Niagen Bioscience Q3 Sales Fall 20% as Company Posts Net Loss

Niagen Bioscience (Nasdaq: NAGE) reported a third-quarter net loss as revenue fell 20% year over year, reflecting lower sales across both Tru Niagen and Niagen ingredients. The company nevertheless generated positive adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow while continuing to invest in new delivery formats, skincare and pharmaceutical development.

Net sales for the three months ended September 30, 2026, were $27.2 million, down from $34.0 million a year earlier. Niagen-related revenue, which accounted for nearly all quarterly sales, declined 18% to $27.1 million.

The company posted a GAAP net loss of $1.2 million, or $0.01 per share, compared with net income of $4.6 million in the prior-year period. Its operating loss was $1.6 million, versus operating income of $4.2 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, remained positive at $455,000 but declined from $6.4 million.

Gross profit decreased to $17.1 million from $21.9 million, while gross margin narrowed to 62.9% from 64.5%. Sales and marketing expense was nearly unchanged at $8.7 million, but rose to 32.0% of revenue from 25.8% because of the lower sales base. General and administrative expense increased to $8.2 million from $7.1 million, while research and development expense was broadly flat at $1.8 million.

Tru Niagen and Ingredient Sales Decline

Tru Niagen generated $23.3 million in third-quarter sales, down 10% from $26.0 million a year earlier, though its share of total company revenue increased to 86% from 77%. E-commerce revenue declined to $18.2 million from $19.0 million, while sales through Watson’s and other business-to-business channels fell to $5.2 million from $7.0 million.

Within e-commerce, direct-to-consumer sales through the company’s own website grew 13% year over year. During the quarter, Niagen Bioscience expanded distribution to Walmart.com and GNC and Sam’s Club locations, and launched a new advertising campaign covering the Niagen, Tru Niagen and Niagen Plus brands.

Niagen ingredient revenue dropped to $3.8 million from $6.9 million. Food-grade Niagen sales declined to $3.4 million from $6.4 million, while pharmaceutical-grade sales were $400,000, compared with $500,000 in the prior-year quarter.

For the first nine months of 2026, net sales were $88.5 million, compared with $95.6 million in the same period of 2025. Net income was $6.1 million, down from $13.3 million, and included a $4.8 million gain related to the February 2026 sale of the company’s analytical reference standards and services segment. Nine-month adjusted EBITDA declined to $7.3 million from $16.3 million.

Cash Generation Supports New Initiatives

Niagen Bioscience generated $2.6 million of operating cash flow in the third quarter and ended September with $69.5 million in cash and no outstanding borrowings. Cash increased by $4.7 million from the end of 2025, primarily due to positive operating results and proceeds from the divestiture, partly offset by share repurchases. Operating cash flow for the first nine months totaled $4.2 million.

The company continued to broaden its product portfolio during the quarter, launching a liquid, ready-to-inject Niagen Plus At-Home Injection Kit and Niagen NanoCloud, a dermatologist-tested topical product containing Niagen NR. Management expects Niagen Plus and skincare to begin contributing to revenue in 2027.

In pharmaceutical development, Niagen Bioscience engaged Red Sky Partners to support the advancement of NB4168, which targets rare genetic diseases and aging-related disorders. It also announced a start-up agreement with Mass General Brigham to begin detailed planning for what the company envisions as its largest and most comprehensive Niagen clinical trial to date.

2026 Outlook and Risks

For 2026, management expects direct website sales growth of 15% to 20% and e-commerce growth of 5%, with the remainder of the consumer business offsetting that growth. The company plans to use cash flow from its core operations to fund strategic opportunities in pharmaceuticals, skincare and telehealth.

The outlook remains subject to risks including dependence on major customers and third-party marketplaces, consumer demand and acceptance, competition, marketing effectiveness, supplier concentration and regulatory changes. The company also identified uncertainties involving pharmaceutical-grade Niagen supply, arrangements with FDA-registered compounding facilities, intellectual-property protection, clinical-trial outcomes and its ability to finance product development. Niagen Bioscience cautioned that tariffs, trade conflicts, inflation and broader economic instability could also affect results.