Senestech (NASDAQ:SNES) outlined increased revenue, improving margins, and an ongoing leadership transition during its fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2025 financial results conference call, while emphasizing a strategy centered on e-commerce, municipal adoption, and selective expansion into retail and international markets.
Leadership transition and board oversight
Dr. Jamie Bechtel, who serves as chair of the board, said the company’s President and CEO, Joel Fruendt, is retiring after “several years of leadership.” Bechtel said the board created an interim executive chair role to support continuity and alignment between the board and management while a CEO search is underway, adding that the transition is “planned and orderly” and the business is continuing “without interruption.”
Revenue growth, e-commerce shift, and channel mix
Chief Financial Officer Tom Chesterman reported that full-year 2025 revenue increased 20% to approximately $2.2 million, compared with $1.86 million in 2024. He noted that fourth-quarter results included an approximately $200,000 temporary revenue impact tied to the company’s transition to directly managing sales of Evolve Rat and Evolve Mouse on Amazon. Excluding that transition impact, Chesterman said full-year revenue growth would have been closer to 30%.
Chesterman described the Amazon change as a key step in Senestech’s e-commerce strategy, saying direct management allows the company to improve product presentation, optimize marketing using platform data, and retain a greater portion of the revenue generated through the channel. He said e-commerce was the fastest-growing segment in 2025, with e-commerce revenue up 88% driven by Amazon and the company’s direct-to-consumer website. Even with the temporary transition impact, Chesterman said e-commerce represents more than half of total revenue.
In response to a question about 2026 growth, management said revenue growth could be higher than the company’s adjusted 2025 growth rate and that it is aiming to accelerate growth “as long as it remains profitable.”
Municipal, retail, international, and other market activity
Chesterman said Senestech continues to expand across multiple verticals beyond e-commerce. In municipal markets, he pointed to growing interest in fertility control approaches as cities consider alternatives to traditional rodent control methods and referenced programs in New York City, Chicago, and other areas as part of a broader shift toward integrated pest management.
- Chicago: Chesterman said Chicago neighborhoods deploying Evolve continue to reorder and expand deployment.
- New York City: He said the city will soon conclude its trial of Evolve, and Senestech is already in discussions with potential deployment partners “to be able to move quickly.” In Q&A, management said the trial is expected to conclude in the spring, around the middle of the second quarter, but it could not provide revenue expectations until the city’s next steps are known.
- Other municipalities: Management said Baltimore concluded its study and has been deploying Evolve. It also said there is an ongoing San Francisco trial with a local pest management company using some state funding, and referenced a UC Irvine housing project trial that concluded successfully and continued expanding.
On retail, Chesterman said the company made multiple presentations to large brick-and-mortar retailers and characterized retail decision-making as a longer process. He said Amazon success and municipal press can help retail discussions. During Q&A, management said broader shelf placement in brick-and-mortar retailers may be more likely in the second half of 2026, citing retailer decision timeframes. It also described existing efforts with Home Depot and Lowe’s as smaller-scale and more akin to trial activity and ongoing discussions rather than a major source of current e-commerce revenue.
Internationally, Chesterman said Evolve received regulatory approval in New Zealand and Senestech shipped an initial stocking order to its exclusive partner, Evicom. In Q&A, the company clarified the shipment occurred in the first quarter and that the inventory used for it has been replaced; it also confirmed revenue recognition for that order occurred in Q1. Management cited Australia as nearing the conclusion of its regulatory review, saying it expects a response “in the spring” and that it is expecting a positive outcome, while declining to discuss other international opportunities until agreements are signed.
Management also discussed activity in agricultural markets, saying performance has been strong in almond groves and that work continues on crops such as sugarcane. It cited expansion into poultry and noted what it described as an emerging opportunity related to rats damaging irrigation equipment. The company also said it plans to expand its sales team and is assessing the resources needed to maximize business-to-business sales, including opportunities in California where certain rodenticides have been limited or banned.
Profitability metrics, legal costs, and liquidity
Chesterman reported gross margin improved to 62.5% in 2025 from 54.1% in 2024, attributing the change to improved product mix and the growing contribution from e-commerce channels. The company posted a net loss of $6.4 million, compared with a net loss of $6.2 million in 2024. Chesterman said 2025 results included approximately $631,000 in one-time legal expenses (some associated with Liphatech) and $135,000 in non-cash operating lease expense; excluding these items, he said adjusted net loss would have been approximately $5.6 million.
Adjusted EBITDA loss improved to $5.3 million from $5.8 million in 2024. Senestech ended the year with $8.6 million in cash and short-term investments, which management said provides a “solid operating runway.” Asked about improvement prospects, management said there is “no reason why improvement should not be expected and sought after,” while also noting it takes a conservative approach to disclosures.
Chesterman also said the company’s legal dispute with Liphatech has been resolved, with all litigation dismissed and unable to be reinstated. In Q&A, management said the matter should not recur and described the outcome as satisfactory to all parties and immaterial financially and operationally.
2026 priorities and execution focus
Looking ahead, management said its focus is on maintaining financial discipline while investing in areas showing traction, including e-commerce expansion, municipal adoption, and continued validation of its technology. Bechtel said the company will keep shareholders informed as the CEO transition progresses, while Chesterman characterized 2025 as a year of groundwork and said management expects to see benefits from those efforts in future performance.
About Senestech (NASDAQ:SNES)
SenesTech, Inc (NASDAQ: SNES) is a biotechnology company specializing in non-lethal pest management solutions. The company’s core focus is the development and commercialization of fertility-based control methods for commensal rodents, providing an alternative to traditional rodenticides. By targeting the reproductive cycle of rats, SenesTech aims to reduce rodent populations over time without the use of toxic chemicals, offering a more sustainable approach for pest management professionals.
The company’s flagship product, ContraPest®, is an EPA-registered liquid bait that disrupts rodent reproduction.
