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Symbotic Inc.(SYM)Q3 2026 法說會逐字稿

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OperatorOperator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Symbotic Third Quarter Financial Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a Q&A session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message if your line has been raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 again. Please limit your questions to one question and one follow-up. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Charles Lowell Anderson, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Charles Lowell AndersonVice President, Investor Relations

Hello. Welcome to Symbotic's third quarter of Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results Webcast. I am Charles Lowell Anderson, Symbotic's Vice President of Investor Relations. Some of the statements that we make today regarding our business operations and financial performance may be considered forward-looking. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially. Please refer to our Form 10-K, including the risk factors. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. In addition, during this call, we will present both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is included in today's earnings press release which is distributed and available to the public through our Investor Relations website located at ir.symbotic.com. On today's call, we are joined by Rick Cohen, Symbotic's founder, chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, and Izilda Martins, Symbotic's Chief Financial Officer. These executives will discuss our third quarter of fiscal year 2026 results and our outlook, followed by Q&A. With that, I will turn it over to Rick to begin. Rick?

Richard CohenFounder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Charles. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us to review our most recent results and business updates. We delivered strong third quarter results highlighted by continued revenue growth, and expanding margins leading to continued GAAP profitability, and adjusted EBITDA that more than doubled year over year. Thanks to another strong quarter, we remain well on track to achieve the objectives we laid out at the start of the year. As a reminder, our first objective was to leverage our growing product portfolio and capabilities to broaden our opportunities with customers. We are clearly seeing this play out as our break-pack product to handle individual items or eaches has now begun deployment at half of Walmart's regional distribution centers. In addition, we recently began installation of our SymMicro micro fulfillment system for ecommerce fulfillment at the back of a Walmart store, a significant step forward towards unlocking this exciting new category of our business.

We are also continuing to drive additional value for our customers that have existing operational systems by providing higher levels of performance through software to further optimize their supply chains. A recent example is using our software to more intelligently layer pallets, and dynamically optimize freight deliveries specifically for seasonal events like back-to-school. By doing so, we believe our customers can realize shorter delivery times and faster restocking during these critical periods. We believe customers are increasingly recognizing the impact our systems can have and as a result, we are seeing additional opportunities to broaden the scope of our work with both existing and prospective customers. For example, in the third quarter, we signed an agreement with Southern Glaciers Wine & Spirits for a second site after the success of their first facility. Southern Glaciers is a leading total beverage distributor serving 47 US markets and Canada.

As we drive additional value for our customers, it is allowing us to realize the second objective we laid out at the beginning of the year, which was to enhance our margins and profitability. Our forecast for the year implies full-year adjusted EBITDA that is more than double that of last fiscal year. This continues to be a key focus area for us and we see clear levers to continue enhancing our profitability, driven by value creation for our customers and further operational efficiencies. The final objective we laid out was to continue to invest in our innovation engine to expand our capabilities and support future growth. The analogy I often use here is that our automation is like an operating system, and we add apps to enhance its functionality for customers. For us, this is playing out both organically and inorganically. Organically, we are making several functionality upgrades to our SymBots to enhance the performance of our system.

For example, we deployed over 1,000 larger bots into our operational system this calendar year to handle a wider variety of SKUs. With this new bot, we have also built new modularized software development tools to give us enhanced flexibility to create different bots for different tasks and payloads, with our SymMicro bot being a perfect example. We are also in the process of rolling out LiDAR, enhanced camera systems, Nyobolt advanced batteries, and other updates, all with the aim of driving enhanced efficiency and performance for our systems. Inorganically, we have made two tuck-in technology acquisitions that expand our capabilities: Box Robotics for dock automation and most recently, ARMS Innovations for warehouse operations optimization. With ARMS, we have an opportunity to expand the reach of our software beyond our automation system to the entire warehouse operation, optimizing the movement of both equipment and people.

