Sales Fell 20% to $27.2M. Ingredient Revenue Fell by Almost Half. Two Licensed Patents Expire This Month.

Niagen Bioscience, formerly ChromaDex, sells nicotinamide riboside under the Niagen name, mostly in its own Tru Niagen supplement and partly as an ingredient for other brands and for compounded injections. After 30% sales growth in 2025, third-quarter 2026 net sales fell 20% to $27.2M, ingredient sales fell 47%, and adjusted EBITDA dropped to $0.5M from $6.4M. The company holds $69.5M of cash and no borrowings, bought back $5.1M of stock in the first half, and has a $50M at-the-market facility it had not used through September. Two patents it licenses from Cornell expire on November 17. The test is whether new channels replace the slowing ones.

Analysis

Niagen Bioscience is a Los Angeles company that sells nicotinamide riboside chloride, a compound it markets under the Niagen name as the basis of what it calls a healthy-aging business. It was known as ChromaDex until March 19, 2025, and has traded on Nasdaq since April 2016. It began selling Niagen as an ingredient in 2013 and launched its own supplement, Tru Niagen, in 2017. Its continuing segments are Consumer Products, which is Tru Niagen; Ingredients, which sells food-grade Niagen to product makers and pharmaceutical-grade Niagen to compounding facilities; and Pharmaceuticals, a drug program with no sales. It sold its analytical reference standards business in February 2026 and had 117 full-time employees at the end of 2025.

The third quarter of 2026 is why the desk is writing now. Net sales for the quarter ended September 30 were $27.2M, down 20% from $34.0M, the fourth consecutive sequential decline and the lowest of the eight quarters on the chart. The company reported a net loss of $1.2M, or $0.01 per share, against net income of $4.6M, and adjusted EBITDA fell to $0.5M from $6.4M. Chief executive Rob Fried said the company had "navigated near-term commercial headwinds." The March outlook of 10% to 15% sales growth has given way to guidance by channel. Two of the patents the company licenses from Cornell University expire on November 17, and a third in September 2027.

The Human Translation: Niagen sells one main ingredient, nicotinamide riboside, mostly in its own capsules under the Tru Niagen name through its website and Amazon, and partly in bulk to other supplement brands and to pharmacies that prepare injections for clinics. Sales grew 30% in 2025 and have fallen every quarter since the third quarter of that year. Partners are ordering less, a rival compound won a favorable FDA decision, and spending has risen. The company has cash and no debt, and is betting on injections, skincare and a drug candidate.

Tru Niagen is the business. Consumer Products sales were $23.3M in the third quarter, 86% of the total and down 10.4% from $26.0M on the desk's arithmetic. E-commerce, which covers the company's website and online marketplaces, was $18.2M against $19.0M, down 4%, although sales on the company's own website rose 13%. Sales through A.S. Watson and other business partners were $5.2M against $7.0M. For nine months, Tru Niagen sales were $69.9M against $70.2M, essentially flat, with e-commerce up about 7% to $57.9M on the same arithmetic. The segment's operating income fell to $5.6M from $8.1M, a margin of 23.9% against 31.3%.

Competition changed in September 2025. The 10-K says the FDA determined that month that nicotinamide mononucleotide, or NMN, a competing compound, may be lawfully marketed as a dietary ingredient, which may create new competitive channels if not overturned. On the May call, Fried described NMN as a new headwind on Amazon that raised keyword bidding costs and made new customers harder to win. On February 3, 2026, the company sued the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenging the agency's September 2025 letters on NMN. It seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, not damages. The FDA moved to dismiss on procedural grounds on April 28, and the May 10-Q said the company would oppose.

The partner channel has been uneven. A.S. Watson Group, which has sold Tru Niagen in Hong Kong and Macau since 2017, accounted for about 12.5% of 2024 net sales; the 10-K says no customer passed 10% of 2025 net sales. In December 2025 a retail partner recalled Tru Niagen Immune Daily Defense units in Hong Kong and Singapore, alleging the vitamin D3 content exceeded the labeled 1,000 IU. The parties reached an agreement in principle in April 2026, and the company received about $1.3M of withheld receivables. Partner sales were $3.2M in the first quarter, against $7.3M in the fourth quarter of 2025, and the first-quarter release cited variability in A.S. Watson orders. They recovered to $5.2M in the third quarter. At September 30, three customers held about 52% of $6.8M of trade receivables.

Ingredients is where the quarter broke. Segment sales were $3.8M, down 47% from $7.2M. Food-grade Niagen, sold to makers of consumer products, fell to $3.4M from $6.4M; pharmaceutical-grade Niagen, sold for compounding, was $0.4M against $0.5M. Segment operating income fell to $1.6M from $4.0M. For nine months, segment sales were $17.8M, down 23%. The August release said some commercial partners face a more competitive market, and the November release expects the ingredient business to be lower than in 2025 because of reduced volume from key partners, while noting that partners were added in the third quarter. The company also plans a lower-cost, patented salt form of nicotinamide riboside that it expects to reduce cost of goods sold.

