Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI) raised its full-year revenue outlook after third-quarter sales rose 27%, as growth in cancer-testing volumes accelerated for a second consecutive quarter. The company also reported lower quarterly profit as it increased spending on its sales force, marketing and new tests.
The molecular diagnostics company reported revenue of $275.4 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, and approximately 61,500 clinical therapy selection cases, up 21% from a year earlier. Case growth accelerated from 15% in the first quarter and 18% in the second.
“We have delivered two consecutive quarters of acceleration,” founder, Chairman and CEO David Halbert said, adding that the company expects the trend to continue into the fourth quarter.
Revenue outlook rises as expenses climb
Caris raised its 2026 revenue forecast to approximately $1.04 billion to $1.05 billion, from $1.03 billion to $1.04 billion. The new range represents growth of approximately 28% to 29%. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $285 million to $295 million and approximately 65,000 clinical therapy selection cases.
CFO Luke Power said the fourth-quarter revenue forecast is broadly in line with the prior-year quarter, which included roughly $90 million in prior-period collection adjustments, or true-ups. Excluding those adjustments, the outlook implies fourth-quarter growth in the 40% range, he said.
Third-quarter molecular profiling revenue increased 27% to $262.7 million, while pharma research and development services revenue rose 37% to $12.7 million. Blended average selling price was $4,272, up 5% including prior-period collections; the base price before those collections was more than $3,990, up 19%.
Net income fell to $15.3 million from $24.3 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined to $44.4 million from $51.2 million, which management said reflected a larger true-up benefit in the prior-year period. Operating expenses rose $48.1 million to $163 million.
Caris increased its full-year operating expense forecast to approximately $620 million from $600 million. Power attributed the increase to spending on the commercial organization, marketing, new products and processing samples for a cancer-detection study.
Free cash flow was negative $39.7 million in the third quarter. Power said inventory investments contributed to the outflow and that the company expects positive free cash flow in the fourth quarter and modestly positive free cash flow for the full year. Cash and investments totaled $769.2 million at quarter-end.
New monitoring and residual disease tests
Caris recently launched Caris Assure Therapy Response Monitoring, a blood test intended to help oncologists assess whether a patient’s cancer is responding to treatment. President David Spetzler said the company has completed a trial and is preparing a MolDx reimbursement submission, which he expects to make in the next several months after publication.
The company also plans to launch Caris Confirm, its minimal residual disease test, in December. The test is designed to use a patient’s tumor tissue to identify genetic variants that can then be tracked through blood draws after treatment. Spetzler said Caris has completed its first trial in colorectal cancer and plans to submit it to MolDx after publication.
Power said the company plans to introduce the monitoring and residual disease products selectively while working through reimbursement. He said higher pricing for the existing Caris Assure test and potential sequencing-cost improvements could help offset the impact of launching products without reimbursement.
A preliminary 2027 clinical laboratory fee schedule raised the Caris Assure rate to $5,250 from $3,650, subject to the final schedule. Power said he expects much of the benefit to realized pricing to appear in the first quarter of 2027, including through commercial contracts tied to the fee schedule.
Detect rollout and study plans
Caris is expanding marketing for Caris Detect, its self-pay, multi-cancer early detection test, while managing sequencing capacity and spending. The company has launched campaigns featuring Kevin Costner and Jordan Spieth in selected markets and is pursuing channel partnerships, including with digital platforms and concierge medicine groups.
Spetzler said the ACHIEVE-1 study, which supported the commercial launch, showed 99.2% specificity and 60.3% sensitivity for stage one and stage two cancers. The company has enrolled approximately 20,000 of a targeted 25,000 participants in ACHIEVE-2 and expects an interim readout in the first quarter of 2027. Two additional prospective studies are in planning.
Caris did not disclose Detect test volume. Power said its revenue was small relative to total quarterly revenue and is being reported within pharma research and development services until it becomes material enough to break out. He said the fourth-quarter guidance does not include Detect revenue.
Power also said pursuing a Food and Drug Administration pathway for Detect is not in the company’s near-term plans, though Caris will continue to assess that option as its studies progress.
Sales force expansion continues
Caris ended the quarter with 325 commercial team members, up from 290 at the end of the second quarter. Vice Chairman and EVP Brian Brille said the company plans to keep hiring and expand its territories, citing the response to its commercial investment and demand for precision oncology testing.
Power declined to provide a 2027 volume forecast but called it a fair assumption that clinical volume growth could accelerate from the approximately 20% expected for 2026. He said future guidance would report total clinical volume rather than separate tissue and blood growth rates.
About Caris Life Sciences (NASDAQ:CAI)
Caris Life Sciences is a biotechnology and precision-medicine company that uses molecular profiling and artificial intelligence to support cancer diagnosis, treatment selection and drug development. The company analyzes tumor and blood samples to identify genomic, molecular and immune characteristics that may help physicians better understand a patient’s disease and select targeted therapies.
Its offerings include comprehensive tumor profiling, liquid-biopsy testing and data-driven clinical decision-support tools.
