Guardant Health, Inc.

What they do

Guardant develops and commercializes liquid biopsy and tissue tests plus real-world data and AI analytics across the cancer care continuum. Products include Guardant360 Liquid, Guardant360 CDx (FDA-approved companion diagnostic), Guardant360 Tissue, Guardant Reveal for residual/recurring disease, GuardantINFINITY and GuardantOMNI for biopharma research, and the Shield blood test for colorectal cancer screening in adults 45 and older. It also sells the GuardantINFORM in-silico research platform to biopharmaceutical companies. Clinical testing runs through CLIA-licensed labs in Redwood City, California and Long Island City, New York.

Revenue drivers

• Oncology — The largest line at $219.1M in Q2 2026 (about 65% of total revenue), up 38% year over year on roughly 104,000 oncology tests, up 63%.
• Screening (Shield) — Second-largest line at $52.9M in Q2 2026, up over 250% from $14.8M, on roughly 66,000 Shield tests versus about 16,000 a year earlier.
• Biopharma Data — The smallest of the three main lines at $60.9M in Q2 2026, up 9% from $56.0M, from biopharma research collaborations and the GuardantINFORM platform.
• Licensing and other — Minor revenue line at $2.1M in Q2 2026, down from $2.6M a year earlier.

Recent performance

Q2 2026 total revenue was $335.0M, up 44% from $232.1M a year earlier, with Oncology +38%, Screening +250% and Biopharma Data +9%. Gross margin was 65% GAAP and 67% non-GAAP. Net loss widened to $120.1M for the quarter from $99.9M, and to $232.2M for the first half from $195.1M. Operating expenses rose to $348.1M from $257.3M, driven by commercial build-out, Shield marketing and higher stock-based compensation. Full-year 2025 revenue was $982.0M with a net loss of $416.3M.

Strategy

Management aims to be the leading provider across therapy selection, minimal residual disease detection and early cancer screening. The stated playbook is to raise awareness through direct-to-consumer and primary care channels, expand clinical utility and payer reimbursement, and strengthen biopharma and health system relationships. The company has invested in the Smart Platform, which combines methylation, genomic, epigenomic and RNA data with the InfinityAI engine. For Shield, it expects expansion into lung cancer screening and multi-cancer detection, and has begun launching Shield MCD in multiple Asian markets.

Risks

• Persistent losses — Net losses were $416.3M in 2025, $436.4M in 2024 and $479.4M in 2023, with a $3.0B accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2025.
• Negative equity and leverage — At June 30, 2026 total liabilities of $2.14B exceed total assets of $1.91B, leaving shareholder equity at negative $222.9M against $1.50B of long-term debt.
• Reimbursement and payer dependence — Growth depends on commercial and government payers granting and maintaining coverage, and on keeping tests in guidelines such as NCCN and American Cancer Society colorectal screening guidelines.
• Regulatory exposure on LDTs — Certain tests are marketed as laboratory developed tests, and changes in FDA enforcement discretion for LDTs could subject those offerings to more significant regulatory requirements.

Outlook

Management raised 2026 revenue guidance to $1.34–$1.36 billion, representing 36% to 38% growth, after 44% second-quarter growth. It cited the FDA approval of Guardant360 Liquid CDx, Shield's inclusion in American Cancer Society colorectal screening guidelines, UnitedHealth Group coverage, and an FDA-approved higher-throughput, lower-COGS Shield workflow as drivers. The company has not guided to profitability and continues to report quarterly net losses.