Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (PACB) stock analysis

In our weekly check, Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. is graded F (A to F). Of 22 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 6 pass, warnings: 4, red flags: 12.

About Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. is a Healthcare company (Medical Devices) based in the United States, listed on NASDAQ as PACB.

What our checks show for PACB

Red flags

• Debt is high against equity (-21.26x). That limits room in a downturn.
• Operating profit does not cover the interest bill (-42.2x): interest is paid from cash or new debt.
• The gross margin fell by 9.1 points, to 36%: costs are rising faster than prices.
• Weak EPS forecast
• Earnings per share fell 32.5% a year over the last 3 years.
• The company is losing money: the net margin is -82.5%.
• Free cash flow is negative (-71.5% of revenue): the business spends more cash than it brings in.
• The price swings a lot: 90.8% annual volatility. Expect large ups and downs.
• The stock has fallen as much as 98% from a peak. Would you have held through that?
• Beta 2.19: the stock usually moves more than the market, both up and down.
• Return on capital (ROCE) is zero or negative: the business does not earn on the money put into it.
• Pay in shares equals 0% of free cash flow: it dilutes shareholders.

Warning signs

• Operating cash flow is negative while the company reports a profit: the profit does not arrive as cash.
• A small company (market value $656 million): usually riskier and followed by fewer analysts.
• The stock is still below its previous peak.
• The share count grew by 18.3% in 2 years: each shareholder owns a smaller slice.

Strengths

• The net margin rose by 56.4 points over 5 years, to -82.5%.
• Analysts expect the net margin to improve by 27.2 points from today's -82.5%.
• Actively traded: about 11 million shares a day.

Next earnings report: 2026-11-03

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Questions

What grade does Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (PACB) have?

In our weekly check, Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. is graded F (A to F). Of 22 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 6 pass, warnings: 4, red flags: 12. The grade is a risk check, not a buy or sell recommendation.

What are the main risks of PACB stock?

This week's biggest flags for Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.: High debt, Weak interest cover, Gross margin falling. In total 16 of 22 checks show a warning or a red flag.

What does Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. do?

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. is a Healthcare company (Medical Devices) based in the United States, listed on NASDAQ as PACB.

When does Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. report earnings next?

The next earnings report is expected on 2026-11-03. We re-run the checks every week, so the grade can change after it.

The grade is a risk check, not a price forecast, and not investment advice. In our 10-year test (S&P 500, 2016-2026), stocks we graded A or B fell more than 30% 2-3 times less often than D or F, without a lower average return.

Updated 2026-10-24

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