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Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. ET Director of Investor Relations - Connie Johnson President and Chief Executive Officer - Warren Foust Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Deborah Andrews Operator: Welcome to the STAAR Surgical second quarter 2026 results conference call and webcast. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Connie Johnson, Director of Investor Relations. Connie Johnson: Thank you, operator. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. On the call today are Warren Foust, President and Chief Executive Officer of STAAR Surgical, and Deborah Andrews, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of STAAR Surgical. Earlier today, we reported our second quarter 2026 results via a press release in Form 8-K. We posted our results, release, and shareholder letter to our investor website at investors.staar.com. Today's call is scheduled for 1 hour and will include Q&A for publishing analysts. Webcast participants can also send questions for today's Q&A session to [email protected]. Before we get started, I want to remind you that during today's discussion, we will be making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. I encourage you to read the disclosures in today's release, as well as on our filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, STAAR assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or actual outcomes. In addition, during today's discussion, we will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures including adjusted EBITDA and constant currency sales. Please refer to today's release for definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP metrics. For brevity, unless otherwise specified, all comparisons on today's call will be on a year-over-year basis versus the relevant period. Finally, a quick reminder. We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included on our website in the investor relations section. Accordingly, investors should monitor our investor website in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts. And with that, I would like to turn the presentation over to our President and CEO, Warren Foust. Warren Foust: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Six months ago, Deborah and I stepped into our roles as interim co-CEOs. Looking back now, I am struck by how much we accomplished together. We navigated uncertainty and challenges and leaned into significant opportunities. And today, we are proud to report the strongest first half revenue performance in STAAR's history. That includes the launch of EVO Plus in China, which fueled market share gains and drove both year-over-year and sequential growth in the region, back-to-back record quarters in the U.S., and a return to profitability and free cash flow generation across the business. These results reflect the focus, resilience, and execution of teams across the company, and that is a milestone worth celebrating. Through it all, it's been a tremendous experience, one that I'm grateful for. As we move forward, I'm proud to do so as President and Chief Executive Officer. I thank the Board for their confidence and each of you for your continued support. I want to take a moment to recognize and thank Deborah Andrews. Over the past 6 months, Deborah has been an extraordinary partner, steady, wise, and tireless in her commitment to STAAR. Her clarity and focus on financial discipline, culture, and strategy have profoundly benefited this company. I'm thrilled that she continues as Chief Financial Officer and is doing so now as an Executive Vice President. I could not ask for a better partner as we lead our company forward. Now, let's talk about the quarter, which was a strong one. Our shareholder letter published today covers our second quarter results, regional performance, ERP implementation, and long-term priorities in detail. Rather than repeat all of that here, I want to focus on the 3 priorities that we laid out nearly 6 months ago. Revenue growth, profit expansion, and innovation acceleration. In the second quarter, we advanced all 3, and I'd like to walk you through where we stand. Starting with revenue growth, the second quarter was a strong revenue quarter. Net sales were $93.5 million, up 111% year over year. We delivered sequential growth in China, double-digit growth in the Americas, and double-digit growth in EMEA, excluding the Middle East. Deborah will take you through the details a little later, but the headline is clear. This business is performing. One important item I want to flag for your modeling. Our third quarter of 2025 results included the recognition of $25.9 million related to the 2024 order. On a consolidated basis, third quarter 2025 net sales were $94.7 million. Excluding that item, though, the comparable total base is $68.8 million. That revenue from the 2024 order will not repeat, and we encourage you to use the adjusted base when evaluating third quarter 2026 year-over-year results. Fourth quarter comparisons are unaffected. Fourth quarter 