan and the sort of data that you're getting, whether it's scientific publications or data on your consumables or whatnot, is -- do you feel you're getting enough information so that you can improve your product offering such a way that you can actually move your customer base away from that portion, which is having the capital dollars issue at this point?

我的最後一個問題。因此，根據新計劃和您獲得的數據類型（無論是科學出版物還是消耗品數據等等），您是否認為您獲得了足夠的信息，以便您可以改進產品，從而真正將您的客戶群從目前存在資本問題的部分轉移出去？

Yes. So I would say the following. I think there's been a lot of work going on. We've talked about in prior quarters in terms of sort of market development or scientific affairs. I think some of that work in terms of generating more evidence is getting to the final stages. So I do think there's a nice pipeline, customers engaging and, (technical difficulty) even more importantly, the version 3 library prep kit with the much lower sample input. I think those improvements are really guided by what we were seeing in the field, guided by what customers (technical difficulty) the technology. So I think those will be very well received.

是的。因此我想說的是以下幾點。我認為有很多工作正在進行。我們在前幾個季度討論過市場開發或科學事務方面的問題。我認為，在收集更多證據方面的一些工作已經進入最後階段。因此我確實認為這是一個很好的流程，客戶參與度很高，而且（技術難度）更重要的是，版本 3 庫準備套件的樣本輸入要低得多。我認為這些改進實際上是由我們在現場看到的情況、由客戶（技術難度）技術所指導的。所以我認為這些將會受到熱烈歡迎。

And then while we didn't give a lot of information today about what we're doing with post-translational modifications to sort of accelerate the capabilities there, that, too, is directly linked to both existing customers who are using the tech for other purposes who want to do even more in that area or new potential customers who have a very challenging PTM to work on and this type of sort of combined kit that we're talking about would really open those up for us.

雖然我們今天沒有提供太多有關我們在翻譯後修改方面所做的事情的信息，以加速那裡的能力，但這也與將該技術用於其他目的的現有客戶直接相關，他們希望在該領域做更多的事情，或者與需要處理非常具有挑戰性的 PTM 的新潛在客戶直接相關，而我們正在談論的這種組合套件確實會為我們打開這些大門。

So I think the combination of the different pipeline programs we have open up both customers in the academic market. They continue to help us in pharma biotech and in other segments. So I think it's -- for me, it's about lifting the improvements and the capability in terms of applications in all segments, not really about trying to move out of one segment or another, because at some point, this will improve in the US academic market. So we're not going to abandon that market over something short-term.

因此，我認為，我們擁有的不同管道計劃的組合可以為學術市場的客戶打開大門。他們繼續在製藥生物技術和其他領域幫助我們。所以我認為——對我來說，這是為了提升所有領域的應用方面的改進和能力，而不是試圖脫離某個領域，因為在某種程度上，這將改善美國學術市場。所以我們不會因為短期原因而放棄這個市場。

We'll keep lifting performance to service all customers and just try to prioritize more of our sales activities around the most sort of successful segments based on whatever the macro market is.

我們將繼續提升業績，為所有客戶提供服務，並嘗試根據宏觀市場情況，優先在最成功的細分市場開展更多的銷售活動。

Kyle Mikson, Canaccord.

凱爾米克森（Kyle Mikson），Canaccord。

So this -- like the new capital acquisition options that you announced that you're kind of rolling out here, could you maybe just clarify how long you expect those to take place? And I know it's like probably reactionary based on the external factors in the macro environment. But the real question is like do you expect to launch Proteus next year in this -- with these options? And then if so, like what are the implications for just like essentially the financial or the economic implications for that type of a decision?

那麼，就像您宣布推出的新的資本收購方案一樣，您能否澄清一下您預計這些方案將持續多長時間？我知道這可能是基於宏觀環境中的外在因素而做出的反應。但真正的問題是，您是否希望明年推出 Proteus——擁有這些選項？如果是這樣，那麼這種決定對於財務或經濟有何影響？

Yes. Good question, Kyle. I think in terms of Proteus, I would say we haven't made any decisions about offering Proteus through any model other than a capital acquisition, an outright capital sale. I think we'll monitor the market, and we'll look at what the state of funding is and such before we do that. But right now, we haven't sort of altered our go-to-market thinking in terms of Proteus.

