San Diego, California, USA
May 14, 2026

Cibus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBUS) (the "Company"), a leading agricultural technology company that develops and licenses plant traits to seed companies, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, and provided a business update. Management will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Management Commentary

Peter Beetham, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Cibus, commented, "We are pleased to report continued momentum across our priority programs during the first quarter of 2026. We continue to work with our global seed company partners to change the scale and speed of breeding. Our Rice herbicide tolerance program is advancing on multiple fronts, including meaningful progress toward commercialization with our Latin American seed partners, including initially Interoc, as we continue to eye our targeted 2027 initial launch. Additionally, positive regulatory momentum continues to build around the world. For example, in April this year the Council of the European Union confirmed the agreed legislative text regulating New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), with that text now before the European Parliament for a plenary vote currently planned for an upcoming session. Combined with growing traction and an exciting expansion of activities leading to increased R&D funding in our Sustainable Ingredients program, these developments give us confidence in the near-term commercial potential of our platform and our ability to deliver tangible value to customers."

Mr. Beetham continued, "Today's agricultural landscape underscores the urgency of our mission. Ongoing disruptions in global fertilizer supply chains, including reduced nitrogen production and delivery, are creating real challenges for farmers worldwide—particularly in nitrogen-intensive crops like Rice, Wheat, and Canola. At Cibus, we are well positioned to help address agricultural challenges. While we are maintaining our near-term focus on Rice herbicide tolerance and Sustainable Ingredients, the current global agricultural environment highlights the significant value potential embedded across our broader opportunity pipeline—from Canola disease resistance to Wheat platform development—and reinforces why novel precision breeding solutions are essential to building a more resilient and productive agricultural system."

Carlo Broos, Chief Financial Officer of Cibus, commented, "Beyond our progress toward commercialization, we are executing well with respect to our cost discipline commitments of reducing operating expenses, and we are on track to deliver annual net cash usage of approximately $30 million or less in 2026. At the same time, revenue increased year-over-year, reflecting progressing activities and timing of payments across our programs. Combined with approximately $33 million in net proceeds raised from sales of equity during the quarter, we believe we are well-positioned to fund the advancement of our priority programs toward their near-term commercial milestones."

Company Highlights

• Announced a non-binding LOI in January 2026 establishing commercialization framework for co-developed HT Rice traits across key Latin American markets; Customer Interoc received additional import permit in March 2026 and Cibus subsequently transferred gene edited traits in Interoc's rice seeds in May 2026.
• Rice herbicide tolerance program advancing toward commercialization milestones with seven active customer relationships, representing 5–7 million peak addressable acres and over $200 million in annual addressable royalties at peak. On track for targeted 2027 LATAM launch with refined U.S. launch now targeted for 2029.
• Sustainable Ingredients program ramping up for planned 2026 expansion following first customer payment in Q4 2025; targeting additional biofragrance scale-up orders in the second half of 2026.
• Work underway as a technology partner in the DEFRA-funded UK Farming Innovation Programme, developing durable resistance to Light Leaf Spot disease in oilseed rape; program is advancing as planned with initial funding expected in 2026.
• Balance sheet strengthened through two public offerings to date in 2026: Raised $22.3 million in gross proceeds in January and approximately $15.0 million in gross proceeds in March, supporting continued advancement toward near-term commercialization milestones.

2026 Year-to-Date Business Update

Commercial Progress for Priority Programs and Global Regulatory Developments

Priority Pipeline Traits and Programs

• Weed Management (HT1 and HT3) in Rice
  • Announced a non-binding LOI with Interoc in January 2026 establishing a framework for commercialization of co-developed herbicide tolerant rice traits across key Latin American markets.
  • Customer Interoc received additional import permit in March 2026 to allow for future transfer of material bearing HT traits; this was followed by the transfer of gene edited traits in Interoc's rice seeds in May 2026. This transition facilitates the commencement of testing and, if testing is successful, a contemplated initial launch of Interoc's CIBUS®-enhanced seed products into the Latin American agricultural market.
  • Advancing discussions with additional Rice seed companies in additional LATAM countries, including Brazil and Argentina.
  • Commenced discussions with several large Indian Rice market participants following strategic planning with RTDC and AgVayā.
  • Cibus' herbicide partner for its Rice HT traits, Albaugh, has made substantial positive progress for the herbicide registration process in the U.S. for Rice, however, they are behind initial timeline estimates. As a result, the Company has reset its U.S. launch date target from 2028 to 2029 in coordination with its partner Albaugh.
  • 2025 Progress: Landmark year to solidify our Rice priority pipeline program; signed material transfer agreements with multiple LATAM partners; completed delivery of HT3 trait lines to existing U.S. customers; engaged AgVayā to develop India market entry strategy.
     