2025 net sales were $57.8 million. Now on China, I'm proud of our market share gains and of our expanding EVO Plus launch. China remains critical to our success in an area where we have a compelling opportunity ahead. In the quarter, China grew sequentially supported by increased adoption of EVO Plus, and importantly, we saw no evidence of inventory build at distributors or hospitals reinforcing that our growth is being driven by demand. The broader refractive market remains uneven. Recent industry commentary reinforces the view that procedures remain pressured in parts of China and APAC. Against that backdrop, STAAR's performance supports our belief that EVO is gaining market share. We're definitely getting a lift from the EVO Plus rollout, but more than that, we're seeing patients and surgeons really leaning into the benefits of lens-based surgery. People like that EVO is reversible and doesn't require removing corneal tissue, and that's a big differentiator as laser-based procedures continue to struggle in many markets around the world. We also want to provide more clarity on China's seasonality. As discussed in our shareholder letter, the quarterly pattern in China has evolved. The first and second quarters are emerging as our strongest revenue quarters, supported by Chinese New Year, a shift forward of military recruitment-related procedures, and summer demand. While the third quarter revenue is expected to be moderately lower than the second quarter due to shifts in seasonality, excluding the 1-time order of $25.9 million booked in the third quarter of 2025, we expect year-over-year growth. As is typical, the fourth quarter will remain seasonally softer than the first 3 quarters, but we are still planning for year-over-year growth. Outside China, we continue to see strong revenue contributions in key markets such as Japan and Korea, as well as double-digit growth in the U.S., the Americas broadly, and excluding the Middle East and EMEA as well. We also see compelling long-term opportunities in many other markets around the globe. In the Americas, growth was led by another greater than $6 million quarter in the U.S., our second consecutive quarter at that level. The U.S. market remains underpenetrated, and we continue to see opportunity to grow EVO sales and continue to take market share as practices look for differentiated, lens-based refractive alternatives to laser vision correction as demand for laser procedures continues to decline. In APAC outside of China, Japan remains an important market where EVO has strong category awareness, is a strong market leader, and has sustainable long-term potential. We continue to see solid underlying demand in Japan, bolstered by direct-to-consumer awareness initiatives launched in November of 2025. Unit volume rose 14%, though currency headwinds damaged the market and reported sales growth, which came in at 2%. Across the broader region, market dynamics vary, and we are being disciplined about where we invest. In EMEA, excluding the Middle East, the region grew double digits, reflecting solid underlying demand across much of the region. Across all regions, our approach is consistent. Invest where we see the clearest returns and support surgeons and patients through service, training, and education. While we continue driving the global shift from laser-based to lens-based refractive surgery, we are also working to increase our product availability in order to satisfy the accelerating global demand that has outpaced our supply chain projections. The second area is profit expansion. In the second quarter, we demonstrated meaningful progress in expanding profitability. We grew gross profit and net income compared with both the prior year quarter and the first quarter. These improvements resulted in significant cash flow generation, increasing cash from $163.9 million at the end of the first quarter to $181.5 million at the end of the second quarter. This progress reflects the strength of our business model and the financial discipline that Deborah and the team had brought to the organization. The result is a company with strong gross margins, a strong balance sheet, no debt, an increasing cash balance, and the flexibility to invest in the business where it matters, commercial execution, customer support, product availability, innovation, and the systems that help us scale. Our ERP implementation demanded significant energy and focus across the organization in the quarter. And our teams delivered. We continued to sell EVO lenses. We provided support for our customers and achieved strong results. The ERP system is now live and we are actively optimizing the system in the third quarter. This is not just an operational upgrade. It is a foundational investment that improves visibility across our business and positions us to scale more effectively and efficiently as we grow. With the ERP system in place, we are also beginning to build towards artificial intelligence enabled capabilities that will improve how we operate over time. The third area, innovation acceleration, is the one that I am