Illumina reported flat third‑quarter revenue and slightly raised its full‑year guidance even as export restrictions and partial instrument sales bans in China continued to depress results. Greater China revenues declined sharply—instrument sales were down materially—though the company said local OEM manufacturing approvals for select instruments provide a limited path forward. CEO Jacob Thaysen highlighted resilience in clinical sequencing and the NovaSeq X uptake, which now drives over half of high‑throughput consumable revenues. The China situation remains a multiyear operational and strategic headwind: Illumina is pursuing localized manufacturing and regulatory dialogue but cautioned that a long‑term resolution is not yet in hand. For sequencing customers, the development affects access to instruments and service timelines in China and signals geopolitics as a persistent commercial risk for life‑science tools vendors.