是的。問得好，凱爾。我認為就 Proteus 而言，除了資本收購、直接資本出售之外，我們還沒有決定透過任何模式提供 Proteus。我認為我們會監控市場，並在採取行動之前了解資金狀況等。但目前，我們還沒有改變 Proteus 的行銷想法。

And part of why we don't need to necessarily do that is we still have Platinum Pro and it has certain capabilities that will meet the needs of many customers, maybe not do everything that a Proteus can do, obviously, but do a lot of things.

我們不必這樣做的原因之一是我們仍然有 Platinum Pro，它具有某些功能，可以滿足許多客戶的需求，顯然，它可能無法完成 Proteus 可以做的所有事情，但可以做很多事情。

I think in terms of the duration of the program, we are being sort of proactive and just moving fast with what the markets look like. Obviously, if the capital markets improve, I think we're at least hearing some positive news around what NIH funding might look like. But obviously, that's got to work its way through the process and ultimately get approved and get implemented. I think if those things roll out in a positive way and we see a return to capital, we could slowly start to pull back from some of these options.

我認為，就計劃的持續時間而言，我們採取了積極主動的態度，並根據市場情況快速採取行動。顯然，如果資本市場改善，我認為我們至少會聽到一些有關 NIH 資金狀況的積極消息。但顯然，這必須經過整個流程，最終獲得批准並實施。我認為，如果這些事情以積極的方式展開，而我們看到資本的回報，我們可以慢慢開始放棄其中一些選擇。

In terms of duration, reagent rentals and leases tend to be longer term in nature, meaning measured in sort of a couple of years, two- or three years, when you start talking about leases or rentals. I think when we talk about us being opportunistic in placing a device, we're really putting a clock on that, so that we place it with the customer, they start purchasing consumables and are using it.

就期限而言，試劑租賃和租約往往是長期的，當你開始談論租約或租約時，這意味著以幾年、兩年或三年來衡量。我認為，當我們談到我們抓住機會放置設備時，我們實際上是在為它設置一個時鐘，以便我們將它放置在客戶那裡，他們開始購買消耗品並使用它。

And we're really measuring that every month, and we're committing to that customer that if they're using it and getting value out of it, that we'll leave that machine there with them for six months. And at the end of that, they have to make a decision on sort of what they're going to do. Are they going to purchase it outright? Do they want to move into a rental?

我們每個月都會對此進行衡量，並且我們向客戶承諾，如果他們使用該機器並從中獲益，我們將把該機器留在他們那裡六個月。最後，他們必須決定要做什麼。他們會直接買嗎？他們想搬進出租屋嗎？

But again, we're using the placement sort of selectively, lead with capital, look to use lease or rental wherever we can use placement as sort of a final stop and the placement has a lot more sort of flexibility for us on how long we leave it there, but trying to keep it in that sort of six-month type of range, assuming that the customer is using the machine at a reasonable rate.

但是，我們再次強調，我們會選擇性地使用安置方式，以資本為主導，尋求使用租賃或租用，只要我們可以將安置作為最後一站，安置方式對我們來說在將其放置在那裡的時間上有更大的靈活性，但我們會嘗試將其保持在六個月的範圍內，假設客戶以合理的價格使用機器。

And yes, on the topic of utilization, could you talk about how that is trending in this environment, given the CapEx side is constrained. However, consumables are obviously less of -- like an outlay is necessary for that. So how is that going right now?

是的，關於利用率的話題，考慮到資本支出方面受到限制，您能否談談在這種環境下利用率的趨勢如何？然而，消耗品顯然較少——就像需要支出一樣。那麼現在進展如何？

And then also, how do you anticipate that to sort of progress going forward, given you got these reagent rental potentially? I would imagine that the pull-through on that would be a little different. Can you just talk about what you expect to happen there?

而且，考慮到您可能已經獲得了這些試劑租賃，您預計未來會取得怎樣的進展？我可以想像，這方面的進展會有些不同。您能談談您期望在那裡發生什麼嗎？

Yes. On the reagent front, as we said in the prepared remarks, our reagent revenue -- consumable revenue in the quarter was a little ahead of our internal expectations. So it's been going well. We haven't seen any notable variation across market segments. Even with the NIH headwinds affecting capital sales in the US academic market, our existing US academic customers are still purchasing. We're still seeing purchasing in our government accounts, in our pharma biotech accounts. So I think consumable purchasing has been consistent.