most excited about. EVO is a genuinely differentiated product built on our proprietary Collamer material. It is a lens-based procedure that preserves the cornea, is removable by a surgeon, and addresses a broad range of myopia and astigmatism. While our progress is significant and exciting, accelerating, our global share of the refractive market remains far below what we believe is possible. That gap is our opportunity. Capturing it requires moving beyond a single product mindset. EVO, powered by Collamer, is our foundation, but we have the opportunity to build a broader platform and a more diversified product organization supported by a disciplined innovation roadmap, structured product development, clear milestones, and a stronger execution accountability. Our R&D team, including our advanced research group, is working hard against these objectives and is actively preparing for first-in-human studies on our next-generation product. To further support our efforts, we will soon be hiring a chief technology officer to drive STAAR's innovation agenda. I have personally led this search with the support from trusted advisors and our board. And I'll say this, this process has only deepened my conviction about STAAR's long-term potential. I'm excited to share more in the coming weeks. This is the next chapter of STAAR, Grounded and Differentiated Technology, Disciplined Execution and Sustainable Long-Term Value Creation. With that, I'll turn the call over to Deborah to walk through the financials in more detail. Deborah Andrews: Thank you, Warren. I'll provide a brief financial summary and then we'll move to Q&A. Second quarter net sales were $93.5 million compared to $44.3 million in the prior year quarter, which, as a reminder, was impacted by minimal China shipments while distributors worked through excess inventory. Excluding China, net sales were $41.2 million, up 6% year over year. Regionally, the quarter was generally consistent with the preliminary net sales update we provided in July. APAC net sales increased 189% year-over-year. Excluding China, net sales were up 7% year-over-year. China net sales increased 100 plus percent and grew 10% sequentially to $52.3 million. In Japan, unit volume rose 14%, though currency headwinds dampened reported sales growth, which came in at 2%. The Americas grew 12% year-over-year, and the U.S. delivered another approximately $6 million quarter. EMEA has declined 1%, resulting from the continued conflicts in the Middle East. Excluding the Middle East, EMEA also grew 12% year over year. Gross margin was 74.5% compared to 74% in the prior year quarter. The improvement reflected lower Switzerland ramp-up costs, reduced advanced manufacturing expenses, inventory provisions and lower freight and other costs of sales as a percentage of sales, partially offset by higher per unit manufacturing costs related to lower production volumes in 2025. Gross margin was also negatively impacted by China tariffs on U.S. manufactured product. Margins will continue to be impacted by tariffs until 100% of products shipped to China are manufactured in Switzerland, which should happen by the end of 2026. Total operating expenses were $59.6 million compared to $62.8 million in the prior year quarter. Excluding $5.2 million in restructuring and merger related costs from the prior year period, operating expenses increased approximately 3.7% year over year. Included within operating expenses were $1.2 million in marketing severance and $1.7 million in ERP consulting. We don't expect the severance to repeat and expect the ERP consulting expense to decline significantly beginning in the fourth quarter. Depreciation expense related to ERP systems was $1.1 million. We continue to manage toward our 2026 spending target of $225 million, though we may choose to make targeted investments that could result in marginally higher spending should the opportunity arise. Net income was $8.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $16.8 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $20 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $14.8 million or $0.30 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. We ended the quarter with $181.5 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments available for sale, up from $163.9 million at the end of the first quarter, and we continue to have no debt. The company currently expects to generate significant free cash flow in the second half of the year, ending 2026 with well over $200 million in cash. Overall, the second quarter reflected meaningful improvement in profitability, cash generation, and operating leverage. Our focus remains on maintaining financial discipline, advancing new product development, and investing selectively in the opportunities with the clearest return potential. With that, I'll turn it back to Warren. Warren Foust: Thank you, Deborah. Stepping back, the second quarter was a strong quarter that rounded out the best first half-year revenue performance in STAAR history. This is yet another step forward for STAAR. We grew revenue, expanded