Illumina
Illumina's revenue fell 0.7% to $4.3 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 18.6%, up from −19.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $931 million, up 31.3%. It paid out $742 million in dividends and buybacks, 80% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.9%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 6.6% a year and net income 7.0% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 5% and diluted each share's earnings.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value Illumina yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Illumina's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Illumina's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $931M, net cash of −$356M at December 28, 2025 and 156 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Illumina: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, -1.8% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 10%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Life Sciences Tools & Services), plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2024); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $271.04
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
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- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
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- Everything after year 10, valued today
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- Plus net cash
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- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Illumina's earnings per share of $5.36 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 39.2×, the average of the Health Care median and Illumina's own P/E today for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 11%, 10% and 9%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $271.04
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- Illumina's P/E at the last close
- 50.6×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| IlluminaILMN | $271.04 | $5.36 | 50.6× |
| Mettler ToledoMTD | $1,669.62 | $44.38 | 37.6× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,339 | 2,037 | 1,054 | 1,220 | 1,633 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 702 | 1,987 | 1,489 | 1,989 | 1,989 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | −637 | −50 | 435 | 769 | 356 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −5.0x | — | — | — | 0.3x |
| Debt to equity | 0.1x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.8x | 0.7x |
| Interest coverage | −2.0x | −160.7x | −13.9x | −8.3x | 8.0x |
| Current ratio | 2.5x | 1.3x | 1.7x | 1.8x | 2.1x |
| Quick ratio | 2.1x | 1.1x | 1.3x | 1.4x | 1.7x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 1 insider bought $84,627 of Illumina shares on the open market, and 5 insiders sold $592.9 million, $1.7 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 119,501 | $218.40 | $26.1 million | Form 4 |
| Sep 3, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 75,951 | $218.23 | $16.6 million | Form 4 |
| Sep 2, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 68,108 | $213.28 | $14.5 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 138,379 | $228.89 | $31.7 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 106,543 | $225.46 | $24.0 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 131,019 | $225.51 | $29.5 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 299,336 | $217.96 | $65.2 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 285,238 | $213.86 | $61.0 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 19, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 95,000 | $203.29 | $19.3 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | Christensen Jakob WedelSVP, Strategy/Corp Development | Sold plan | 1,033 | $191.52 | $197,840 | Form 4 |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 283,269 | $199.61 | $56.5 million | Form 4 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Keith A. MeisterDirector | Sold | 457,858 | $200.10 | $91.6 million | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| F-score | 6 of 9 | 5 of 9 | 8 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −14.7% | −25.1% | −3.5% |
Compare
Put Illumina side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illumina | FY25 | −0.7% | 18.6% | 21.4% | 20.3% | 0.3x | 8 | |
| Mettler Toledo | FY25 | 4.0% | — | 21.1% | 50.5% | 1.7x | 7 | Compare |
| Charles River Laboratories | FY25 | −0.8% | 0.6% | 12.9% | 0.4% | 4.5x | 4 | Compare |
| Waters | FY25 | 7.0% | 25.4% | 17.1% | 21.0% | 0.8x | 6 | Compare |
| Avantor | FY25 | −3.4% | −3.8% | 7.5% | −2.0% | 22.0x | 5 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 2,398 | 2,752 | 3,333 | 3,543 | 3,239 | 4,526 | 4,584 | 4,504 | 4,372 | 4,343 |
| Revenue growth | 8.0% | 14.8% | 21.1% | 6.3% | −8.6% | 39.7% | 1.3% | −1.8% | −2.9% | −0.7% |
| Gross profit | 1,666 | 1,826 | 2,300 | 2,467 | 2,203 | 3,154 | 2,972 | 2,744 | 2,861 | 2,870 |
| Research and development | 504 | 546 | 623 | 647 | 682 | 1,185 | 1,321 | 1,354 | 1,169 | 967 |
| Operating income | 587 | 606 | 883 | 985 | 580 | −123 | −4,179 | −1,069 | −833 | 807 |
| Net income | 463 | 726 | 826 | 1,002 | 656 | 762 | −4,404 | −1,161 | −1,223 | 850 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 3.07 | 4.92 | 5.56 | 6.74 | 4.45 | 5.04 | −28.00 | −7.34 | −7.69 | 5.45 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 148 | 148 | 149 | 149 | 148 | 151 | 157 | 158 | 159 | 156 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 779 | 875 | 1,142 | 1,051 | 1,080 | 545 | 392 | 478 | 837 | 1,079 |
| Capital expenditure | 260 | 310 | 296 | 209 | 189 | 208 | 286 | 195 | 128 | 148 |
| Free cash flow | 519 | 565 | 846 | 842 | 891 | 337 | 106 | 283 | 709 | 931 |
| Dividends paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share buybacks | 249 | 251 | 201 | 324 | 736 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 742 |
| Acquisitions | 18 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 98 | 2,444 | 265 | 30 | 81 | 10 |
| Stock-based compensation | 129 | 164 | 193 | 194 | 194 | 754 | 366 | 380 | 370 | 275 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,559 | 2,145 | 3,512 | 3,414 | 3,472 | 1,339 | 2,037 | 1,054 | 1,220 | 1,633 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 1,067 | 1,305 | 2,266 | 1,141 | 1,184 | 702 | 1,987 | 1,489 | 1,989 | 1,989 |
| Total assets | 4,281 | 5,257 | 6,959 | 7,316 | 7,585 | 15,217 | 12,252 | 10,111 | 6,303 | 6,644 |
| Total liabilities | 2,011 | 2,508 | 3,114 | 2,703 | 2,891 | 4,477 | 5,653 | 4,366 | 3,930 | 3,921 |
| Shareholders' equity | 2,197 | 2,749 | 3,758 | 4,613 | 4,694 | 10,740 | 6,599 | 5,745 | 2,373 | 2,723 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 69.5% | 66.3% | 69.0% | 69.6% | 68.0% | 69.7% | 64.8% | 60.9% | 65.4% | 66.1% |
| Operating margin | 24.5% | 22.0% | 26.5% | 27.8% | 17.9% | −2.7% | −91.2% | −23.7% | −19.1% | 18.6% |
| Net margin | 19.3% | 26.4% | 24.8% | 28.3% | 20.2% | 16.8% | −96.1% | −25.8% | −28.0% | 19.6% |
| Free cash flow margin | 21.6% | 20.5% | 25.4% | 23.8% | 27.5% | 7.5% | 2.3% | 6.3% | 16.2% | 21.4% |
| Return on capital | 26.9% | 21.4% | 34.3% | 35.3% | 18.7% | −1.7% | −39.6% | −13.3% | −14.1% | 20.3% |
| Return on equity | 22.9% | 29.4% | 25.4% | 23.9% | 14.1% | 9.9% | −50.8% | −18.8% | −30.1% | 33.4% |
| Return on assets | 11.6% | 15.2% | 13.5% | 14.0% | 8.8% | 6.7% | −32.1% | −10.4% | −14.9% | 13.1% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −0.7x | −1.1x | −1.2x | −1.9x | −3.0x | −5.0x | — | — | — | 0.3x |