是的。在試劑方面，正如我們在準備好的評論中所說，我們的試劑收入 - 本季的消耗品收入略高於我們的內部預期。一切進展順利。我們尚未看到各個細分市場有任何顯著差異。即使 NIH 的不利因素影響了美國學術市場的資本銷售，我們現有的美國學術客戶仍在購買。我們仍然看到政府帳戶和製藥生物技術帳戶中的購買行為。所以我認為消耗品的採購一直是一致的。

Obviously, the variations that you see across segments still exist. Some academic labs buy more episodically where government or pharma and biotech maybe buy at a more consistent clip every single month. So the general trends we've talked about still hold. We haven't seen any notable drop-off.

顯然，您在各個細分市場中看到的差異仍然存在。一些學術實驗室的採購頻率更為間歇性，而政府或製藥和生物技術公司可能每個月都以更穩定的頻率進行採購。因此，我們討論的總體趨勢仍然成立。我們尚未看到任何明顯的下降。

So we've been pleased with that. And that's another reason why we believe these other instrument acquisition models could make a lot of sense is that, that budget to spend on the consumables and perform research is there. It seems to be consistent. It seems to not be going through these stop-start cycles that we're seeing with capital. So this is a way for us to start to capture that and grow that sort of attribute or contribution to our overall revenue.

因此我們對此感到高興。我們認為這些其他儀器採購模型非常有意義的另一個原因是，有足夠的預算用於購買消耗品和進行研究。看起來似乎是一致的。它似乎並沒有經歷我們在資本上看到的這些走走停停的循環。因此，這是我們開始捕捉這種特徵並增加這種屬性或對我們整體收入的貢獻的一種方式。

Great. And on the new kits and prep launches that you have coming up, which end markets are those going to be most suitable to? And I'm sure -- and applications too. I'm sure it's the research kind of academic world, but it sounds like you're having more success on the biopharma side, obviously. Are these -- are you setting yourself up to have this kind of long tail of success and even deeper penetration in that end market given these new products and things?

偉大的。您即將推出的新套件和準備產品最適合哪些終端市場？我確信——還有應用程式。我確信這是研究型的學術世界，但聽起來你在生物製藥方面顯然取得了更大的成功。這些是——您是否已經準備好透過這些新產品和新事物來獲得這種長尾成功，甚至在終端市場實現更深層的滲透？

Yes. So on that front, Kyle, so the first thing is we talked about as part of the V4 sequencing kit launch, we're expanding the number of barcodes available that are sort of designed and highly validated by us. Obviously, customers could choose to design their own barcodes as they do, and other segments of the market, or using perhaps, as you see in the world of DNA barcodes.

是的。因此，Kyle，在這方面，我們首先要討論的是，作為 V4 定序試劑盒發布的一部分，我們正在擴大由我們設計和高度驗證的條碼的數量。顯然，客戶可以選擇像他們自己以及市場的其他部分一樣設計自己的條碼，或者使用也許就像您在 DNA 條碼世界中看到的那樣。

But in our world, we've really been focused on designing those, validating a very high level of performance because that's, at the end of the day, what's being used in the pharma biotech. So that expansion in the number of barcodes is a direct link to feedback we've gotten from existing pharma biotech customers, as well as some that are in our funnel that they wanted to get up to that 24 level for the types of studies they were doing or the types of applications they're doing.

但在我們的世界中，我們真正專注於設計這些，驗證非常高水準的性能，因為歸根結底，這就是製藥生物技術中所使用的。因此，條碼數量的擴大與我們從現有製藥生物技術客戶那裡得到的反饋直接相關，也與我們管道中的一些客戶希望將他們正在進行的研究類型或正在進行的應用類型的數量提高到 24 個級別。

So I do think that that barcode set helps us continue to penetrate the pharma biotech segment better. As I talked about in the prepared remarks, we have seen that funnel grow as we get more people using it. And we've got those sort of reference accounts to point to. So we feel good about the funnel there. It's just a longer sales cycle in the drug development world than it is in other segments.

