Natera earnings: third quarter 2026

Natera, which sells genetic tests for pregnancy, cancer and organ transplants, grew sales by about a third in its third quarter of 2026 and lost less money than a year ago. It now expects noticeably more sales for the year than it did three months ago. Yet it is still losing money, and more of its sales are waiting to be paid. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Natera reported a loss of $0.42 a share; it gives no adjusted figure, so that reported loss is the one set against analysts' average forecast of a $0.17 loss (Nasdaq's earnings calendar) - a loss more than twice as large as expected. ¹²

The strong points

• Sales rose 34.1% to $794.0 million, faster than the number of tests, because Natera ran more tests and was paid more on average for each. ¹
• The loss from running the business shrank by about 30%, to $68.3 million, because costs grew more slowly than sales. ¹
• The loss per share narrowed to $0.42, from $0.64 a year ago. ¹

The weak points

• Money owed to Natera by customers and insurers rose 59% since the end of 2025, so sales are growing faster than the cash coming in. ¹
• Over nine months Natera lost $212.0 million, yet its cash barely moved, and the release does not show how the gap was covered. ¹
• Payments due within a year for past acquisitions more than doubled, to $45.9 million. ¹

What the company expects

• Natera raised its forecast for 2026 sales to $3.005 billion to $3.035 billion, from $2.85 billion to $2.91 billion three months ago. ¹
• It also expects to spend more on selling and running the company this year, about $1.225 billion to $1.300 billion, up from $1.125 billion to $1.225 billion before. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A strong report. Natera raised its sales forecast for the year again and grew sales by a third while its loss narrowed, though the quarter's loss was larger than analysts expected and more of its sales are still waiting to be paid.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)
• The previous results, for what it forecast then

Notes

1. Natera's results release, 5 November 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 5 November 2026. ↩