Stratasys Q2 Results Show Defense Surge and Record Consumables Sales

The numbers behind the quarter

Stratasys reported second-quarter results on August 13, 2026. Revenue came in at $137.6 million, down slightly from $138.1 million a year earlier but up 3.7 percent from the first quarter of 2026. System revenue fell to $26.4 million from $30.6 million a year ago. Consumables hit a quarterly record of $66.3 million, up from $64.2 million. Service revenue rose to $44.9 million from $43.3 million.

Stratasys Direct, the company's on-demand parts manufacturing business, grew 12.1 percent year over year. The pattern is consistent: customers are buying more materials to produce end-use parts, not just prototypes.

Defense is now the largest vertical

Aerospace and defense revenue increased 17 percent from a year earlier, making it Stratasys' largest vertical. The company pointed to growing use of its systems by the U.S. Air Force for sustainment and spare-parts production. Multiple F900 systems are being deployed across the Air Force sustainment network to produce flightworthy parts. These are not isolated machine purchases but part of larger programs that generate recurring demand once parts and processes have been qualified.

Stratasys Direct produced more than 12,000 aerospace and defense parts during the quarter, mainly for drones. The business is working with what CEO Yoav Zeif described as the top 10 drone companies. Stratasys Direct also reported its highest backlog to date.

The company recently secured a two-year, $7.8 million America Makes program focused on advancing monitoring capabilities for its F900 and a future F3300 technology refresh for defense manufacturing. Quickparts agreed to buy 12 Neo 800+ stereolithography systems in a multi-year deal covering materials, software, and services. FAW Group in China agreed to purchase 12 F900 systems by year-end, with two already shipped in the second quarter.

The Markforged acquisition angle

Q2 earnings came less than two weeks after Stratasys announced plans to acquire Markforged for $42.5 million in cash. Zeif told investors that Markforged focuses on the same applications. Its continuous carbon fiber technology can replace metal. It is lighter, less expensive, and requires much less post-processing. Zeif also said the company is getting the best engineers in the industry, which strengthens its position in high-end, high-requirements applications.

Markforged generated roughly $70 million in revenue in 2025. Stratasys expects the acquired business to make a positive contribution to EBITDA within the first year after the transaction closes later this year.

Where the pressure points remain

Printer sales remain the weak spot. System revenue fell year over year, and William Blair analyst Brian Drab noted that system sales were below both last year and the same quarter two years ago. Zeif attributed some of the volatility to Stratasys' shift toward larger manufacturing deals, which take longer to close and make quarterly comparisons less predictable. He expects a notable uptick in system sales in the second half of the year.

On profitability, Stratasys reported an operating loss of $13.5 million, narrower than the $16.6 million loss a year ago. The net loss was $16.9 million, or 19 cents per share. Adjusted net income was $2.3 million, or three cents per share. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $5.3 million, down from $6.1 million a year earlier but well above the $2 million reported in the first quarter.

Cash flow was the bigger concern. Stratasys used $18.7 million in operating cash during the quarter, partly due to one-time legal expenses to protect its intellectual property. The company no longer expects positive operating cash flow for the full year, although it expects cash flow to turn positive in the second half. Stratasys ended June with $212.5 million in cash and no debt.

The full-year outlook remains unchanged. Stratasys still expects 2026 revenue of $565 million to $575 million and adjusted EBITDA of $25 million to $30 million. The second half of the year will show whether defense demand and the Markforged acquisition can offset the weakness in printer sales.