Commercialization execution advances in Rice and Sustainable Ingredients
United States and European Union now aligned on generally treating crops with no added foreign DNA as conventionally bred
Quarterly net cash usage declined 19% sequentially and 31% year over year
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cibus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBUS) (the "Company"), a technology company that uses biology to produce sustainable ingredients and helps farmers grow more food with fewer inputs, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, and provided a business update. Management will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Management Commentary
Craig Wichner, Chief Executive Officer of Cibus, commented, "Cibus has spent 25 years building a scalable technology platform, protected by more than 500 patents and patent applications spanning which genes to edit, how to edit them, and the traits that result. The platform lets us develop several traits at once in a partner's own crop variety, and return the improved seeds to them in a fraction of the time conventional breeding takes. The regulatory environment is moving in our favor, most recently in Europe, where crops improved with precise edits to the plant's own genes, with no foreign DNA added, can in many cases be treated on the same basis as conventionally bred crops."
Mr. Wichner added, "After following Cibus for 10 years, I joined the board nine months ago. Over the past two months as Chief Executive Officer I have had the privilege of working closely with our teams, and what I found is traits and programs built up over 25 years, across many crops, with significant value. My job is to convert that into revenue, and our resources are prioritized toward the programs closest to it."
Mr. Wichner continued, "My primary focus as CEO will be converting our platforms into value for shareholders through disciplined commercial execution. We start as a platform partner, as our Sustainable Ingredients program shows today. We become the royalty partner as our traits reach acres, such as those we have developed in Rice, Canola and Alfalfa. And over time, with the right partners, our vision is to become a mission-critical part of their innovation pipeline. The first two open the door and fund the path to those larger relationships we aim to create."
Second Quarter and Recent Business Update
The following summarizes Cibus' commercial, regulatory, and corporate progress during the second quarter and through the date of this release.
Priority Pipeline Traits and Programs
Global Regulatory Development
| Select Jurisdictions | Status | Significance for Cibus |
| United States | Regulated as conventional breeding; USDA-APHIS has determined that Cibus traits are not "regulated articles" subject to its biotechnology regulations | Clear regulatory path to commercialize; supports targeted 2029 U.S. Rice launch |
| United States (FDA) | Completed review of the Company's altered-lignin Alfalfa trait and issued a letter stating it has no further questions | An independent clearance from a second U.S. agency; supports the Company's partner-funded Alfalfa program |
| European Union | In June 2026, following conclusion of trilogue negotiations in December 2025, the European Union approved legislation generally treating crops improved through precise genomic edits with genetic changes comparable to those achievable through conventional breeding (no foreign DNA added) on the same basis as conventionally bred crops; herbicide tolerant plants and plants engineered to produce insecticidal substances are excluded from this regulatory treatment. | Recognition by one of the world's most stringent markets; supports disease-resistance and pod-shatter programs |
| Ecuador and Peru | Ecuador confirmed HT1 and HT3 Rice traits equivalent to conventional breeding and subject to the same regulations as conventional seed; Peru established guidelines for a case-by-case technical framework in which gene-edited products lacking foreign DNA are scientifically evaluated for possible exclusion from its Modified Living Organism (MVO) classification, and products excluded from that classification fall outside the country's GMO moratorium. | Supports LATAM Rice launch targets |
| England | Precision Bred Organisms framework in place | Enables field advancement of Canola / Oilseed Rape programs |
Corporate and Industry Progress
Opportunity Pipeline Traits and Programs (Available for Partnership)
Cibus has operational crop platforms in four crops: Rice, Canola and Winter Oilseed Rape, Flax and Cassava. A platform is operational when edited cells have been regenerated into whole plants. Cibus has demonstrated regeneration from single cells in eight crops, adding Wheat, Peanut, Potato and Sugar Beet to those four; additional crop platforms, including Soybean, are under active development. Because the operational platforms are already built, a program in any of these crops can begin with trait work rather than with years of platform development. Cibus' work helps position partners to establish market leadership for their crops.
Expected Milestones for Priority Pipeline Traits and Programs
Cibus intends to report ordinary course development progress and achievements in connection with its quarterly reporting process. Cibus presents below the most significant development and commercial milestone targets for its priority programs for 2026:
Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Cibus will host a live webcast, Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss its second quarter 2026 financial results and provide a year-to-date business update for 2026. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing (800) 420-1459 or for international callers by dialing (203) 518-9861. The conference ID is CIBUS (24287). A replay of the call will be available through August 27, 2026, by dialing (844) 512-2921 or for international callers by dialing (412) 317-6671; the passcode is 11162209.
A live audio webcast of the call will be available under "Events & Presentations" in the Investor section of the Company's website, investor.cibus.com. An archived webcast will be available on the Company's website for 90 days after the event.
