ILMN
A clean start to the year
Illumina opened fiscal 2026 with a pretty tidy first quarter: revenue came in at $1.09 billion, up 4.8% from a year ago. Organic revenue growth in its ROW1 segment was 3.5%, which is the kind of number that won’t blow the doors off, but does suggest the business is still moving in the right direction.
Margins: not exactly dramatic, but investors like the trend
On the profitability side, Illumina posted a GAAP operating margin of 19.2% and a non-GAAP operating margin of 21.9%. That’s the sort of margin profile that says, “Hey, we’re not just selling fancy lab gear and vibes — we can actually make money doing it.”
EPS also showed up with something to say: GAAP diluted EPS was $0.87 and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.15. For investors, the key question is whether this is a one-quarter flex or the start of a steadier rhythm.
And then there’s the buyback kicker
The board authorized an additional $1.5 billion in share repurchases on April 28. That doesn’t fix the business by itself, obviously, but it does tell you management has enough confidence in cash flow to keep buying back stock instead of letting it sit around like an unused gift card.
Why you should care
Illumina is still very much a story about execution. A decent quarter, decent margins, and a fresh buyback authorization can help the stock, but the real test is whether it can turn this into consistent growth instead of a quarterly “pretty good, actually” moment.
Big picture: investors got a reassuring update, not a fireworks show — and sometimes that’s enough to keep a name like this in the good graces of Wall Street.