Illumina Inc (ILMN) stock analysis
Illumina Inc (ILMN) clears 1 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 2 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 0 of 5 Lynch-style checks. At $269.40 it trades 166.5% above this site's neutral DCF value (a margin of safety of -166.5%). Its earnings quality rates Strong and it returns +1.1% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Illumina do?
Illumina makes the DNA sequencing machines and chemicals used by researchers and clinics to read genetic information.
Brands and businesses it owns
- NovaSeq
- MiSeq
- NextSeq
- Illumina
What stands out about Illumina?
- The share price implies 33.6% yearly growth. At $269.40, ILMN's free cash flow of $5.92 per share would have to grow 33.6% a year, fading to 2.5% by year 10, for this site's DCF (10% discount rate) to match the price. This site's baseline starts at 8%, so the price asks for more growth than the baseline. Change the assumptions.
- Misses 5 of the 8 value filters. It fails Trailing P/E < 25 (51.36), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (4.18) and Price/Book < 8 (14.93) and 2 more; the other 1 pass and 2 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- Strongest against peers: return on equity. At 31% (peer median 13%) it ranks 2nd of 11 among life sciences tools & services stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Weakest against peers: free-cash-flow yield. At 2.2% (peer median 2.5%) it ranks 9th of 11 among life sciences tools & services stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Short interest is elevated. 6.3% of the float is sold short, 1.6 days to cover, above this site's 5% flag. See the figures.
How has Illumina's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Illumina undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) -166.5%
- P/E vs. its own history 51.4x · the middle Real range: 24.8x–73.3x over 2 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 3.68/5 28 analysts this month: 7 strong buy, 9 buy, 9 hold, 2 sell, 1 strong sell (Finnhub).
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) 3.04 · Safe zone
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Strong · 1 watch Beneish M-score −2.50 · accruals −3.5% of assets · stock comp 6.3% of revenue · share count −0.6% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +1.1% net Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 0.0% + buybacks 1.8% − stock comp 0.6%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count rose 12%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) Profit did not grow in 10 years Operating profit $692M → −$365M, capital needed $2.0B → $5.2B, 2016–2025 (3-year averages); return on capital now −7% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 4.18 · Well above fair P/E 51.4× ÷ 12.3% a year of growth behind it. 395th lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 1 of 4 · misses capital-light, cash back, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (profit grew -0.5×, under 2×); Profit is real: cleared; Cash to owners: not cleared (−0.1% a year net); Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 4.18, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Value trap check Clear
- Munger's Inversion Check 4 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 2 of 6 measures above the median Compared with the 10 other life sciences tools & services stocks this site tracks: 2 in the top third, 2 in the bottom third.
How does Illumina compare with its peers?
2 of 6 measures sit above the median of the 10 other life sciences tools & services stocks tracked here, 2 in the top third and 2 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 43.4× 51.4× –7th of 10
- Free-cash-flow yieldhigher is cheaper · peer median 2.5% 2.2% ✕9th of 11
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 13% 31% ✓2nd of 11
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 15.0% 18.4% ✓3rd of 11
- Revenue growthhigher is better, year on year · peer median 6.9% 4.9% ✕8th of 11
- Debt / equitylower is safer · peer median 0.54 0.70 –7th of 11
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and ILMN doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: ILMN is currently earning a strong return on shareholders' equity, and converts sales into profit at healthy margins. Where it comes up short: ILMN and its five-year average return on equity falls short too, so this isn't just a one-off dip, carries more debt relative to equity than he typically tolerates, hasn't grown earnings per share fast enough over five years to impress him, doesn't cover its interest expense as comfortably as he'd want, is trading above what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth right now, and trades rich relative to owner earnings, the real cash the business could pay out.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✓
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✕
- Pretax margin > 15% ✓
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✕
- Interest coverage > 5x ✕
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✕
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✕
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2025
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and ILMN falls short of his bar. Where it comes up short: ILMN doesn't pay much of a dividend, which is the main reason to own a slow grower in the first place, isn't even growing at the modest pace he'd expect from a slow grower, carries more debt than he liked to see, even allowing for the extra room a large, stable business gets, is priced too rich for how little growth is actually left in the business, and trades expensive relative to the cash it actually generates.
- Dividend yield > 2.5% ✕
- EPS growth 0%-10% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.6 ✕
- P/E < 20 ✕
- Price/FCF < 25 ✕
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Illumina pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $42.4B
- Trailing P/E < 25 51.36
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 4.18
- Price/Book < 8 14.93
- Price/Sales < 7 9.43
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% -9.6%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is Illumina's margin of safety?
History tracking starts this week - check back in a future week to see how this has moved.
Where is Illumina in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Illumina?
9,471,310 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with Illumina? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case -57%
- Short interest under 5% of float 6.3%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 1/6 passed
- Price run-up backed by value, not just momentum +191% off 52wk low
- Debt/equity stable since 2016 0.48 → 0.55
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Illumina shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from ILMN's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Illumina's 10-year financials show?
From ILMN's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Illumina
What kind of company is Illumina?
Illumina makes the DNA sequencing machines and chemicals used by researchers and clinics to read genetic information. Brands and businesses it owns include NovaSeq, MiSeq, NextSeq and Illumina. This site groups it with Life Sciences Tools & Services stocks.
Is Illumina trading above or below its DCF value?
At $269.40, ILMN trades 166.5% above this site's neutral DCF value of $101.09 per share, a margin of safety of −166.5%. That DCF projects free cash flow for 10 years, with growth starting at 8% and fading to 2.5%, discounted at 10%; it is one set of assumptions, not a forecast. Test your own in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Illumina pass?
ILMN passes 1 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($42.4B). It misses Trailing P/E < 25 (51.36), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (4.18), Price/Book < 8 (14.93), Price/Sales < 7 (9.43) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (-9.6%). vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
Are Illumina's reported earnings reliable?
This site's earnings-quality check rates ILMN Strong · 1 watch. Beneish M-score −2.50 · accruals −3.5% of assets · stock comp 6.3% of revenue · share count −0.6% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025). Concerns: stock-based compensation (on watch). The five checks are the Beneish M-score (manipulation risk), accruals, cash conversion, stock-based compensation and share dilution; the Earnings Quality Screener shows how each is graded.
When does Illumina report earnings next?
Illumina's next earnings report is expected on October 29, 2026 after the market closes, with analysts expecting earnings of $1.38 per share. Dates come from the Finnhub earnings calendar and can move. In its last 4 quarters it beat the estimate 4 times, by an average of +7.8%.
How heavily is Illumina stock sold short?
As of September 30, 2026, 6.3% of ILMN's float was sold short (9,471,310 shares, 1.6 days to cover), down 10.5% from the prior reporting period. FINRA publishes short interest twice a month, so it changes about every two weeks; this site flags anything above 5% of the float.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Illumina's 10-K annual report for the year ended Dec 28, 2025, filed Feb 12, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Illumina Inc analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Illumina Inc (ILMN) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.