DNA vs ILMN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. DNA and ILMN share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined DNA and ILMN exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) is a synthetic-biology company built around a horizontal cell-programming platform. Historically it reported in two segments: Cell Engineering, where its automated Foundry labs and Datapoints data service engineer and characterize cells for pharma, agriculture, food, and industrial customers; and Biosecurity, which provided pathogen monitoring and bioinformatics to governments and institutions. Cell Engineering revenue is generated through R&D service fees, its Datapoints biological-data offerings, and design, build, and support fees for its lab-automation (RAC) systems. Ginkgo went public via SPAC in 2021 at a lofty valuation that has since collapsed.

Full DNA guide

Illumina designs, makes, and sells next-generation DNA sequencing systems and the consumables that run on them, serving research, clinical, and applied-genomics customers. Its business follows a razor-and-blades model: instruments such as the high-throughput NovaSeq X, the NextSeq, and the benchtop MiSeq seed an installed base, and the bulk of revenue then comes from recurring sequencing consumables (reagents and flow cells), which historically make up the majority of sales. The company is also pushing into multiomics, proteomics, and clinical diagnostics to expand what its platforms can measure. Illumina is headquartered in San Diego, was founded in 1998, and is led by CEO Jacob Thaysen.

Full ILMN guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• DNA drivers: AI, autonomous labs, and Datapoints; Cost restructuring toward breakeven.
• ILMN drivers: Installed base and the consumables annuity; The NovaSeq X transition.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The dominant risk is cash burn against an uncertain path to profitability: Ginkgo remains deeply unprofitable, revenue has kept falling year over year, and it is spending down its cash while promising breakeven that has not yet arrived. For ILMN, competition is intensifying: Ultima Genomics markets bulk whole-genome sequencing near $80 a genome, Element Biosciences' AVITI undercuts benchtop economics, and PacBio and Oxford Nanopore hold long-read niches, all pressuring Illumina's pricing and share.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick DNA if you believe its drivers more; ILMN if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the DNA and ILMN guides.

DNA. These are qualitative descriptions, not precise figures, and they are tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Traditional earnings multiples do not apply to Ginkgo because it is unprofitable, so what matters is the trajectory of revenue, losses, cash burn, and progress toward the stated breakeven target. Because the company is pre-profit and pivoting its model, its valuation reflects belief in a future that has not yet been proven.

ILMN. Illumina trades at a premium earnings multiple that reflects its platform dominance and consumables annuity, set against low-single-digit revenue growth and a slow-growing end market. Full-year 2025 revenue was about $4.34 billion, and the company guided fiscal 2026 to roughly $4.5 to $4.6 billion with operating margins recovering toward the low-to-mid 20s. All figures are approximate, tied to the June 2026 asOf date, and move with the share price and reported results; verify current numbers before relying on them.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): DNA shows revenue (ttm) Small and declining; Cell Engineering revenue fell year over year, and recent quarterly revenue dropped sharply versus the prior-year period, net loss / adjusted ebitda Still loss-making; large GAAP net losses continue, though narrower than before, with adjusted-EBITDA breakeven targeted by end of 2026, cash position Several hundred million dollars in cash and marketable securities, funding operations while the company burns cash under its restructuring plan, path to profitability Management guides to adjusted-EBITDA breakeven by the end of 2026 via cost cuts; sustained GAAP profitability is not yet in sight; ILMN shows revenue (fy2025) ~$4.34 billion (approximate, verify), 2026 revenue guidance ~$4.5-4.6 billion, ~4-6% growth (company guidance, verify), consumables mix Majority of revenue is recurring consumables (razor-and-blades; verify), non-gaap operating margin (2026 guide) ~23.3-23.5% (company guidance, verify).

DNA and ILMN are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined DNA and ILMN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.