gross margins, generated net income, and built cash. And we have much to be proud of, growing EVO Plus adoption in China, back-to-back record quarters in the U.S., a successful ERP implementation, and early progress in organizing our product pipeline with an eye toward the mid- and long-term future. Our strategy is clear, our team is focused and performing, and our long-term opportunity remains as compelling as ever. With more than 4 million lenses sold, 85 countries served, and 32 years of proven Collamer safety and efficacy in a world that is becoming more myopic every year. Now, our focus is to build on this momentum. Revenue growth, expanding profitability, and advancing innovation. Deborah and I are aligned with our board and management team as we focused on long-term value creation through clear priorities and operating discipline. Thank you for your continued support. With that, operator, we are now ready to take questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] The first question will come from John Young with Canaccord. Please go ahead. John Young: I want to touch on Q3 and just maybe understand how you're going to level set investors, just given the comps and the one-timers that he called out. So using that adjusted number of $68.8 million that was in the press release and that he spoke about, you know, consensus currently sits at $80.9 million going into this print, so about 17.5% year-over-year growth from that figure you provided. Are you comfortable with the consensus number today? And what's a good way to think of the Q3 growth algorithm? If you're not comfortable about that number, how should we think about growth overall for the quarter? Warren Foust: Yes, hey John, great question. Nice to hear from you, and I'll make some comments and then invite Deborah to join. Look, we don't comment on consensus numbers generally. What I would say is we tried to give a little bit of a bridge to how you think about Q3 and Q4. We wanted to be clear that you needed to take the 2024 order out of each quarter so that you could have an appropriate base. We intend to grow off of that number. In fact, we're planning to grow on Q4 as well. That's what we would say as far as how to think about it. I think the primary driver of the success so far, clearly China has come back for us. We recognize that the market is somewhat muted. You hear that in some of the commentary about other companies that are reporting, but we believe we have a nice advantage with EVO Plus launching in that market. We're clearly taking share relative to our competitors. And then we're still putting up a nice performance around the rest of the world, even in the face of some external challenges. John Young: Okay, great. And then maybe just as a quick follow-up then, any of this color on where EVO Plus is today as a share of China volume versus your initial expectations at launch? And then maybe how could we think about the price versus unit benefit in Q3 to China? Warren Foust: You bet. Yes, it's a good one. Look, we're excited about what's happened with EVO Plus. Candidly, it's outstripped our supply capabilities based on the demand. It's higher than what we anticipated it would be. Certainly, we saw that in the first quarter, and second quarter was no different. So, even in other markets around the world, we're now working to try and sort through scaling up supply to be able to reach the demand. And so that speaks to EVO Plus has done better in China than expected. As far as the percent penetration of it, look, by the time we exited the quarter, it's probably close to a third of the units. And so we feel that's pretty strong, and it beats what we expected when we started. So, you know, how you think about it going forward from a price standpoint, we're still taking a considerable premium. Our customers and seemingly their patients have not balked at that premium. And so we expect that to continue at least into the near term. And then we'll see what next year brings. Operator: The next question will come from Tom Stephan with Stifel. Please go ahead. Thomas Stephan: I want to start off with China and sort of thinking more intermediate to long term. Comp's weird this year when the street looks at numbers, but you're seeing obviously underlying volume growth. obviously have a good sense on price and mix. So not asking for guidance or anything, Warren, but if we think out to 2027 on a full year basis, and that obviously strips out any quarter to quarter seasonality questions, like as we sit here today, what do you view as the general range of call it normalized year-over-year China growth for STAAR, and then I'll have a follow-up. Warren Foust: Yes, thanks, Tom. Appreciate the comments. And look, I love that you said you're thinking intermediate to long term. That's what we want. We're focused on building the long term, not just from the revenue standpoint, but the infrastructure investments that we're making in the organization, the preparations we're making behind the scenes from a portfolio standpoint. We are intending to operate this business into the