How Cibus does it
Cibus starts with a seed company's best existing varieties and makes precise improvements, often several at once, to a single cell from those varieties. It then grows that cell into a full plant carrying the new traits. The seed company keeps the variety it spent years perfecting; Cibus adds the improvements and licenses them back. Cibus' changes are precise edits to the plant's own genes, with no foreign DNA added, which is what separates them from transgenic GMOs. Cibus traits like disease resistance, and pod shatter reduction in canola and oilseed rape, are generally expected to qualify for conventional-breeding treatment in key jurisdictions.
About Cibus
Cibus (Nasdaq: CBUS) is a technology company that helps farmers grow more food with fewer inputs. Using its proprietary platform, Cibus improves a seed company's best crop varieties by making precise changes to the plant's own genes, with no foreign DNA added, then licenses those improvements back to the customer in exchange for royalties. Cibus is not a seed company. It develops crop traits at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding, with a focus on higher yields, better quality, and reduced chemical use. For more information, visit www.Cibus.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included herein, including statements regarding Cibus' operational and financial performance, Cibus' market opportunities, Cibus' liquidity and capital resources, the implementation and execution of cost savings initiatives, Cibus' strategy, future operations, prospects, and plans, including the anticipated integration into partner pipelines, implementation of commercial agreements, receipt of commercial revenues and additional funding and the achievement of commercial milestone targets, are forward-looking statements. Cibus' assessment of the period of time through which its financial resources will be adequate to support its operations is a forward-looking statement. Because this involves such risks and uncertainties, the Company could use its available capital resources sooner than it currently expects. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "expect," "plan," "scheduled," "could," "would" and "will," or the negative of these and similar expressions.
These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and assumptions of Cibus' management about future events, which are based on currently available information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the control of Cibus. Cibus' actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements could be materially different than those expressed, implied, or anticipated by forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: Cibus' need for additional near-term funding to finance its activities and challenges in obtaining additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; changes in expected or existing competition; challenges to Cibus' intellectual property protection and unexpected costs associated with defending intellectual property rights; increased or unanticipated time and resources required for Cibus' platform or trait product development efforts; Cibus' reliance on third parties in connection with its development activities, including reliance on partner-funding and/or support for the advancement of its Sustainable Ingredients program; challenges associated with Cibus' ability to effectively license its productivity traits and sustainable ingredient products; the risk that farmers do not recognize the value in germplasm containing Cibus' traits or that farmers and processors fail to work effectively with crops containing Cibus' traits; delays or disruptions in the Company's platform or trait product development efforts, particularly insofar as they affect the Company's strategic priority programs; challenges that arise in respect of Cibus' production of high-quality plants and seeds cost effectively on a large scale; Cibus' dependence on distributions from Cibus Global, LLC to pay taxes and cover its corporate and overhead expenses; regulatory developments that disfavor or impose significant burdens on gene editing processes or products; Cibus' ability to achieve commercial success or to effectively negotiate commercial agreements; commodity prices and other market risks facing the agricultural sector; technological developments that could render Cibus' technologies obsolete; changes in macroeconomic and market conditions, including inflation, supply chain constraints, and rising interest rates; dislocations in the capital markets and challenges in accessing liquidity and the impact of such liquidity challenges on Cibus' ability to execute on its business plan; the Company's assessment of the period of time through which its financial resources will be adequate to support operations; and other important factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Cibus' Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 17, 2026, as may be updated from time-to-time in Cibus' subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.
In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Cibus' views as of the date hereof. Cibus specifically disclaims any obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Cibus' views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
CIBUS CONTACTS:
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Jeff Sonnek
jeff.sonnek@icrinc.com
MEDIA RELATIONS
Colin Sanford
colin@bioscribe.com
203-918-4347
| CIBUS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited and in Thousands, Except Par Value and Share Amounts) | |||||||
| June 30, 2026 | December 31, 2025 | ||||||
| Assets | |||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 20,429 | $ | 9,923 | |||
| Accounts receivable | 838 | 503 | |||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 2,189 | 1,643 | |||||
| Total current assets | 23,456 | 12,069 | |||||
| Property, plant, and equipment, net | 4,919 | 6,300 | |||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 21,015 | 21,557 | |||||
| Intangible assets, net | 30,770 | 31,679 | |||||