• Sustainable Ingredients Program
  • Executed an amendment to our current contract with our sustainable ingredients partner to expand R&D activities with increased revenue.
  • Targeting additional scale-up orders in the second half of 2026 for certain biofragrance products.
  • Further development of other biofragrances underway.
  • 2025 Progress: Achieved key commercial and technical milestones in the Sustainable Ingredients program, including first customer payment and successful pilot runs validating readiness for scale-up.
     

Global Regulatory Development

• Global regulatory environment for gene editing technologies remains positive, with momentum continuing in 2026 to date
  • In April 2026 the EU Council, comprising ministers from each EU Member State, formally adopted its first reading position on the new Regulation on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), excluding HT traits, confirming the trilogue compromise text agreed with the European Parliament in December last year and set for a plenary vote that is currently planned for an upcoming session.
  • 2025 Important Progress: EU reached political agreement on New Genomic Techniques legislation (December 2025), advancing the regulatory framework for gene edited plants, in this key market. UK government advanced regulatory framework for Precision Bred Organisms; Cibus participated as a test case for the UK's new review process. Ecuador Ministry of Agriculture determined Cibus' HT1 and HT3 Rice traits are equivalent to those developed through conventional breeding (April 2025).

Review of Opportunity Programs and Other Business Updates

In addition to Cibus' priority programs, the Company's pipeline of other traits provides several opportunities for partner-funded programs. The current disruption of global crop input supplies—particularly in nitrogen fertilizer markets—underscores the value of these opportunities and the need for novel precision breeding solutions to help farmers manage volatility and protect yields.

Opportunity Pipeline Traits and Programs (Available for Partnership)

• Canola: Commenced work in the first quarter 2026 on a DEFRA-funded UK Farming Innovation Programme project targeting Light Leaf Spot disease resistance in oilseed rape following Cibus' selection as technology partner.
   
• Nutrient-use Efficiency: Ongoing collaboration with John Innes Centre on breakthrough nutrient-use efficiency trait addressing a global challenge where only one-third of applied fertilizer is typically absorbed by plants. This trait has potential application across some of the World's major crops including Rice, Wheat, and Canola.
   
• Soybean: Successfully edited a Soybean cell for HT2 trait (2025); enabling expanded platform development on which the Company continues to work in conjunction with the Sustainable Ingredients program.
   
• Wheat: Successfully regenerated plants from single cells in a wheat cultivar (2024), opening potential to accelerate trait development in one of the world's most cultivated and nitrogen-intensive crops.
   
• Alfalfa: Continuing partnership to advance improved quality alfalfa trait toward commercialization, representing a key proof point for Cibus' partner-funded development model.

Corporate and Industry Progress

• Capital Markets Activity
  • In March 2026, raised approximately $15.0 million in gross proceeds from a public offering of 6,976,744 shares of Class A Common Stock at $2.15 per share.
  • In January 2026, raised $22.3 million in gross proceeds from a public offering of 14,836,664 shares of Class A Common Stock at $1.50 per share.
  • The proceeds from these offerings are intended to support working capital and general corporate purposes, including further development of Rice weed management traits.

• Streamlined Focus and Operational Efficiency
  • On target to deliver annual net cash usage of approximately $30 million or less during 2026.
  • 2025 Progress: Completed closing of Oberlin facility and consolidation of Oberlin operations into San Diego headquarters facility during the third quarter of 2025; substantially wound down activities at the Company's Roseville, Minnesota facility.
     
• Board Appointment
  • In April 2026, Cibus appointed Thomas Urban to its Board of Directors, strengthening the Company's agricultural sector expertise and strategic advisory capabilities. Mr. Urban brings over 35 years of agribusiness expertise to the Board, spanning early-stage corporate advisory, executive leadership as CEO of CellFor, more than a decade of global roles at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and mergers and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs.