long term. So thanks for that mindset. You said it, look, aside from the nuance of us taking out the $25.9 million from the Q3 base, now we're going to be back to what we call clean quarters. We had clean quarters already this year, and you've seen growth better than market in China, and you've seen us continue to deliver in markets elsewhere around the world. And so I have no reason to believe that's going to change in China. Our thinking is that as that market, which we think is probably mid to single digits right now from a refractive market standpoint, pulled down a little bit by lasers that are struggling, but it's offset by improvements that are happening, largely because of price with EVO Plus and then V4c halo effect that's happening when patients go in looking for V5 and either don't get it because it's slightly higher price from a premium standpoint, or it's not even available because we're trying to satisfy that demand. So we think that feels like a tailwind as we go into next year, but not really ready to comment on exactly what that means for the quarters. I'll just finish by saying we did try and give some more guidance, not formal guidance, but some guidance around what the shape of the quarters look like in China. Clearly Q1 and Q2 have now moved in the last couple of years to be seasonally our highest quarters. Q3 is still strong, but it's typically going to be less than what Q1 and Q2 are, and Q4 will be a softer quarter from a total revenue standpoint. But again, we're planning growth in both of those quarters, notwithstanding the $25.9 million that we've talked about extensively. I hope that makes sense. Thomas Stephan: Makes sense. Appreciate that. And I'll maybe shift a little near term. I wanted to start off long term to set this up a little better, but I'll take a stab at kind of the 3Q, 4Q cadence and focus on China here. Warren, if I got this right, I think you mentioned 3Q China revenues moderately lower than 2Q. Hopefully I heard that right. Wondering if we can put a finer point on that. And I'll ask it in the context of 3Q24 and 3Q23. China dollar declines were $10 to $15 million, roughly speaking. Warren or Deborah, is that reasonable for 3Q26 China, particularly as EVO Plus Mix, I think, continues to provide a continued sequential headwind. And as we try to contemplate, it sounds like pretty resilient ICL, China summer high season trend. So is that down $10 to $15 million that you've seen in the past a good anchor point? Warren Foust: Yes, that's a good one. Look, I'll start and then invite Deborah. I think it's important to remember two things. The seasonal shift has happened that I described. So Q1 and Q2, we expect to be stronger. That's borrowing partially from Q3. So it's hard for us to say, gosh, this is exactly what we think is going to happen in Q3 because one, because of that dynamic, and then two, because of what we said around having to pull some of that 2024 order out of Q3. But we still expect the underlying, I think the important piece, the underlying demand in China, it's stable. It's not amazing. It's not as high as it was back in periods of hypergrowth, but we're taking advantage of it disproportionately because of the acceleration of share capture in our view. So I think that's how I would be thinking about it. It's hard for us to put a number on that, which is sort of stating the obvious why we have it. Operator: The next question will come from Anthony Petrone with Mizuho Americas. Please go ahead. Anthony Petrone: Congrats, everyone, on the new roles and look forward to working with everyone moving forward. Maybe I'll pivot to the U.S. and then come back to China. Just maybe an update on active sites and the strategy. So where are we in terms of total active sites in the U.S.? And I know that there was sort of a go deeper penetration strategy, but also there was a push to open up new sites. Maybe where are we on active sites and a recap and a refresh on the strategy between deeper penetration at the EVO live sites versus going after new accounts. And then I'll have a follow-up on China. Warren Foust: Yes, thanks Anthony. Good to hear from you. Look, what we're seeing in the U.S. is a bit of what we're seeing around the world. Remember that only got the approval for EVO in '22. Commercial launch kind of happened in 2023 as we built up the team. And what you're seeing now is we've got hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of active sites. We're going deeper where we know we can make the biggest difference. We're focused on 2 key things. And it's a U.S. discussion, but it's also the one that is relevant outside of the U.S. And that is, once we get customers clinically confident, when they use EVO, and those patients come back and they see them in the clinic, or they see the optometrist, these are happy people. And so what we're seeing is the surgeons get more confident clinically and then they look for how do I make this work for me economically and that varies by whether they operate in their practice or whether they go down the street in their car to a multi-specialty