因此我確實認為該條碼集可以幫助我們繼續更好地滲透製藥生物技術領域。正如我在準備好的演講中談到的，隨著越來越多的人使用它，我們看到這個管道也在不斷增長。我們有這樣的參考資料可以參考。所以我們對那裡的漏斗感到滿意。只是藥物開發領域的銷售週期比其他領域的銷售週期還要長。

I think in terms of the library prep, there's certainly a benefit in pharma biotech, but I think the benefit of that library prep is probably more broadly applicable to anybody doing more complex biological sample research. I think we touched on a few of the attributes in the prepared remarks, the 100-fold lower input quantity, ability to deal with mixtures better. I think those types of things tend to play across lots of different sort of biologically relevant systems and work, whether that's basic research or translational. So I do think that plays across all the segments when we get that V3 library prep kit launch.

我認為就文庫製備而言，製藥生物技術肯定有好處，但我認為文庫製備的好處可能更廣泛地適用於任何進行更複雜的生物樣本研究的人。我認為我們在準備好的評論中談到了一些屬性，輸入量降低了 100 倍，能夠更好地處理混合物。我認為這些類型的事情往往會在許多不同類型的生物相關係統和工作中發揮作用，無論是基礎研究還是轉化研究。因此，我確實認為，當我們推出 V3 庫準備工具包時，它將影響所有部分。

And the PTM capabilities that you referenced, I think it sounded like some new capabilities that you guys are looking at. Are you kind of like meeting the market where the need is right now? Or is that more of a longer-term thing that's good that you can -- sort of you're looking at that opportunity now, but like PTMs are not quite where customers are applying the technology currently?

您所提到的 PTM 功能，我認為聽起來像是您正在研究的一些新功能。您是否正在滿足當前市場的需求？或者這更像是一個長期的事情，這對您來說是件好事——您現在正在尋找這個機會，但 PTM 並不是客戶目前應用該技術的地方？

So what we're doing with those kits, Kyle, is just directly sort of reacting to and coming forward with a solution out of our R&D department to really hit what customers are saying they want to be able to do. We know what our current tech is capable of. There's been some preprints and posters presented that show sort of customers applying our tech here, but we think there's more we can do by doing the combined detection run with sequencing.

因此，凱爾，我們對這些套件所做的只是直接做出反應，並提出來自我們研發部門的解決方案，以真正滿足客戶所說的他們想要做的事情。我們知道我們目前的技術能夠做什麼。已經有一些預印本和海報展示了客戶在這裡應用我們的技術，但我們認為，透過將偵測運行與定序結合，我們可以做更多的事情。

And the way we're thinking about it, and we're going to sort of really talk about more of the plan and the kit rollout at our Investor and Analyst Day in November. But I think what we're -- the way we've set it up, the way we're prioritizing it is really about what do we think customers want to be able to do right now, what are the pain points they have with existing tech.

我們正在考慮這個問題，我們將在 11 月的投資者和分析師日上詳細討論該計劃和套件的推出。但我認為，我們設定它的方式、我們確定其優先順序的方式實際上是關於我們認為客戶現在想要做什麼，以及他們對現有技術的痛點是什麼。

Obviously, the longer-term view of this is based upon where we think the market will be in the end state, but I think we're definitely not doing this work thinking it's not something that customers are going to need for a while. This is very consistent with what they'd like to be doing and where the challenges are with existing tech to do this type of work today in their labs. So that's sort of our strategic approach to what we're doing on the PTM front.

顯然，從長遠來看，這取決於我們對市場最終狀態的預測，但我認為，我們在做這項工作時絕對不會認為這不是客戶在一段時間內不需要的東西。這與他們想要做的事情以及目前在他們的實驗室中利用現有技術完成此類工作所面臨的挑戰非常一致。這就是我們在 PTM 方面採取的策略方針。

And if you have solidly over $250 million in cash and you're having challenges in this kind of core business, and it's been like a gradual sort of rollout over the years, let's say. Do you have any interest in using the capital to potentially partner or acquire or license some sort of external technology to either help you in an adjacency or kind of take over for some of the slack, maybe something that's overlapping with proteomics or some sort of similar end market that would be attractive to you right now, just given you have -- again, it's a lot of big cash balance.

