What went well
  • Q2 2026 was a landmark quarter, with total revenue of $335 million growing 44% year-over-year on broad-based strength across oncology, biopharma & data, and screening.
  • Oncology revenue grew 38% to $219 million as test volumes rose 63% to approximately 104,000 tests, with Reveal volume more than doubling (>100% growth) and Guardant360 Liquid accelerating to over 30% growth.
  • Guardant received FDA approval for Guardant360 Liquid CDx, the only FDA-approved liquid biopsy test integrating both genomic and epigenomic content, one of the most significant regulatory milestones in the company's history.
  • Screening (Shield) revenue reached $53 million on ~66,000 tests, up from $15 million on ~16,000 tests a year ago, aided by the Quest collaboration, DTC momentum, and an expanded 400+ person field organization.
  • Two major Shield access wins landed: inclusion in the American Cancer Society colorectal screening guidelines and a coverage decision from UnitedHealth Group, the largest U.S. commercial insurer, bringing ~70 million lives (~60% of the market) into coverage.
  • Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $1.34-$1.36 billion (36%-38% growth) and lifted oncology and screening outlooks, while non-GAAP gross margin improved to 67% from 66%.
What went wrong
  • The company remained unprofitable, with a GAAP net loss of $120.1 million ($0.90 loss per share, wider than the prior-year $99.9 million loss) and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $56 million versus a $52 million loss a year ago.
  • Free cash flow burn increased to $70 million in the quarter (from $66 million) as capital expenditure rose for screening lab automation, and full-year burn guidance was raised $10 million to $195-$205 million.
  • Non-GAAP operating expenses rose 34% to $288 million, with sales and marketing jumping to $172 million from $108 million as commercial investment in screening scaled ahead of revenue.
  • Realizing higher ASPs from the UnitedHealth win and the pending Guardant360 ADLT rate ($8,455) will be slow, with management cautioning it can take 12-24 months for Medicare Advantage and commercial pricing to flow through.
  • Management tempered expectations for a repeat of Q2's exceptional sequential Shield step-up (~22,000 tests), noting the confluence of Quest, DTC, and field-force ramp effects is not expected to recur all at once in Q3.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
Total revenueFY2026$1.34-$1.36 billion, representing 36%-38% growth (raised)
Oncology revenue growthFY2026Approximately 30% (volume growth approximately 50%)
Biopharma & data growthFY2026Low double digits (unchanged)
Screening (Shield) revenueFY2026$218-$230 million on 270,000-285,000 Shield tests (raised)
Non-GAAP gross marginFY202664%-65%
Non-GAAP operating expensesFY2026$1.08-$1.10 billion (20%-22% growth)
Free cash flow burnFY2026$195-$205 million (raised $10M on screening capex)
Company-wide cash-flow breakevenLong-termEnd of 2027 (reaffirmed)

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Total revenue +44% to $335M Broad-based growth across oncology, biopharma & data, and screening business lines.
Oncology revenue +38% to $219M Test volumes up 63% to ~104,000, with strength across Guardant360 Liquid, Guardant360 Tissue, and Reveal.
Oncology test volume +63% to ~104,000 tests Reveal more than doubled, Guardant360 Liquid grew >30% on Smart App adoption, and Tissue accelerated from Q1.
Biopharma & data revenue +9% to $61M (record) Increasing strategic value of the Smart Platform and InfinityAI to biopharma partners; now 28 CDx approvals.
Screening (Shield) revenue $53M vs $15M ~66,000 tests vs ~16,000 a year ago on commercial scale, DTC, and the Quest Diagnostics collaboration; ASP ~$800/test.
Non-GAAP gross margin +100 bps to 67% Lab efficiency, disciplined execution, and the completed Guardant360 Liquid transition to NovaSeq X (~$200 lower cost per test).
Adjusted EBITDA loss $56M loss vs $52M loss Continued heavy commercial investment in the screening build-out ahead of revenue.
GAAP net loss per share $(0.90) vs $(0.80) Net loss of $120.1M as operating expenses of $348.1M outpaced revenue during the screening investment phase.

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
Shield reimbursement & guideline accessNCCN inclusion (June 2025); pursuing payer coverageAdded to ACS guidelines (May 2026), triggering state coverage mandates in ~12 states, plus first major commercial coverage from UnitedHealth effective August 1; ~70 million lives (~60% of the market) now covered.
Guardant360 Liquid CDx / ADLT pricingFDA submission pendingFDA approved in May 2026; ADLT designation targeted for H1 2027 at an expected $8,455 rate (vs current $5,000 Medicare price), which could lift Guardant360 ASP toward ~$5,000 over 12-24 months.
Reveal and MRD / therapy monitoringFastest-growing product; therapy monitoring recently launchedVolume growth accelerated above 100% for a third straight quarter; Reveal Ultra (most sensitive tumor-informed MRD test) on track to launch later in 2026; MolDX submissions for breast, IO, and chemo monitoring progressing, with IO and breast closest to coverage.
Smart Platform & proprietary data / InfinityAIBuilding the data assetRepository now spans 1.3M+ patient tests and 700,000+ epigenetic profiles across 100+ tumor types, powering InfinityAI-based Smart Apps showcased at ASCO and accelerating biopharma drug discovery.
Shield cost per test / lab automation~$410 cost per testNew FDA-approved higher-throughput, methylation-only workflow goes live in August; management expects ~15% cost reduction by year-end 2026 and a path toward a $200 cost-per-test target by 2028.
Path to profitabilityCash-flow breakeven by end of 2027Business excluding screening is now adjusted EBITDA positive; company reaffirmed end-2027 breakeven, with the Guardant360 ADLT uplift a potential accelerator; screening itself targeted to breakeven in 2028.

