Business

Markforged revenue rises 9% amid new batch of FX20 3D printer shipments

Metal and carbon fiber 3D printer manufacturer Markforged (MKFG) has announced that its revenue rose by 9% during Q1 2022. 

As revealed in its latest financials, Markforged generated $21.9 million in Q1 2022, 9% more than the $20.1 million it brought in during Q1 2021. On the firm’s earnings call, its CEO Shai Terem told analysts it had shipped a number of new FX20 3D printers to channel partners and customers, machines he expects to broaden its addressable market, especially among automotive and aerospace manufacturers. 

“We shipped several FX20 systems in the first quarter and we expect the pace of shipments to accelerate in the second half of the year,” said Terem. “The FX20 increases our addressable market into larger part size, high-temp resistant material and robust production, and we expect it to have a significant impact on our future, particularly in aerospace and automotive applications among others.”

Traders looking up at a Markforged sign outside the NYSE.
Traders looking up at a Markforged sign outside the NYSE. Photo via Markforged.

Markforged’s Q1 2022 financials

In its third published financials since it went public on the NYSE, Markforged has revealed that it continues to grow at a consistent pace with the 9.5% revenue rise seen in Q4 2021. In keeping with the reporting structure the firm established in Q3 and Q4 2021, it hasn’t divided its revenue into divisions, as many in 3D printing do, instead choosing to report on key top-line profit and loss metrics. 

Although Markforged’s revenue declined quarter-on-quarter by 17.7%, Terem said on its earnings call that it managed to achieve 9% growth on an annual basis thanks to demand for the FX20. According to Terem, the machine is capable of “faster, bigger, higher-temp” production, and in H2 shipments are “expected to accelerate,” but excluding the FX20, the company’s unit sales fell against Q1 2021. 

Markforged’s CEO explained that this was due to its support for the Automation Alley initiative in Q1 2021, which generated a significant one-off system sale, thus when excluded from its unit sales figures, they rose by 16% over the same period. 

However, while the firm continued to see positive trends in its revenue and unit sales numbers, its operating expenses also rose 54.7% between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022. Described by Markforged’s CFO Mark Schwartz as a “planned increase,” this jump was caused by higher spending related to its “accelerated innovation efforts and go-to-market activities” as well as “public company infrastructure costs.”

Like many other 3D printer manufacturers, the company’s gross profit was also affected by ongoing supply chain issues in Q1 2022, which saw it fall from the $12.2 million reported in Q1 2021 to $11.6 million. Representing a gross profit margin of 54%, this figure was driven by increases in freight and logistics costs, in addition to expenditure associated with ramping the FX20 into commercial production. 

Financials ($) Q1 2021Q1 2022Difference (%) Q4 2021Q1 2022Difference (%) 
Revenue 20.1m21.9m+926.6m21.9m-17.7
Cost of Revenue 7.9m10.3m+30.411.6m10.3m-11.2
Gross Profit 12.2m11.6m-4.915m11.6m-22.7
Operating Expenses21.2m32.8m+54.734m32.8m-3.5
Operating Loss 9m21.2m+135.618.9m21.2m+12.2

A continued portfolio expansion 

Much of Markforged’s earnings call may have focused on the potential of the FX20, but it also made progress in other areas of its business in Q1 2022, which could help drive its revenue growth in the coming year. The company launched its Precise PLA range during the period, a low-cost filament designed for rapidly creating prototypes, with results that can then be realized in end-use Onyx-3D printed parts. 

Markforged also acquired Teton Simulation days after the end of Q1 2022, in a move that’s set to expand its software portfolio, and see SmartSlice integrated into Eiger. When the deal was announced, Markforged said the addition of SmartSlice, a program designed to enable the automatic validation of parts, would allow Eiger users to rapidly optimize builds for “even the most demanding of applications.”

Elsewhere, in terms of application highlights, robotics specialist Labman Automation revealed in February 2022 that adopting Markforged 3D printing had reduced its costs by 75%. By replacing its previously-installed FDM system with a Markforged one, the firm says it has been able to begin prototyping and producing end-use parts on the same unit, while reducing its outsourcing-related expenditure. 

The Phillips Corporation also became one of the first to invest in a Markforged FX20 machine in April 2022, and invited manufacturers to see it in-action at a showroom in Colfax, North Carolina. At the time, the company’s Global Director of Additive John Harrison labeled the 3D printer a “game-changer,” before claiming that it would “unlock new potential in large-format parts” moving forward. 

The FX20 is the firm's largest printer to date, ideal for large part production. Photo via Markforged.
The FX20, Markforged’s largest 3D printer to date. Photo via Markforged.

Guiding revenue growth for FY 2022 

In his closing remarks, Terem acknowledged the obstacles posed by the ongoing war in Ukraine, COVID-19 and supply chain disruption, but he claimed that Markforged’s unique model has allowed it to “overcome these challenges,” and its team “continues to work creatively” to secure the supplies it needs.

Terem also pointed out that the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash and equivalents of $269.1 million, and a “track record of execution” that bodes well for the FX20, with its US debut set for Rapid+TCT. Based on these trends, Markforged has therefore set its FY 2022 revenue guidance at $114-123 million, constituting growth of up to 35%, and forecast that its gross margin will be 55-57%. 

“Thanks to our robust balance sheet and very strong talent base, we are able to accelerate our organic product innovation,” added Terem. “This model results in a growing install base with strong unit economics and leading gross margins, and with rigorous financial discipline, it should create operational leverage over time. As such, in spite of many global challenges, we remain confident that our strategy and execution capabilities will continue to support our growth in 2022 and beyond.”

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Featured image shows traders looking up at a Markforged sign outside the NYSE. Photo via Markforged.