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:

• Weed Management (HT1 and HT3) in Rice:
  • Continued expansion of existing, and developing new, customer relationships with Rice seed companies across the U.S., LATAM, and India during the course of 2026.
  • Expand discussions with additional Rice seed companies in new Latin American countries, such as Brazil (with support from RTDC) and Argentina
  • Explore new opportunities with support from RTDC and AgVayā in the large Indian Rice market.
  • Develop commercialization agreements for at least one of the existing Latin American Rice seed partners.
     
• Sustainable Ingredients:
  • Expect additional scale-up orders of the Company's initial biofragrances in the second half of 2026; expect further development of other fragrances in 2026.

First Quarter 2026 Financial Results

• Cash position: Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2026, was $30.3 million. Taking into account the impact of implemented cost saving initiatives, and without giving effect to potential financing transactions that Cibus may pursue from time-to-time, Cibus expects that existing cash and cash equivalents is sufficient to fund planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into late in the first quarter of 2027.
   
• Research and development (R&D) Expense: R&D expense was $8.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to $11.8 million in the year-ago period. The decrease of $3.1 million is primarily due to cost reduction initiatives.
   
• Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expense: SG&A expense was $5.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to $9.9 million in the year-ago period. The decrease of $4.8 million is primarily due to a $3.0 million litigation expense in the first quarter of 2025 as well as cost reduction initiatives.
   
• Goodwill impairment: There was no goodwill impairment for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to a $21.0 million goodwill impairment in the year-ago period. The decrease of $21.0 million non-cash expense is due a quantitative analysis of the Company's goodwill in the first quarter of 2025 in which the Company concluded that its goodwill was impaired.
   
• Royalty liability interest expense - related parties: Royalty liability interest expense - related parties was $9.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to $8.4 million in the year-ago period. The increase of $0.7 million is due to the recognition of interest expense on the accumulating Royalty Liability.
   
• Non-operating (expense) income, net: Non-operating (expense) income, net was a nominal expense for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to income of $0.4 million in the year-ago period. The decrease in income of $0.4 million is driven by the fair value adjustment of the Company's liability classified common warrants.
   
• Net loss: Net loss was $21.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to $49.4 million in the year-ago period.
   
• Net loss per share of Class A common stock: Net loss per share of Class A common stock was $0.33 for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to net loss per share of Class A common stock of $1.34 in the year-ago period. The decrease of $1.01 in net loss per share of Class A common stock is primarily driven by the non-cash goodwill impairment in the first quarter of 2025 which accounted for approximately $0.57 in net loss per share of Class A common stock as well as cost reduction initiatives described above and a year-over-year increase in weighted average shares outstanding.

About Cibus

Cibus is a leader in developing traits (characteristics) that address critical productivity, yield and sustainability challenges. Cibus' proprietary high-throughput gene editing technologies drive its long-term focus on productivity traits for farmers for the major global row crops. Cibus is not a seed company. It is a technology company that uses its gene editing technologies to develop plant traits at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional breeding and to license them to customers in exchange for royalties.

About the Cibus Trait Machine™ process and Rapid Trait Development System™

A key element of Cibus' technology breakthrough is its high-throughput breeding process (referred to as the Trait Machine™ process). The Trait Machine process is a crop specific application of Cibus' patented Rapid Trait Development System™ (RTDS®). The proprietary technologies in RTDS integrate crop specific cell biology platforms with a series of gene editing technologies to enable a system of end-to-end crop specific precision breeding. It is the core technology platform for Cibus' Trait Machine process: the first standardized end-to-end semi-automated crop specific gene editing system that directly edits a seed company's elite germplasm. Each Trait Machine process requires a crop specific cell biology platform that enables Cibus to edit a single cell from a customer's elite germplasm and grow that edited cell into a plant with the Cibus edits.

Cibus believes that RTDS and the Trait Machine process represent the technological breakthrough in plant breeding that is the ultimate promise of plant gene editing: high- throughput gene editing systems operating as an extension of seed company breeding programs. In 2024, the Trait Machine process was cited by Fast Company Magazine as one of the most innovative products in 2024.

Published: May 15, 2026