In summary, we are focused on meeting our objectives and in turn creating ravingly happy customers and expanding shareholder value. We also continue to have a solid balance sheet and backlog. As always, I want to thank our team for all their hard work, along with our customers and our investors for their continued support. I will now turn it over to Izzy, who will discuss our financial results and outlook. Izzy?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

Thanks, Rick. Fiscal third quarter revenue reached $721 million, near the high end of our forecasted range, and was up 22% year over year and up 7% quarter over quarter. We also improved GAAP profitability with $55 million in net income. Adjusted EBITDA of $95 million was above our forecasted range due to expanding margins and operational efficiency. Our revenue growth was driven by the continued expansion in the number of systems in deployment and the growth of operational systems that generate recurring revenue. We started 11 new system deployments in the third quarter, including the new Southern Glaciers site highlighted by Rick, bringing us to a total of 77 systems in deployment at the end of the quarter. This expansion in the number of deployments drove systems revenue growth of 20% year over year and 6% sequentially to $671 million. We also had four systems go operational during the quarter, bringing us to a total of 56 operational systems.

As our base of operational systems continues to expand, software revenue grew 57% year over year to $13 million and operation services revenue of $37 million grew 49% year over year in the fiscal third quarter. Turning to margins: in the fiscal third quarter, gross margin expanded both sequentially and year over year due to strong project execution, cost discipline benefits from scale, and revenue mix. Operating expenses on a GAAP basis were $128 million in the fiscal third quarter. Combined adjusted R&D and SG&A expenses totaled $85 million with SG&A down sequentially due to operational efficiencies. Net income for the fiscal third quarter was $55 million, an improvement from a net loss of $21 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025. This included an unrealized noncash gain on the fair value of our strategic investments of $19 million in the quarter, which was primarily driven by an increase in the value of our investment in Nyobolt, our next-generation battery supplier.

GAAP net income improved both year over year and sequentially, reflecting this impact as well as expanding margins and operating leverage. As Rick highlighted, adjusted EBITDA of $95 million was more than double the $45 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025. Our backlog of $22.5 billion remains strong. The slight decrease from last quarter primarily reflects revenue recognized in the quarter, offset by final pricing adjustments on projects started in the quarter and the addition of the new Southern Glaciers site. We finished the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.7 billion, down from $2 billion last quarter due primarily to timing of cash receipts related to project starts along with the timing of cash usage related to project activity. Now turning to the outlook: for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, we expect revenue between $700 million and $780 million and adjusted EBITDA between $100 million and $105 million. With that, we now welcome your questions. Operator?

分析師問答

OperatorOperator

Please begin the Q&A. Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be advanced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 again. Please remember to limit to one question and one follow-up question. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Andy Kaplowitz of Citigroup. Your line is now open.

Andy KaplowitzAnalyst, Citigroup

Close enough. How's everyone doing?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

Greg.

Andy KaplowitzAnalyst, Citigroup

So Rick, I know you said that you have now installed a SymMicro prototype into a Walmart store. Maybe you can give more color into where you are in that development process. I think you said previously you could see conversion on the five going to Walmart backlog before this at the end of the calendar year. Is that still the right time frame? And then as SymMicro has evolved, have you thought about the ultimate opportunity even beyond the initial $5 billion? I think, for instance, you have been working on solving perishables with a smaller system. So maybe just an update would be helpful.

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

Well, I think you have covered the whole waterfront there. SymMicro is being installed. It will take about six months to install the new version of our system into the first Walmart store. We are running 19 of the older versions currently, but we have been working with Walmart to develop this, so that will come to life about six months from now. We expect that will work very well. We have a second site that will follow shortly after that, and then that should trigger a bunch more sites once Walmart actually sees the system working. Your second question on perishables: we've seen a lot of interest in perishables. It seems like something clicked in the rest of the world. I think the realization that with the new structure you can save so much on the construction cost of these perishable buildings — and they are very expensive to start with — has driven a lot of interest. We expect within the next six months to begin building our first prototypes and testing.