ASC where they have to pay anywhere from $900 to $1,800 an eye to operate on them. That's a more challenging situation to where we have in-office suites where the doctor can go right down the hall and operate in his or her own practice. So you can see where there's opportunity sets within each one of those scenarios. We've stratified those customers. Our team is actively and aggressively going after clinically confident customers with an economic message that says, you've got revenue that's walking out of your practice because they're high diopter and someone's trying to sell them LASIK, which is declining year over year, and now again quarter over quarter. And so that's a little bit of an almost dated discussion because what's happening now is patients are asking for EVO because they're hearing more about it. Younger patients and younger doctors recognize the value of a removable, reversible technology, and so they're more excited. So more of those surgeons in the U.S. are offering EVO as one of their refractive surgery options. And so you're seeing the adoption, you're seeing less walkout revenue, and you're seeing more of the practices that we're targeting narrow the delta for the patient from a pricing standpoint. So they make it more accessible to them, and that's what we're seeing drive the adoption in the U.S. It's still on smaller volume that we want, but we're proud of another $6 million quarter and looking forward to continued growth. Anthony Petrone: Very helpful. And China, you know, EVO Plus, just a reminder, what percent of the market does the larger lens size open up in China? And then just looking at the consignment numbers, they're up pretty substantially year over year in the queue. I was wondering how much of the China consignment sales were linked to EVO Plus. Warren Foust: I'll let Deborah comment on the consignment sales. I'll just say as far as opening up the opportunity, look, the way we see market demand is it's unlimited. And that's not just China, that's on a global basis. The amount of refractive error on this planet is untreated and it's massive. And so we're on a journey after it. Obviously we're constrained by some things. We're constrained by total patient in the refractive market coming in and seeking consultation. And then as it pertains to EVO Plus in China, we're constrained a bit by inventory as we've been struggling to build enough to meet the demand in Q1 and then in Q2. I think we're getting our hands around that now, particularly as we get into the latter parts of Q3 and into Q4, we'll see some of the demand slow down just because of the dynamics of the seasonality. So that'll actually help us from a supply standpoint. But you're seeing, you know, There's no additional number of patients that EVO Plus opens up because EVO Plus can be used for any number of patients that EVO could be used for. It becomes a premium positioning at the account level and whether the patient has the economics to support themselves on it. Deborah Andrews: I guess, this is Deborah. From a consignment standpoint, actually our consignments in China are way down. And that's why you're seeing increased tariff costs on the gross margin side. Because if you recall, we shipped those consignments before the increased tariffs were put into effect last year, early last year. And so now that those lenses have been used, we're shipping U.S. product into China increasingly and they are subject to tariffs. But the overall numbers are way down in China in consignments. Operator: The next question will come from Simran Kaur with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead. Gursimran Kaur: Warren, you know, you framed the China share gains as coming primarily from laser-based procedures. Can you just help us understand the mechanism behind that? Are you seeing more patients opt for ICL up front, or is the bigger driver surgeons expanding into ICL and converting procedures within their practices? And as domestic competition develops in the China refractive market over the next few years, how durable do you believe those share gains are? Warren Foust: Yes, hey, Simran. Thanks for the question. Look, I think starting with the competition, we're thrilled to have competition. It's just more of an admonition that the future's lens-based from a refractive surgery standpoint. You're seeing laser volumes around the world face headwinds. And is that what's happening in China? It's hard to say getting into the share discussion. We believe a little bit of all of it's happening. Patients are coming in asking for EVO Plus. Oftentimes, they're getting EVO Plus if they have the economics to do it and we're able to supply it. And then even when they're not and if they're a candidate for V4c, we're seeing a bit of a halo effect that's happening from that standpoint. So despite the otherwise sort of modest market growth in refractive in China, we believe we're getting a bigger share of it because we're getting dollar share with EVO Plus and we're getting some unit share probably with EVO Plus and with EVO that's inviting that