Q&A Summary

Kyle Mikson (Canaccord) asked about the near- and long-term ASP and volume impact of the UnitedHealth and ACS wins, and views on the late-August USPSTF meeting.
AmirAli Talasaz said ~70 million lives (~60% of the market) are now covered and the UHG win could be a volume tailwind, letting Guardant build the under-65 commercial base, but ASP upside will take time and patience as they work through payer conversations and collection history; the USPSTF outlook is unchanged with the August meeting expected to proceed.
Subbu Nambi (Guggenheim) asked about the puts and takes on the raised ~50% oncology volume guide, the tough Q3 Guardant360 comp, and how the UnitedHealth coverage came about.
Helmy Eltoukhy pointed to broad-based strength (Guardant360 >30%, Tissue higher, Reveal >100%) giving confidence in the 50% full-year volume mark despite tough comps; AmirAli said the United decision was unexpected and sooner than anticipated, built on a multi-year relationship, but they expect no other major payer wins near-term.
Puneet Souda (Leerink) asked where Guardant360 sits on its S-curve of growth and what is driving Shield upside.
Helmy said the genome-wide-methylation-integrated test is only 'scratching the surface,' with a big future multiplier from testing patients at every progression; AmirAli attributed Shield's strong 22,000-test sequential step-up to Quest co-promotion, DTC, and field-force additions with nonlinear productivity gains, while guiding conservatively for H2 (~12,000 sequential adds at the midpoint).
Mark Massaro (BTIG) asked how Guardant will negotiate pricing with UnitedHealth given the $1,495 ADLT rate reference and whether ACS/NCCN de-risk USPSTF.
AmirAli said they just received coverage and will work through the typical process where Medicare pricing is the centerpiece and pricing is transparent; the United decision ahead of USPSTF is drawing payer attention, but no additional wins are baked into guidance for the rest of the year.
Dan Brennan (TD Cowen) asked about the realized-price assumptions from the Guardant360 ADLT process and the drop-through/reinvestment of any revenue upside.
Michael Bell said the ADLT process targets a price of $8,455 (up from $5,000 Medicare), an immediate Medicare increase that takes 12-24 months to flow to MA and commercial; incremental gross profit would be split between dropping to the bottom line (potentially accelerating the Q4 2027 breakeven) and reinvesting in innovation and oncology commercial operations.
Daniel Markowitz (Evercore) asked about progress toward the 2028 Investor Day targets and whether the ADLT list price implies a Guardant360 ASP nearer $5,000.
Bell said the 2028 revenue target was raised to $2.2 billion (implying >30% three-year growth) and current 36%-38% guidance keeps them tracking well, though they are not changing the target now; a long-term Guardant360 ASP around $5,000 (roughly 60% of the Medicare rate) is achievable over 12-24 months.
Casey Woodring (JPMorgan) asked how therapy-monitoring volumes are tracking within Reveal's >100% growth and whether the G360 FDA approval is moving volumes.
Helmy called therapy monitoring an underappreciated, multi-million-test opportunity across ~1 million late-stage patients that could rival MRD, with strong uptake from existing Guardant360 ordering physicians; the FDA approval came late in the quarter under a phased launch, so it is having a positive but not yet full impact pending ADLT.
Kallum Titchmarsh (Morgan Stanley) asked for more color on Reveal Ultra's indication roadmap/commercial strategy and Shield multi-cancer opt-in rates.
Helmy kept specifics close but said development has gone very well, routinely hitting limits of detection well below one part per million, and that they will be thoughtful about indications, portfolio connectivity, and reimbursement timelines; AmirAli said Shield multi-cancer data collection is going very well with the majority of ordering physicians opting in to MCD reports.
Brad Bowers (Mizuho) asked about the profitability inflection given the lower-COGS Shield workflow and pending ADLT pricing.
Bell framed profitability alongside free-cash-flow burn, reaffirming end-2027 company breakeven; the ex-screening business is already adjusted EBITDA positive, screening burn should start ramping down in 2027 (breakeven in 2028), and a Guardant360 ADLT uplift could pull profitability forward.
Catherine Schulte (Baird) asked about timing of MolDX decisions on Reveal indications and the development behind the lower-COGS methylation-only Shield workflow.
Helmy said IO and breast are closest to the finish line, with hope for one or both by year-end and progress on chemo; AmirAli said the improved Shield workflow focuses on methylation-only content already in Shield V1, and algorithm updates plus multimodal Shield are generating an exciting performance-improvement pipeline.

More on Guardant Health, Inc.

Reported 2026-07-30 · figures from the Guardant Health, Inc. Q2 2026 earnings call.

See how VectorShift works for your firm

Request Demo