| Goodwill | 232,516 | 232,516 | |||||
| Other non-current assets | 771 | 926 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 313,447 | $ | 305,047 | |||
| Liabilities and stockholders’ equity | |||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 5,612 | $ | 8,070 | |||
| Accrued expenses | 1,893 | 1,946 | |||||
| Accrued compensation | 2,606 | 3,061 | |||||
| Deferred revenue | 627 | 536 | |||||
| Current portion of notes payable | 812 | 435 | |||||
| Current portion of operating lease obligations | 2,859 | 2,731 | |||||
| Class A common stock warrants | 38 | 79 | |||||
| Total current liabilities | 14,447 | 16,858 | |||||
| Notes payable, net of current portion | 53 | 93 | |||||
| Operating lease obligations, net of current portion | 29,018 | 29,783 | |||||
| Royalty liability - related parties | 253,519 | 234,923 | |||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 1,608 | 1,561 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 298,645 | 283,218 | |||||
| Stockholders’ equity: | |||||||
| Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 210,000,000 shares authorized; 76,712,407 shares issued and 76,423,033 shares outstanding as of June 30, 2026, and 54,604,232 shares issued and 54,325,852 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025 | 13 | 11 | |||||
| Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 90,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2026, and December 31, 2025 | — | — | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 918,639 | 882,171 | |||||
| Class A common stock in treasury, at cost; 249,317 shares as of June 30, 2026, and 193,195 shares as of December 31, 2025 | (2,256 | ) | (2,141 | ) | |||
| Accumulated deficit | (901,618 | ) | (858,251 | ) | |||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 24 | 39 | |||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | 14,802 | 21,829 | |||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 313,447 | $ | 305,047 | |||
| CIBUS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited and in Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Amounts) | |||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 994 | $ | 933 | $ | 2,675 | $ | 1,967 | |||||||
| Total revenue | 994 | 933 | 2,675 | 1,967 | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 8,506 | 12,228 | 17,223 | 24,027 | |||||||||||
| Selling, general, and administrative | 5,413 | 6,651 | 10,497 | 16,507 | |||||||||||
| Goodwill impairment | — | — | — | 20,950 | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 13,919 | 18,879 | 27,720 | 61,484 | |||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (12,925 | ) | (17,946 | ) | (25,045 | ) | (59,517 | ) | |||||||
| Royalty liability interest expense - related parties | (9,475 | ) | (8,668 | ) | (18,596 | ) | (17,045 | ) | |||||||
| Other interest income, net | 111 | 106 | 139 | 225 | |||||||||||
| Non-operating income (expense), net | 150 | (23 | ) | 148 | 416 | ||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (22,139 | ) | (26,531 | ) | (43,354 | ) | (75,921 | ) | |||||||
| Income tax expense | (6 | ) | (27 | ) | (13 | ) | (29 | ) | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (22,145 | ) | $ | (26,558 | ) | $ | (43,367 | ) | $ | (75,950 | ) | |||
| Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest | — | (1,186 | ) | — | (3,692 | ) | |||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Cibus, Inc. stockholders | $ | (22,145 | ) | $ | (25,372 | ) | $ | (43,367 | ) | $ | (72,258 | ) | |||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share of Class A common stock | $ | (0.29 | ) | $ | (0.61 | ) | $ | (0.61 | ) | $ | (1.88 | ) | |||
| Weighted average shares of Class A common stock outstanding – basic and diluted | 76,755,936 | 41,618,893 | 71,011,006 | 38,353,931 | |||||||||||
| CIBUS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited and in Thousands) | |||||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | ||||||
| Operating activities | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (43,367 | ) | $ | (75,950 | ) | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | |||||||
| Royalty liability interest expense - related parties | 18,596 | 17,045 | |||||
| Goodwill impairment | — | 20,950 | |||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,359 | 3,209 | |||||
| Stock-based compensation | 3,055 | 4,477 | |||||
| Loss on disposal of assets, net | 4 | 80 | |||||
| Change in fair value of liability classified Class A common stock warrants | (41 | ) | (455 | ) | |||
| Other | (2 | ) | 49 | ||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts receivable | (335 | ) | 88 | ||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 149 | (44 | ) | ||||
| Accounts payable | (907 | ) | 82 | ||||
| Accrued expenses | (86 | ) | 3,998 | ||||
| Accrued compensation | (463 | ) | (213 | ) | |||
| Deferred revenue | 88 | (17 | ) | ||||
| Right-of-use assets and lease obligations, net | (95 | ) | 1,141 | ||||
| Other assets and liabilities, net | 151 | 129 | |||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (20,894 | ) | (25,431 | ) | |||
| Investing activities | |||||||
| Proceeds from sales of property, plant, and equipment | 43 | — | |||||
| Purchases of property, plant, and equipment | (73 | ) | (384 | ) | |||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (30 | ) | (384 | ) | |||
| Financing activities | |||||||
| Proceeds from issuances of securities | 37,260 | 50,100 | |||||
| Costs paid related to issuances of securities | (5,357 | ) | (1,951 | ) | |||
| Payment of taxes related to restricted stock units withheld from employees | (115 | ) | (39 | ) | |||
| Repayments of notes payable | (352 | ) | (279 | ) | |||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 31,436 | 47,831 | |||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (6 | ) | 14 | ||||
| Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | 10,506 | 22,030 | |||||
| Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period | 9,923 | 14,433 | |||||
| Cash and cash equivalents – end of period | $ | 20,429 | $ | 36,463 | |||