Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc.DNA
Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. Segments Disclosure
Segment Information
The Company operates in two operating and reportable segments: Cell Engineering and Biosecurity. This structure reflects the Company's internal management framework and the approach its CODM uses to evaluate operating results and allocate resources. The Company’s reportable segments are described as follows:
•Cell Engineering consists of end-to-end cell engineering solutions and cell engineering tools offerings for biological R&D. The Company’s cell engineering platform includes R&D services (solutions) where Ginkgo performs technical activities. Our Autonomous Lab is a flexible wet lab built from our Reconfigurable Automation Cart (“RAC”) systems capable of large scale data generation; it powers generative AI and machine learning (“ML”) tools that enable more successful biological R&D. We now offer services providing such data generation, AI and automation tools directly to Ginkgo customers. Cell Engineering revenue is generated primarily through R&D service fees for our solutions and Datapoints services; and design, build, installation and ongoing support fees for our automation solutions (RAC) systems. Historically our solutions deals also included downstream value share in the form of milestone payments, royalties or equity interests.
•Biosecurity consists of the Company’s biomonitoring and bioinformatics support services, offered to both government and non-government customers through the Company's two core offerings: Canopy and Horizon. Biosecurity revenue is generated from fees for data, analytics, and services. Prior to 2024, Biosecurity revenue also included sales of COVID-19 diagnostic and sample collection test kits.
The Company's reportable segments are those for which discrete financial information is available and whose results are regularly provided to the Company’s CODM, consisting of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer, for the purpose of allocating resources and assessing financial performance. The CODM evaluates the financial performance of the Company’s segments based on segment operating income (loss). The CODM is primarily provided with the segment operating income (loss) on a quarterly basis, as well as during the annual budgeting and forecasting process, and uses this information to monitor the Company’s performance, including budget-to-actual results, and to make decisions about the allocation of operating and capital resources to each segment. For management reporting purposes, the Company’s measure of segment operating income (loss) excludes the impact of stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, asset impairment charges, restructuring charges, costs associated with excess space, transaction and integration costs associated with planned, completed or terminated mergers and acquisitions, and acquired in-process research and development expenses. The Company has determined its significant segment expenses are cost of revenue for Biosecurity, research and development expenses for Cell Engineering, and general and administrative expenses for both segments, which are regularly provided to the CODM.
The CODM is not provided with asset information by segment; therefore, such information is not presented. The accounting policies used to prepare the reportable segments financial information are the same as those used to prepare the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
The following table presents summary results of the Company’s reportable segments and a reconciliation of total segment operating loss to consolidated loss before income taxes (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Cell Engineering | |||||||||||||||||
Revenue | $ | 132,746 | $ | 173,972 | $ | 143,531 | |||||||||||
| Costs and operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of other revenue | 13,203 | 5,999 | — | ||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 158,541 | 271,512 | 335,943 | ||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 56,532 | 115,028 | 171,210 | ||||||||||||||
| Cell Engineering operating loss | (95,530) | (218,567) | (363,622) | ||||||||||||||
| Biosecurity | |||||||||||||||||
| Service revenue | 37,409 | 53,071 | 78,975 | ||||||||||||||
| Product revenue | — | — | 28,949 | ||||||||||||||
| Costs and operating expense: | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of Biosecurity service revenue | 28,897 | 38,549 | 46,524 | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of Biosecurity product revenue | — | — | 7,481 | ||||||||||||||
| Research and development | — | 771 | 1,599 | ||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 27,443 | 44,370 | 55,514 | ||||||||||||||
| Biosecurity operating (loss) income | (18,931) | (30,619) | (3,194) | ||||||||||||||
| Total segment operating loss | (114,461) | (249,186) | (366,816) | ||||||||||||||
| Reconciling items to reconcile total segment operating loss to loss before income taxes: | |||||||||||||||||
Stock-based compensation (1) | 82,704 | 115,299 | 234,908 | ||||||||||||||
Impairment expense (2) | — | 53,654 | 121,404 | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 58,990 | 63,020 | 70,507 | ||||||||||||||
Restructuring charges (3) | 11,398 | 24,172 | — | ||||||||||||||
Carrying cost of excess space (net of sublease income) (4) | 53,723 | 25,986 | — | ||||||||||||||
Merger and acquisition related expenses (5) | (5,998) | 4,417 | 61,188 | ||||||||||||||
| Acquired in-process research and development | — | 19,849 | 9,582 | ||||||||||||||
Other (income) expense, net (6) | (1,678) | (8,075) | 28,535 | ||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | $ | (313,600) | $ | (547,508) | $ | (892,940) | |||||||||||
(1)Includes $1.2 million, $3.0 million, and $5.0 million in related employer payroll taxes for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
(2)For 2024, includes $47.9 million related to goodwill impairment and $5.8 million related to lab equipment. For 2023, includes a $25.2 million impairment loss on lab equipment and a $96.2 million impairment loss on lease assets associated with an exited Zymergen leased facility.
(4)The carrying cost of excess space includes base rent, common area maintenance charges, and real estate taxes associated with facilities the Company is not occupying, net of any sublease income from these spaces.
(5)Represents transaction and integration costs directly related to mergers and acquisitions, including: (i) due diligence, legal, consulting and accounting fees associated with acquisitions, (ii) post-acquisition employee retention bonuses and severance payments, (iii) the fair value adjustments to contingent consideration liabilities resulting from acquisitions, and (iv) costs associated with the Zymergen Bankruptcy, as well as securities litigation costs, net of insurance recovery.
(6)Includes interest income, interest expense, loss on investments, losses/gains on deconsolidation of subsidiaries, changes in fair value of certain assets and liabilities, and other gains or losses.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 25, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 29, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 13, 2023 | |
About Segments Disclosures
Segment disclosures break a company into its reportable operating units, revealing revenue, profit, and asset allocation that consolidated financial statements obscure. Under ASC 280, segments must match how the chief operating decision maker views the business, providing a window into internal management structure and resource allocation priorities.
Key signals: compare segment margins to identify which units drive profitability and which destroy value. Watch for changes in the number of reportable segments — segment aggregation or disaggregation often coincides with strategic shifts or attempts to obscure declining performance. Intersegment elimination patterns reveal internal pricing practices. The reconciliation between segment totals and consolidated figures exposes corporate overhead allocation and unallocated items. Geographic revenue concentration highlights regulatory and currency exposure. Compare segment-level capital expenditure against segment revenue to assess where management is investing for future growth versus harvesting existing assets.