Supply and patents both matter. W.R. Grace is the exclusive supplier of food-grade nicotinamide riboside chloride under an agreement effective April 1, 2025, with an initial term through April 30, 2029, and may not sell it to third parties. At March 31, 2026, the company's minimum purchase obligation was about $18.5M through March 31, 2027. Grace obtained patents on the crystalline form in 2019, which the 10-K says limit alternative sourcing. The 10-K's patent table lists two Cornell-licensed patents expiring November 17, 2026, a third expiring September 20, 2027, and owned patents running to 2040 and 2041. In April 2026, Thorne Research and Thorne HealthTech sued the company, ChromaDex, Inc. and Queen's University Belfast (QUB) in federal court in South Carolina, alleging tortious interference and unfair competition after an Amazon patent enforcement proceeding, and seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement of the company's '506 patent, damages and injunctive relief.

Niagen Plus is the newest channel. Launched in 2024, it covers intravenous and injectable Niagen that 503B outsourcing facilities compound from pharmaceutical-grade Niagen for use with a prescription. In 2026 the company added a cruise-ship partnership with OneSpaWorld covering more than 80 medi-spa clinics, a second 503B partner, Olympia Pharmaceuticals, a clinician-directed telehealth platform in May, LegitScript certification in June to advertise at-home kits, and a liquid at-home injection kit in the third quarter. Pharmaceutical-grade ingredient sales were $1.7M for nine months, down from $2.9M. The company lists its ability to remain on the FDA's Category 1 list of bulk drug substances nominated for compounding as a risk, and it expects Niagen Plus to become a meaningful contributor in 2027.

Other initiatives are earlier still. A topical product, Nanocloud, sold out in a pilot launch, and the company launched Tru Niagen Skincare in the third quarter; its presentation refers to upcoming partnerships with large skincare companies. Tru Niagen reached Walmart.com and nearly 300 GNC and Sam's Club locations in 44 states, and a brand campaign features Kelly Slater. On research, the company signed a start-up agreement with Mass General Brigham to plan what it envisions as the largest and most comprehensive clinical trial of Niagen to date, and in April announced the first USP monograph for nicotinamide riboside chloride. None of these initiatives appears as a separate line in reported sales.

The drug program sits in NAD Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary. Its lead candidate, NB4168, is an investigational oral small molecule aimed first at ataxia-telangiectasia, a rare genetic disease. The August release said the candidate had received Rare Pediatric Disease designation from the FDA and orphan designation from the European Medicines Agency for that condition, and that Evotec had been engaged as the contract research organization for preclinical and IND-enabling studies expected to begin in the third quarter. In the third quarter NAD Pharmaceuticals engaged Red Sky Partners, a life sciences advisory firm. The Pharmaceuticals segment has no sales; it recorded an operating loss of $0.5M in the quarter and $1.5M over nine months.

Third-quarter gross margin was 62.9%, against 64.5% a year earlier. Sales and marketing was $8.7M, nearly unchanged in dollars but 32.0% of sales against 25.8%. General and administrative expense rose 15% to $8.2M, and research and development was flat at $1.8M. Total operating expenses of $18.7M exceeded gross profit of $17.1M, producing an operating loss of $1.6M; interest income of $0.4M narrowed the net loss to $1.2M. For nine months, sales and marketing rose 14% to $28.5M, adjusted EBITDA was $7.3M against $16.3M, and net income of $6.1M included a $4.8M gain on the sale of the reference standards business.

The comparison is with a strong 2025. Net sales rose 30% to $129.4M from $99.6M, Tru Niagen sales rose 27% to $97.7M, and Niagen ingredient sales rose 45% to $27.9M. Gross margin improved 250 basis points to 64.3%. Net income roughly doubled to $17.4M, or $0.20 per diluted share, and adjusted EBITDA rose to $20.4M from $8.5M. Operating cash flow was $13.5M against $12.1M. Quarterly adjusted EBITDA peaked at $6.4M in the third quarter of 2025 and has fallen in each quarter since, to $4.1M, $3.8M, $3.0M and $0.5M.

The 2026 outlook has narrowed. In March the company guided net sales growth of 10% to 15%, excluding the divested business, with slightly better gross margin and general and administrative expense up $4M to $5M. In May it reaffirmed that range. The August release gave no consolidated range and guided e-commerce growth of 10% to 15%. The November release guides direct website growth of 15% to 20%, e-commerce growth of about 5%, which it expects the rest of the consumer business to offset, a lower ingredient business, and higher operating expenses in what it calls "an important year of strategic investment." On the desk's arithmetic, nine-month sales excluding the divested business were $88.1M, down 5.5%, and 5% e-commerce growth on 2025's $74.1M implies about $19.9M of fourth-quarter e-commerce sales, against $20.2M a year earlier.