Andy KaplowitzAnalyst, Citigroup

Very helpful. Izzy, maybe just revenue is beginning to accelerate now in Q4 as per your guidance? Given the new store structure, it seems like it is allowing you to accelerate deployments. Ultimately, do you continue to see acceleration in fiscal 2027 revenue? At least how should we think about that if you do not want to give specific guidance?

OperatorOperator

I think as Rick said, you covered it, but in your question, obviously, as we unveiled the next-generation storage structure, we were expecting that inflection point.

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

I think we are just starting that out. The sequential improvement quarter over quarter, including our guide, is steady. I think the real inflection point of the next-generation storage structure will really happen in the second half of next year as we proceed with the installation of that. That will be more meaningful. Helpful?

Andy KaplowitzAnalyst, Citigroup

Thanks, guys.

OperatorOperator

Our next caller comes from the line of Matt Summerville of D.A. Davidson. Your line is now open.

Matt SummervilleAnalyst, D.A. Davidson

Couple of questions. Can you maybe provide an update on where you are with customer acquisition for GreenBox and maybe update where you are at with site launches? And then I am also curious as to what initial inbound interest is with respect to that ARMS acquisition you referenced earlier.

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

So on GreenBox, our Atlanta site has gone live. We are receiving product there. Customers asked not to be named yet, but that site is now live and receiving product, and our Lathrop site — the customer is CNS — that Symbotic system is now complete.

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

That site will go live within the next 60 to 90 days, and that will be a nice revenue-producing site. Right now, we have the system in there, but we are not yet recognizing the revenue as the cases go through Symbotic.

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

So we are feeling good about these sites coming online. It has been a journey to get these sites filled up; we had to get the buildings built and show people. We have a lot of inbound interest. We have five buildings, and so the fact that we have five buildings allows us to talk to bigger customers as well as smaller customers. It is a process. The answer to your first question is we are live in Atlanta and receiving product. In Lathrop, California, we will start filling out about 100% of what we plan there within the next 60 to 90 days.

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

On ARMS, we are integrating the ARMS software with the operating system from Symbotic. We have a first site where we are doing the integration testing, and then we will be able to show people how that will work. We think that will be a very nice software revenue business for us because it creates great value in improving the efficiencies of maintenance across the whole system and process.

Matt SummervilleAnalyst, D.A. Davidson

That is helpful color. As a follow-up, curious if Southern Glaciers is using that next-gen storage structure and maybe remind us what the site opportunity may ultimately look like with that customer.

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

So in Southern Glaciers specifically?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

Southern Glaciers is not using the newest structure for their second site, in part because the way the liquor industry works — the cases are more standardized. I think the third and fourth sites probably will use it, but the second site was already started and designed. These are heavy liquor bottles and the case sizes are pretty standard. The new structure is beneficial when you have more varied box sizes. The real answer is they would have used it, but we were too far down the design and build path to change for that second site.

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

And for the potential there, as Rick mentioned in his prepared remarks, we are starting the second one. As you know, they serve 47 U.S. markets, including Canada.

Matt SummervilleAnalyst, D.A. Davidson

Got it. Thank you, guys.

OperatorOperator

Our next caller comes from the line of Joe Giordano of TD Cowen. Your line is now open.

Joe GiordanoAnalyst, TD Cowen

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Just a couple of clarifications. The Atlanta site for GreenBox: is that a single-customer site? I know you mentioned the customer does not want to be named. Is that customer planning on taking the whole site or is it multi-tenant?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

We are receiving the first customer, and we have not determined how much space they are going to need, but they are building up pretty quickly. It will be a multi-tenant site.