如果你擁有超過 2.5 億美元的現金，並且在這種核心業務中遇到了挑戰，那麼可以說，這些年來，這種挑戰一直在逐步推進。您是否有興趣利用這筆資金與他人合作、收購或授權某種外部技術來幫助您在鄰接領域取得進展或填補一些空缺，也許是與蛋白質組學或某種類似的終端市場重疊的領域，這會對您很有吸引力，只要您有——再說一次，這是一大筆現金餘額。

Yes, Kyle, we certainly recognize we're fortunate to have the balance sheet strength that we have and to have a runway out into the second quarter of '28. Obviously, our number one priority is executing on our core technology and our core business. We didn't spend a lot of time on it in the call, but obviously, we've been very diligent over the last two years, really optimizing our operating expenses, getting the organization at the right size, getting the right programs funded.

是的，凱爾，我們當然認識到我們很幸運擁有如此強勁的資產負債表，並且能夠在 28 年第二季度取得進展。顯然，我們的首要任務是執行我們的核心技術和核心業務。我們在電話會議中並沒有花太多時間討論這個問題，但顯然，過去兩年我們一直非常勤奮，真正優化了我們的營運費用，使組織達到合適的規模，並為正確的專案提供資金。

We've leveraged partnerships to augment our work, ones we talked about in the past, NVIDIA and IDEX Health & Sciences, as sort of a couple that are obviously deeply involved with R&D-related activities. We have the commercial partnerships and the channel partnership that's allowed us to really keep a pretty tight control over our sales and marketing spend.

我們利用合作關係來增強我們的工作，我們過去談到的合作夥伴包括 NVIDIA 和 IDEX Health & Sciences，這兩家公司顯然深入參與了與研發相關的活動。我們擁有商業合作夥伴關係和通路合作夥伴關係，這使我們能夠真正嚴格控制銷售和行銷支出。

So I think our general plan is continue to operate the company with that level of fiscal discipline and stay focused on our business. That said, we are people who are always out in the market, and we're always interacting with folks. We're always willing to learn about technologies that could get -- that could be integrated with ours, could fit into the full workflow of the customer or even products that are directly adjacent that might bring more revenue per territory.

因此我認為我們的整體計劃是繼續以這種財政紀律來經營公司並專注於我們的業務。話雖如此，我們總是在市場上，並且總是與人們互動。我們始終願意了解可以與我們的技術結合的技術，可以融入客戶的完整工作流程，甚至可以了解可能為每個地區帶來更多收入的直接相鄰產品。

We're certainly not opposed to the types of things you described. It's not necessarily our top priority, but we're always active. We're always listening. And if we saw the right thing, we wouldn't hesitate to do it. But we're going to be very picky, have a very high bar because at the end of the day, investors have given us money to invest in our core tech and our core business, and that's the first thing we have to do. So we have to have a high bar there, but we're eyes wide open, always willing to learn. And if we see the right thing, we're not afraid to be opportunistic.

我們當然不反對您所描述的事。這不一定是我們的首要任務，但我們總是積極主動。我們一直在傾聽。如果我們發現正確的事情，我們會毫不猶豫地去做。但我們會非常挑剔，有一個非常高的標準，因為最終，投資者給了我們錢來投資我們的核心技術和核心業務，這是我們要做的第一件事。因此，我們必須有很高的標準，但我們也要睜大眼睛，並且始終願意學習。如果我們看到正確的事情，我們就不會害怕抓住機會。

And then finally, if the top line remains a little bit soft and it's challenging to generate a lot of revenue kind of going forward and you need to maybe look at some cuts internally. Would that be more on the R&D side? Or do you think that the sales force just isn't matching this kind of revenue level? It's you're over-indexed to that commercial team, and that would be where things kind of happen.

最後，如果營業收入仍然有點疲軟，並且未來很難產生大量收入，那麼您可能需要考慮在內部進行一些削減。這是否更著重於研發方面？還是您認為銷售人員與這種收入水準不符？因為你對那個商業團隊的依賴程度過高，所以事情就會發生。

Yes, Kyle, I don't think we're over-indexed on commercial is the first thing I would say. We -- if you look at sort of our sales, marketing, field-based service, and support. And we've talked about this in the past. I mean we're talking about approximately 30 individuals across all those functions to support a channel network of 24 partners and then our direct sales activities. So I think there's probably plenty of examples in the industry where those numbers are much, much larger, driving a much higher expense. I think what we are doing in that area is not really expanding it in any way. We're sort of keep staying more flat, being very targeted if we do any additions.