The balance sheet is the cushion. Cash was $69.5M at September 30, up $4.7M from the end of 2025, and there were no borrowings; the 10-K describes a line of credit of up to $10.0M with Western Alliance Bank. Operating cash flow was $4.2M for nine months against $12.8M, after an outflow of $1.2M in the first quarter, when inventory and receivables rose. The $5.8M of proceeds from the reference standards sale roughly offset $5.1M of repurchases. Inventory was $20.5M, level with year-end but more than double the $9.2M at the end of 2024. Total liabilities were $25.6M, including $5.8M of deferred consideration under a December 2025 assignment agreement with QUB, payable through 2037.

Capital is moving in two directions. In March the board raised the repurchase authorization to $20M from $10M, running through October 31, 2027; about $2.6M had been bought under the program by March 17. The company repurchased 489,699 shares for $2.4M in the first quarter and about 683,000 shares for $2.8M in the second, and none in the third. It has not paid cash dividends and does not expect to. On June 26 it filed a $125M universal shelf registration and signed a sales agreement with Canaccord Genuity and Roth Capital Partners for up to $50M of at-the-market share sales. Through September, the cash flow statement shows no share sale proceeds beyond option and stock plan proceeds. Shares outstanding were 79,196,903 on October 30, against 79,624,227 on March 31.

Leadership is long-tenured. Rob Fried has been chief executive since June 2018 and a director since July 2015. Frank Jaksch Jr., a co-founder who was chief executive from 2000 to 2018, has chaired the board since July 2022. Ozan Pamir has been chief financial officer since October 2024. Fried's base salary was raised to $650,000 from January 2025, and his 2025 cash bonus was $565,378. At the June 2026 annual meeting, on the desk's arithmetic, 37% of votes cast on director Steven Rubin and 33% on Hamed Shahbazi were withheld, against 4% or less for each of the other six nominees. In August Fried called the consumer business "the engine funding the rest of our value accretive initiatives."

The regulatory and legal risks are named in the filings. Tru Niagen is sold as a dietary supplement under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as amended by DSHEA; food-grade Niagen was reviewed under the FDA's new dietary ingredient program in 2015 and 2018 and was the subject of a GRAS notification in 2016, and the FTC regulates advertising claims. Grace is a single source. The compounding channel depends on 503B facilities and the FDA's bulk substances list. In the Elysium Health patent case, the Delaware court awarded Elysium about $9.2M of attorneys' fees, with judgment entered in October 2024 and no accrual recorded; on October 30, 2026, the Federal Circuit reversed the fee award in a nonprecedential decision. The filings also name third-party marketplaces, consumer perception of supplements, NMN competition, tariffs, and business in China.

The scenario map has three branches. In the first, direct website growth holds near the guided 15% to 20%, new ingredient partners and the lower-cost salt rebuild ingredient volume, and Niagen Plus and skincare begin contributing in 2027, returning the company to the sales growth and adjusted EBITDA it showed in 2025. In the second, the consumer business stays roughly flat, ingredient sales stay low after the patent expiries, and higher spending keeps earnings near breakeven while cash holds steady. In the third, NMN and other products take more online share, the FDA case and the Thorne suit go against the company, and spending outruns gross profit, turning operating cash flow negative and making the at-the-market facility a funding source.

The checkpoint set, stated fully. First, fourth-quarter net sales against the third quarter's $27.2M, and whether e-commerce lands near the roughly $19.9M implied by the 5% full-year guidance. Second, direct website growth against the 15% to 20% range. Third, ingredient sales against $3.8M, the new partners, and the timing of the lower-cost salt. Fourth, any change in pricing or competition after the Cornell-licensed patents expire on November 17. Fifth, gross margin against 62.9% and operating expenses against gross profit. Sixth, rulings in the FDA case and the Thorne suit, and any further step in the Elysium fee dispute after the October 30 reversal. Seventh, any use of the $50M at-the-market facility or the repurchase authorization against $69.5M of cash. Eighth, Niagen Plus revenue and NB4168 study milestones.

The Human Translation

Niagen sells one main ingredient, nicotinamide riboside, mostly in its own Tru Niagen capsules through its website and Amazon, and partly in bulk to other supplement brands and to pharmacies that prepare injections for clinics. Sales grew 30% in 2025 and have fallen every quarter since the third quarter of that year. Partners are ordering less, a rival compound won a favorable FDA decision, and spending has risen. The company has cash and no debt, and is betting on injections, skincare and a drug candidate.

Bottom Line

Watch fourth-quarter net sales against the third quarter's $27.2M and whether e-commerce meets the 5% full-year guidance. Then watch ingredient volume after the Cornell-licensed patents expire on November 17, gross margin against 62.9%, and the FDA case and the Thorne suit. Any use of the $50M at-the-market facility, and the first Niagen Plus and skincare revenue, would change the cash picture.

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