Joe GiordanoAnalyst, TD Cowen

On the micro fulfillment, you said you are going to deliver — you are building it out over six months and then you will do a second prototype. What is the mechanism in the contract? I thought the contract was such that once they accept a version, it automatically triggers the five-billion and the 400-store order. What is required to have that hit?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

The way we have done things with Walmart in partnership is we build a prototype. We build it so that it works, and we also learn from the prototype. We are building it into a store; I am not sure I am supposed to announce the store, but it will become obvious pretty soon. We will overbuild it to make sure it works, and then we will redesign to get cost out — make it smaller and more efficient. Walmart may add items or delete items. When we do the second version, that is usually what triggers the larger order, such as the 400 stores. The most important thing with these sites is the coordination of hardware and, often more importantly, software. Many micro-fulfillment deployments fail because software and automation are not coordinated enough. We will overbuild this, but we probably will not build 400 of the version we are building now. The version after this one is what will likely scale.

Joe GiordanoAnalyst, TD Cowen

Great. Izzy, how should we think about the pacing of system adds maybe for next quarter and into the near future?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

As you noticed, we had three great quarters in a row. I had originally mentioned a couple quarters ago that the fourth might be a little light. Actually, as I see the trajectory now, I think the fourth quarter will be in line with the third, maybe just a little short of the third. So great expectations where we have been in the last three quarters and where we are going to land for the year.

Joe GiordanoAnalyst, TD Cowen

Great. Thanks, guys.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Kenneth Newman of KeyBanc Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

Ken NewmanAnalyst, KeyBanc Capital Markets

Hey. Good evening, guys. As you think about the new storage system now being fully implemented, how should we think about the cadence of segment gross margin improvement, given that you expect that to maybe ramp in the back half of next year? I'm trying to think about the opportunity for gross margin improvement there and the cadence of that in coming quarters.

OperatorOperator

So let me unpack your question a little bit.

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

First, let me repeat what Rick said on micro-fulfillment. We are starting the first prototype now. We expect to get to the second prototype during or in the middle of that process. I am not expecting the store order mentioned in the contract to convert probably until early 2028. When you think about margins, our journey of improving margins means this contract is more profitable from that perspective. Think of it as a mix story. The first step is probably closer to the second half of next year, when the inflection point occurs as installations of the next-gen system ramp. Then you also add the back-of-store implementations, and that mix will move margins higher. We had a great margin quarter; as I said last quarter I expected stable margins, and our fourth quarter outlook is aligned with that. Overall, we view this as a multi-step improvement with more meaningful benefits later next year and into 2028.

Ken NewmanAnalyst, KeyBanc Capital Markets

Maybe for the follow-on here, Rick, it was interesting to see a couple of bolt-on deals this quarter and one last quarter as well. As you look at the forward innovation pipeline, any color on other types of deals you're looking at that might help drive faster deployments? Also, can you talk about what you're spending on AI development in terms of token spend versus hardware spend on R&D?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

We are looking at more bolt-ons. It is an interesting time: a lot of money is chasing AI and some traditional automation companies are running into funding problems, so we become an attractive home for people to approach us as investors or acquirers. We built up our balance sheet with that in mind, and I think we will see continued opportunities — some hardware, some software, and some vision technologies. Regarding AI, we've been doing AI and machine learning for years — essentially before it was labeled AI. We have been doing vision, LiDAR, and other perception systems and we generate an enormous amount of data at every site. We are looking to economically store it in the cloud and we are writing our own AI agents. Yes, we use some external tools to audit code, but mostly we will develop our own AI agents to predict and tell us what is going to go wrong before it happens, communicate with robots to direct them out of the system, tell maintenance people what is wrong, and fix them. That's something we will do largely in-house, not something we'll outsource heavily. About 80% of what some companies thought of as AI last year was formatting and not using the data we need. Because we generate so much data and have mined it for years, we are focused on the most efficient way to use it cost-effectively.

