Elliott builds stake in Bio‑Rad

Elliott Investment Management has built a sizeable stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories and plans to push the life-science tools and diagnostics company to improve its stock performance, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by Reuters on May 17. The report did not disclose the size of Elliott’s position. Bloomberg, also citing the Journal, said Bio-Rad had a market value of about $6.7 billion and that its shares had fallen more than 70% from a late-2021 peak. Bio-Rad, based in Hercules, California, sells instruments, software, reagents and other products used in life-science research and clinical diagnostics. The company has about 7,400 employees and reported $2.58 billion in 2025 revenue in its annual report. Its investor relations page lists two classes of publicly traded stock, BIO and BIO.B. (whbl.com) ### How weak has Bio-Rad’s recent performance been? Bio-Rad reported first-quarter 2026 net sales of $592.1 million on April 30, up 1.1% from a year earlier. On a currency-neutral basis, sales fell 4.2%, with declines in both Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics, according to the company’s earnings release. (sec.gov) Norman Schwartz, Bio-Rad’s chairman and chief executive officer, said on April 30 that the quarter reflected “external headwinds including challenging academic end markets and conflict escalation in the Middle East.” The company said Life Science sales were essentially flat at $228.5 million, while Clinical Diagnostics sales rose 1.9% to $363.6 million. (investors.bio-rad.com) For full-year 2025, Bio-Rad reported revenue of $2.583 billion, up from $2.566 billion in 2024, while non-GAAP operating income fell to $311.6 million from $331.3 million. Schwartz said in February that 2025 was “a challenging year” and that gross and operating margin performance fell below the company’s expectations. (investors.bio-rad.com) ### Why would Elliott focus on this company now? Bloomberg said Bio-Rad’s stock had dropped more than 70% since its late-2021 peak. Reuters reported Elliott intends to push the company to boost its underperforming share price, placing Bio-Rad among the latest healthcare and tools companies to draw activist attention after a prolonged sector slowdown. (investors.bio-rad.com) April 30 marked Bio-Rad’s latest quarterly update, and the company said it had generated $78.1 million in free cash flow in the first quarter and repurchased about 176,000 shares. Schwartz also said Bio-Rad would “continue to evaluate and optimize” the organization to create more value for customers and shareholders. (bloomberg.com) ### What parts of Bio-Rad could come under pressure? Bio-Rad operates through two main segments — Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company said first-quarter currency-neutral sales were hurt by ongoing weakness in the academic research market, particularly in the Americas, while its 2025 results also reflected constrained academic research and biotech funding. (investors.bio-rad.com) Reuters said Elliott and Bio-Rad both also hold stakes in German lab-equipment supplier Sartorius. That overlap could draw investor attention to Bio-Rad’s portfolio structure as Elliott reviews ways to improve stock performance, though neither Reuters nor Bloomberg detailed specific demands. (investors.bio-rad.com) ### Who controls Bio-Rad, and what does that mean for an activist? Bio-Rad’s March 24 proxy statement said the company’s annual stockholders meeting was held on April 21 at its Hercules headquarters. The filing shows Bio-Rad maintains a dual-class structure, with holders of Class A and Class B common stock electing directors separately. (msn.com) That structure matters because activists typically need board or shareholder leverage to force change. Bio-Rad’s proxy materials for the April 21 meeting included director elections, auditor ratification, executive-pay approval, an amended incentive plan and a shareholder proposal on the dual-class structure. ### What should investors and customers watch next? (sec.gov) Bio-Rad’s SEC filings page showed no Schedule 13D from Elliott as of May 18, though such a filing can follow after a stake crosses the reporting threshold. The company’s filings page listed its latest quarterly report on April 30 and insider filings through May 13. June 3 is Bio-Rad’s next listed investor event. (sec.gov) The company is scheduled to appear at the Jefferies 2026 Global Healthcare Conference in New York, according to its events page, giving investors a near-term venue to watch for any public response from management. (investors.bio-rad.com 1) (investors.bio-rad.com 2)