是的，凱爾，我想說的第一件事就是，我不認為我們在商業上的投入太大。我們——如果你看看我們的銷售、行銷、現場服務和支援。我們過去也討論過這個問題。我的意思是，我們談論的是大約 30 名員工，他們負責所有這些職能，以支援 24 個合作夥伴的通路網路以及我們的直銷活動。因此我認為，業內可能有許多例子表明這些數字要大得多，導致費用更高。我認為我們在那個領域所做的實際上並沒有以任何方式擴大它。如果我們進行任何添加，我們會保持更加扁平的風格，並且非常有針對性。

On the R&D front, I think we're -- the proof for me is in sort of the results. We've worked the R&D organization down in size and focus over the course of 2023 and '24. It's a very productive team. I mean this team continues to deliver on time and on specification. Sometimes that second point gets lost in the market. People sort of derate their product to get out on time. That's not something we do.

在研發方面，我認為我們──對我來說證據就在於結果。在 2023 年和 2024 年期間，我們縮減了研發組織的規模並集中精力。這是一支非常有效率的團隊。我的意思是這個團隊繼續按時、按規格交付。有時，第二點在市場上會被忽略。人們會降低他們的產品評級以便準時推出產品。那不是我們會做的事。

We set requirements, and this team is hitting it. It's a productive team. We still have two more launches, and we're funding a very large platform program that wasn't even in our '24 numbers, and our '25 numbers are essentially flat to that.

我們設定了要求，這個團隊正在實現這些要求。這是一支高效率的團隊。我們還有兩款產品即將發布，我們正在資助一個非常大的平台項目，這個項目甚至沒有出現在我們24年的數字中，而我們25年的數字基本上與此持平。

So I think we've got the right size group over there. We've got the right talent densities in all of the key functions that you need to do a novel technology like this. And I think what we're really focused on is more what I would call fine-tune. If we see something that we can fine-tune, we will. If we can -- if we see a program that's not progressing the way we want, say, in research, we'll stop that program.

所以我認為我們在那裡擁有合適規模的團隊。我們在所有關鍵職能領域都擁有合適的人才密度，可以滿足您進行此類新技術的需求。我認為我們真正關注的是我所說的微調。如果我們發現一些可以微調的東西，我們就會這麼做。如果可以的話——如果我們發現某個專案沒有按照我們想要的方式進展，例如在研究方面，我們就會停止這個專案。

But I would view it more as being very targeted -- and I think the other lever we have control over and we've been very mindful of is we've remained nearly flat with head count, sort of plus or minus a couple of people since we did the big R&D realignment last fall. So I think we're taking advantage of being just very targeted and having that talent density and just being mindful of that, don't add to it, keep it sort of get the productivity we can out of the people we have, and just have the right priorities and the right focus every day.

但我認為這更像是一種非常有針對性的調整——而且我認為我們可以控制的另一個槓桿，而且我們一直非常注意的是，自從去年秋天我們進行了大規模的研發調整以來，我們的員工人數幾乎沒有變化，只是增加了或減少了幾個人。所以我認為，我們利用的是非常有針對性和人才密度的優勢，只要記住這一點，不要再增加人員，而是盡可能地從現有人才中獲取生產力，並且每天都有正確的優先事項和正確的重點。

So I think that's how we're approaching it right now. Obviously, if some major events occur that impacted that thinking, we would be sort of mindful of it and analyze it and make the right decisions. But I think the way we're planning for it is we've got what we need. We'll stay very tight and not really grow that envelope and just really focus on executing the business at hand.

所以我認為這就是我們現在處理這個問題的方式。顯然，如果發生一些影響這種想法的重大事件，我們就會留意它、分析它並做出正確的決定。但我認為，根據我們的計劃，我們已經得到了我們所需要的東西。我們會保持嚴格，不會真正擴大規模，而只是真正專注於執行手邊的業務。

This does conclude our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn it back to Jeff Hawkins for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我想請傑夫霍金斯作最後發言。

Thank you for joining our call today. We look forward to providing more updates on our business during the next quarterly earnings call and at our upcoming Investor and Analyst Day in November. Thank you for attending.

感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。我們期待在下一次季度收益電話會議以及即將於 11 月舉行的投資者和分析師日上提供有關我們業務的更多更新資訊。謝謝您的出席。

This does conclude our program. You may now disconnect.

我們的節目到此就結束了。您現在可以斷開連線。