Ken NewmanAnalyst, KeyBanc Capital Markets

When you talk about scaling the infrastructure on the AI software side, does that require an incremental scale-up in tokens needed to operate that system, or is that really just scaling inference?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

We are using some tokens, but there is a lot of open-source AI and different AI approaches. We are also looking at edge AI that does not require going to the cloud; we can imbue technology right into our bots. With the new NVIDIA chips, we have roughly four times as much compute and storage in our bots compared to two years ago. So I do not think tokens and AI expense will be a major issue for us. We are focused on doing as much as we can internally. One thing we've learned is much of the AI people were considering last year was pre-processing. The core of our work is using the deep operational data we generate to build efficient, effective AI agents to drive operations, not just to generate reports.

Ken NewmanAnalyst, KeyBanc Capital Markets

Thank you. Appreciate it.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Mark Delaney of Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open.

Mark DelaneyAnalyst, Goldman Sachs

Good afternoon. Thank you very much for taking the questions. Better margins were one of the key highlights from the quarter. I believe adjusted EBITDA was about $11 million above the midpoint of your guidance, so can you share more on what led to the degree of margin improvement in 3Q and the upside relative to your forecast?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

I will take that. If you think about the margins, just in the amount of revenue we had in the systems, those margins came in quite solid. Quarter over quarter they came in a little better than we originally expected. That was driven by project execution and the mix of business we had in the quarter. Our services continued to deliver profitability and were a bit better than expected. Also, the operating leverage was strong: in our non-GAAP expense base, year over year it was only up about 3%. So the combination of systems, operation services, and scale allowed us to deliver a more profitable quarter. That contributed to adjusted EBITDA being above our guidance midpoint.

Mark DelaneyAnalyst, Goldman Sachs

Very helpful. My other question was on cash flow. You cited timing as the reason free cash flow was a headwind in the quarter. How should we think about free cash flow for the upcoming quarter? Do some of those timing issues persist, or will the better EBITDA drive improved cash flow?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

I would treat the free cash flow impact in the quarter as a timing item. Some payments came in a week later, and if we had an extra week in the quarter you would not have seen that blip. For the fourth quarter, I would expect positive free cash flow. In general, given our business, it's better to measure free cash flow over a longer period — on an annual basis we expect free cash flow to be positive.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Robert Mason of Baird. Your line is now open.

Robert MasonAnalyst, Baird

Hey, afternoon, guys. Now that you have owned FoxRobots for a little bit, curious if there are any updates to their product that you have made or are contemplating that improves integration with your system. I think you have also mentioned some of their largest customers are not Symbotic customers. Any updates on discussions with any of their customers and whether they could be potential Symbotic customers?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

We have been encouraged. All of the FoxRobots customers we've spoken with are delighted that we bought the company. We are in talks with all of them. We have hired new people and new sales staff there. We're doing a complete review with two of the larger customers to learn what they'd like for next versions and next steps. We think it will be a very nice business. It's a small company but with big potential. The customers are excited we own the company. In some cases they might want a Symbotic system and in others they are interested in a combination of FoxRobots, ARMS software, and other software we are looking at to help them with dock management. We've just started, but the reception has been positive.

Robert MasonAnalyst, Baird

Thanks. Izzy, you have been on a nice sequential EBITDA margin progression for the better part of two years. Your fourth-quarter guide implies flattish EBITDA margin sequentially despite higher revenue. Could you unpack why margins would not continue to improve with operating leverage?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

Based on our latest forecast, we do expect OpEx to increase slightly, more on the SG&A side. That slight uptick in OpEx is the main reason why EBITDA margin in our current guidance is flat quarter over quarter. Gross margins are where they are; on a non-GAAP basis we landed at 25% this quarter. I expect stabilization through the end of the second quarter next year. So the two main reasons for flat EBITDA margin are the small expected uptick in OpEx and our expectation around gross margins stabilizing.

Robert MasonAnalyst, Baird

Thank you.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Guy Hardwick of Barclays. Your line is now open.

