Illumina Earnings: Management Maintains 2023 Outlook and Introduces Margin Expansion Plan

Narrow-moat Illumina's first-quarter results mildly exceeded expectations, and management maintained its 2023 guidance and announced a margin expansion plan in its legacy sequencing business that appears roughly in line with our estimates. Overall, we are maintaining our $269 fair value estimate, and we continue to believe shares are undervalued. Activist investor Carl Icahn's interest in the name may hold management's feet to the fire, too, and provide options for long-term shareholders, if management's plans are not realized.