Bio-Techne (TECH) shares plummeted 5.30% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, despite the company reporting fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations. The significant drop in share price suggests investors may be focusing on other aspects of the company's financial performance beyond the headline numbers.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Bio-Techne reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.53, exceeding the FactSet consensus estimate of $0.50. This represents an improvement from $0.49 per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 came in at $316.964 million, slightly above analysts' expectations of $315.6 million and up from $306.1 million in the previous year.

However, despite the top-line and adjusted earnings beat, Bio-Techne's bottom line showed some concerning figures. The company reported a net loss of $17.677 million for the quarter, with an operating loss of $23.86 million and a pretax loss of $22.859 million. These negative figures, along with high operating expenses of $222.672 million, may be contributing to investor concerns and the subsequent stock decline. Additionally, during a conference call, a company executive revealed that Bio-Techne's total exposure to NIH-funded research is in the low single digits, below their prior estimates of 5% to 6%, which could be impacting future growth expectations.