Oct 27, 2026 earnings call — Return to revenue growth and operating leverage
Pulmonx returned to year-over-year revenue growth with total worldwide revenue of $22.8 million, a 6% increase in Q3 2026.
Revenue $0.0B (est $0.0B) · EPS $-0.19 (est $-0.26) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $0.1B–$0.1B
Key quotes
"We have been finding great talent and have presently filled substantially all open U. S. Sales positions."
"Adjusted EBITDA loss which excludes noncash stock based compensation expense, for the third quarter of 2026 was $3.5 million, compared to $8.2 million in the same period of the prior year."
"We believe that AeriSeal represents a TAM expansion tool and a further revenue contributor with the ability to expand our addressable market by roughly 20% globally."
Analyst Q&A 4
U.S. growth and sales rep tenure
Q (John Young · Canaccord): Where did the U.S. beat come from — DTC, rep productivity, or something else? Also, what percent of reps have been in their seats more than 6 months and where is rep productivity today?
A: Management said there was no single driver they could point to, and that they had more territories filled versus the prior quarter and executed procedures during the period. They reported the mean tenure of the U.S. sales organization is about 1.8 years and the median is about 1.2 years, said they are not breaking the data down to a 6-month bucket, and that some people in their seats for a year are performing very well.
"I do not believe that there is any 1 thing that we can point to." — Derrick Sung (CFO)
Drivers of growth and spending plans
Q (Annie · Stifel): Besides China and easier comps, what else is driving confidence that growth will accelerate? And after cost cuts, how should we model spending as revenue improves — keep OpEx flat or reinvest?
A: They said guidance implies continued growth and that China shipments are expected to resume to their Chinese distributor by early next year, with that timing already contemplated in the guidance. They said growth is being driven by getting the rebuilt sales team up to speed, seats filled, and a refocused commercial organization; on costs, they are comfortable with the current structure, noting cash OpEx is down roughly $4 million or 16% year over year, they do not expect meaningful increases going forward, and gross margins are 75+% which should drive operating leverage.
"Just to clarify 1 of your comments on China, you know, we are currently expecting China to for us to resume shipments to our Chinese distributor by early next year." — Derrick Sung (CFO)
Long-term growth, China and AeriSeal timing
Q (Frank Takkinen · Lake Street): How should we think about next year and longer-term growth — key drivers (China, salesforce productivity, AeriSeal) and whether this is high single-digit or low double-digit growth? Also, will you expand the salesforce?
A: They declined to give 2027 guidance and said they are focused on executing the rest of this year, but stated they are committed to sustaining double digit growth for the company moving forward while not putting a time frame on it. They said 64% of revenue comes from the U.S., 33% from Europe and 3% from Asia Pacific today, that China will be about 2% of the business when it comes back, that AeriSeal will be commercial in Europe in 2027 with more material European revenues expected in 2028, and that any salesforce expansion would be modest and done opportunistically.
"From a long term perspective, we have said and continue to be committed to, sustaining double digit growth for our company moving forward" — Derrick Sung (CFO)
New vs existing accounts and cash outlook
Q (Jason Bednar · Piper Sandler): Do reps get the most return from onboarding new accounts or reactivating dormant accounts? And how should we model the pace of cash burn improvement after 2026?
A: They said they open new accounts opportunistically and guide to about 40 a year, are tracking a bit ahead, but their core focus is same-store sales (near-to-far) and driving incremental revenue; newer reps have been effective at reigniting existing accounts and promoted junior reps are leading growth in at least one region. On cash, they said the cost structure is in a good place, OpEx may rise only a few percent, operating leverage from growth will drive cash improvement, they expect to stay above 75% in gross margin, and they have a clear pathway to get to cash flow breakeven.
"we expect to stay above 75% in terms of our gross margin profile." — Derrick Sung (CFO)