Bio-Rad Laboratories Backs Off From Tariff Surcharge

Original from: 360dx

In a letter to customers on Wednesday, Bio-Rad Laboratories announced that it has decided against implementing a tariff surcharge that the company on May 21 said it was considering for at least some of its products. The surcharge came following the firm's disclosure of approximately $40 million in tariff-related revenue headwinds for 2025.

Ryan Short, Bio-Rad's senior VP of commercial operations for the Americas, provided the update regarding the firm's response to ongoing global trade and supply chain challenges in a letter to customers dated June 18.

"We had previously considered a temporary tariff surcharge as one possible action; however, at this time we’ve decided to hold off implementation," Short wrote in the letter.

The decision reflects Bio-Rad's "continued commitment to support its customers while navigating complex global logistics," he also wrote, adding that the firm will continue to monitor the situation closely in order to respond to future developments.

In a note to investors on Wednesday, Jefferies analyst Tycho Peterson said that Bio-Rad's about-face "demonstrates a lack of broad pricing power for [the firm's] portfolio (especially more standard reagents)." 

He added that as the tariff rhetoric calms down, particularly in relation to China, including the pause on an implementation of tariffs for products from there, "surcharges may not be needed."

"With surcharges put in motion, demand was likely to deteriorate more than expected, and thus, there was a need to roll back to preserve revenues and market share," Peterson said. 

Other firms that instituted tariff-related surcharges or price increases — including Bio-Techne, Illumina, Bruker, Revvity, and MilliporeSigma — have not publicly said they are reversing course on their surcharge-related plans. 

In Wednesday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Bio-Rad's shares were up a fraction of 1 percent to $231.89.

Source: Bio-Rad Laboratories Backs Off From Tariff Surcharge