Autolus Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: AUTL) shares plummeted 13.36% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, despite the company reporting better-than-expected second-quarter 2025 financial results. The significant drop highlights investors' concerns over the biotech firm's financial health, overshadowing its earnings beat.

For Q2 2025, Autolus reported a net loss of $47.9 million, or $(0.18) per share, showing improvement from the $58.3 million loss, or $(0.22) per share, in the same period last year. The company's earnings per share of $(0.18) surpassed the analyst consensus estimate of $(0.24) by 25%. Revenue also impressed, coming in at $20.923 million, significantly exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $12.905 million by 62.13%.

However, investors appear to be more focused on Autolus' cash position, which decreased from $588.0 million at the end of 2024 to $454.3 million as of June 30, 2025. This decline was primarily attributed to net cash used in operating activities and a delayed receipt of about $21.7 million in R&D tax credit expected from the UK HMRC. The market's negative reaction suggests growing concerns about the company's cash burn rate, despite Autolus stating that it is well-capitalized to support the launch and commercialization of its lead product, obe-cel, in r/r B-ALL and to obtain data in ongoing trials. This sharp stock decline underscores the challenges biotech companies face in balancing promising clinical developments with financial sustainability in the eyes of investors.