Guy HardwickAnalyst, Barclays

Hi, guys. Could you update us on the remaining performance obligations? I think the 10-Q says $22.5 billion and 15% realized over the next 12 months. It does not look like the changes were as significant this quarter as the previous quarter. Was there anything unusual or just regular contract ups as you begin deployments, particularly since you said 11 starts?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

The $22.5 billion and the 15% within the next 12 months is exactly what we put out there. The slight change from $22.7 to $22.5 is largely due to revenue recognized in the quarter, pricing adjustments when we update the backlog, and the addition of Southern Glaziers. It really comes down to the mix of deployments and the timing of pricing adjustments. It can be lumpy quarter to quarter. The more promising thing is that despite quarterly revenue generation, our backlog remains very stable. Also, the backlog does not include the contract for the 400 back-of-store systems.

Guy HardwickAnalyst, Barclays

Izzy, it looks like revenue per deployment has been falling for at least four quarters. Is that a mix effect? It seems odd since system sizes in the Walmart business are actually going up.

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

That is primarily a function of timing in the installation cycle. Revenue recognition ramps as a deployment hits later phases, so it creates lumpiness. It's better to look across multiple quarters to see the trend. Our expectation is revenue will grow, and we are always focused on increasing backlog and deployments.

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

The revenue is going up and we expect revenue to continue to go up.

Guy HardwickAnalyst, Barclays

Thank you.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Colin Rusch of Oppenheimer and Company. Your line is now open.

Colin RuschAnalyst, Oppenheimer

Thanks so much. With the ARMS technology platform acquired, can you talk about the opportunity to start introducing new offerings with semi-automation or robots that are more interactive with humans and existing assets? Might that provide a lower barrier to entry for some customers to get started and then move to fully automated systems?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

Yes. ARMS is software-only and we can sell it to customers as an add-on to improve operations even if they don't buy our full automation system. FoxRobots are price points that can be attractive as an entry product; they are roughly $100,000 machines. Some FoxRobots customers are large companies that may never buy a full Symbotic system but would buy many of these robots. We can also sell small entry-level systems, a dock system, or a single in-and-out cell to help customers enter the automation space without a full-scale deployment. Back-of-store systems are another lower-barrier opportunity. So yes, ARMS and FoxRobots provide more go-to-market options across a range of price points and customer needs.

Colin RuschAnalyst, Oppenheimer

There has been investment around perception technology, including LiDAR with color capability and functional safety. How much leverage might you get from those perception solutions into simplifying bot design and optimizing performance, and how should we think about the adoption cycle for those newer perception technologies?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

There are several companies using LiDAR for slow-moving bots that interact with people. What we are doing is putting LiDAR on fast-moving, heavy bots. The change in technology is that LiDAR used to cost thousands of dollars; now some units are under $500, making it affordable across our bot fleet. That, combined with improved compute on the bots, enables much richer perception and safer, faster motion. Combined with ARMS and AI, this moves us closer to a lights-out facility where humans do not have to enter frequently to interact with bots. That kind of capability does not broadly exist in warehouse automation today, and it's a differentiator for us.

Colin RuschAnalyst, Oppenheimer

Thanks, guys.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Derek Soderberg with Cantor Fitzgerald. Your line is now open.

Derek SoderbergAnalyst, Cantor Fitzgerald

Hey, everyone. Thanks for taking my question. Rick, can you expand on the ARMS acquisition a bit? How will you monetize it? Will it be subscription or bundled in systems pricing? Is this more for GreenBox or will you deploy this with your large existing customers as well?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

We will deploy ARMS as an option for all Symbotic customers, including GreenBox. It will be a software add-on. ARMS creates a database combined with our operating system and provides actionable maintenance guidance. For example, a maintenance technician's handheld could be directed to lift 606, geolocated to a part of the building, with a diagnostic, a picture of the part to fix, and confirmation that the replacement parts are in inventory. That reduces wasted trips and improves service time. We will monetize it via value pricing: if we save a customer $1 million in warehouse maintenance, we will charge a portion of those savings. It can be sold to many customers as an ultimate warehouse maintenance and operations management system.

Derek SoderbergAnalyst, Cantor Fitzgerald

Got it. Could a large retailer eventually cede control of distribution facilities to Symbotic or GreenBox, such that you run the facilities and they pay you per case? Are those conversations happening?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

We have done that in some cases where we sell a system and then operate it at a cost per case. GreenBox is getting inquiries and we've been funneling them to GreenBox. ARMS reduces operating costs, so if we run a customer's facilities, our operating costs would be lower and we'd benefit from both software and operational efficiencies. Yes, those discussions are happening and it's part of what GreenBox will be able to offer to customers.

Derek SoderbergAnalyst, Cantor Fitzgerald

Thanks.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Greg Palm of Craig-Hallum. Your line is now open.

Greg PalmAnalyst, Craig-Hallum

Thanks. I wanted to go back to OpEx and R&D. Given newer opportunities like perishables and micro-fulfillment, it was a little surprising to see R&D come down. It sounds like it might stay stable. Is that a reallocation of expenses or are you pausing some development?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

Hi Greg. R&D expense quarter over quarter was flat. The things Rick mentioned are in our roadmap and we will invest when needed. I expect an uptick in OpEx, and between R&D and SG&A we expect a modest increase in future quarters. We want to maintain flexibility to increase R&D where appropriate. The comment about EBITDA margins staying flat quarter over quarter is to give us that flexibility. So R&D has not come down; it remained flat and I expect a little uptick in the fourth quarter and beyond.

Greg PalmAnalyst, Craig-Hallum

That makes sense. One final question: Steve is joining the board. Given his background, what does he bring and how will he help you scale?

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

I met Steve through another board and have spent time with him. He has a strategic M&A background and experience at Bain in technology. He will be very helpful as we look to be acquisitive. We built a balance sheet to be acquisitive and Steve is a perfect board member to help guide that strategy.

OperatorOperator

Our next question comes from the line of Michael Latimore of Northland Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

Michael LatimoreAnalyst, Northland Capital Markets

Two questions. On ARMS, how might you price that? Per warehouse or per some metric? And in the third quarter, how much revenue came from micro-fulfillment?

Izilda MartinsChief Financial Officer

ARMS will be value-priced. If we can save somebody $1 million in warehouse maintenance, we will charge a portion of that. On micro-fulfillment revenue recorded in the quarter, it was in the high single-digit millions, which is about the average we expect going forward as we ramp prototypes and initial sites.

OperatorOperator

Our next caller is Joe Giordano of TD Cowen. Your line is now open.

Joe GiordanoAnalyst, TD Cowen

Thanks for letting me have the follow-up. On GreenBox, what does the final design look like for the customer? What did they decide regarding trucks and who is responsible for inbound and outbound logistics? There are different ways to structure it and I'm curious which approach you are taking.

Richard CohenChief Executive Officer

We partnered with Manhattan for the warehouse management integration because many customers are familiar with Manhattan's integration layer. We are also doing our own integration layer. Inside the building: we will move pallets, move cases, and do each picking. We have hired some of our own transportation people and we will also engage with transportation brokers or carriers to bring customers into our facilities. We can manage freight when customers want us to manage it. We'll have capability both inbound and outbound, but likely more so outbound.

Joe GiordanoAnalyst, TD Cowen

Good. Thank you.

OperatorOperator

This concludes the Q&A session. I would now like to turn it back to Charles Lowell Anderson for closing remarks.

Charles Lowell AndersonVice President, Investor Relations

Yes. Thanks, everybody, as always, for joining our call tonight. We really appreciate your interest in Symbotic, and I hope everybody has a good day. Thanks so much.

OperatorOperator

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

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