competition. And so, we respect it. We see it outside of China. We see it inside of China. It's not made such an impact so far. Remember, these are acrylic lenses. The advantages of STAAR for 32 years and beyond now is our material. The EVO and EVO Plus powered by Collamer message is very real and the trust that our surgeons have for a device that they've had implanted for 30 plus years gives them great confidence, and I think it makes it more challenging for these other devices that are not made out of Collamer to compete in those markets. It doesn't mean that we have any disrespect for them, it just means they've got an uphill battle. Gursimran Kaur: Got it, very helpful. And for my follow-up, you know, ex-China, I can certainly appreciate on a year-over-year basis every region grew, but if I look at the growth rates across APAC in particular, it looks like it's decelerated pretty significantly. So maybe just to help us understand what's going on in the region, And more broadly, should we think about ex-China as sort of a mid-single-digit grower going forward, or is there opportunity to re-accelerate the growth rate there? Warren Foust: You know, we have strong contributions from our largest markets in the region in APAC, Japan and Korea. Japan grew substantially from a unit standpoint but faced tremendous headwinds from a currency experience from an exchange standpoint. So I think it's 13% or 14% growth even in units, and then what we faced after currency was just 2% growth. So it's modest from that perspective, but the underlying market activity is strong. And we don't have any reason to think that's going to change. Korea is a bit of the low season for Korea. Korea's also, it's a smaller market relative to Japan, but it's a really important one for us, and it's onewcastlemax where we have great sales execution, great customer relationships, and so we believe in the long-term viability of that market as well. India is really, really a long-term play for us. That's a complicated market. It's complicated relative to local competition. It's complicated relative to macroeconomic factors that they're facing. Obviously, there's currency issues associated with being able to access U.S.-made and Swiss-made products in India. So that's a long term process for us, but it's still a really important market. So as far as the heart of your question of what should we expect as far as growth rate, can't say, but what I would say is we don't have any reason to believe that the viability of EVO in those markets is going to be under any siege. Deborah Andrews: No, I just wanted to add that plus we're seeing really strong growth in Taiwan, which we just launched last year. And that market is really doing very, very well. Sequentially, every quarter, it's increased significantly. So nice market there. Warren Foust: It's a fun market to think about because we just got the approval for EVO Plus. It's adjacent to China, obviously. So from a patient population standpoint, they have access and visibility to seeing the social media and the happiness with EVO. And its the one that we're going to start servicing and it's filled with lasers and opportunity. Operator: The next question will come from Ryan Zimmerman with BTIG. Please go ahead. Ryan Zimmerman: You know, the first question, I want to go back to the pricing and volume dynamics in China for a minute here. You know, Warren, I was struck by your comments about a third of the lenses in China are EVO Plus. And, you know, let's assume that, you know, there's a 30%, 40% price premium on that product. I mean, that would suggest, I think, that you're getting about, call it 10 points of growth on those lenses. But if you back that out and all else being equal, if the China market's mid-single digits, is it and again, I can appreciate that you're taking share in the market, but wouldn't that suggest that the volume, the units are declining in China? Warren Foust: Well, you got to start with this exit share in July. So we don't have, it's not a third of the units of EVO Plus for the full year. And so, remember, we're building as we go. We're not even launched with EVO Plus and all of the hospitals or the systems that we're going to ultimately get launched and listed into. So the math becomes a little bit challenging from that perspective. But again, I'll just double down on revenue in China now is being driven by 2 things. It's being driven by return of our EVO V4c, somewhat of a halo effect, and it's being driven by adoption, both units and price, with EVO. And so, How much that's ultimately going to go from a third exit to the full year, we'll see. It remains to be seen, and we have to be able to supply it as well. Ryan Zimmerman: Okay, that's very helpful and that, you know, buttons that up. The other question I had was just U.S. And, again, I can appreciate, you know, that this is still building, but if you go back to the launch of EVO in the U.S., I mean, we have seen sequential growth from 1Q to 2Q every quarter since EVO launched. I appreciate that, you know, it's holding steady at $6 million, but it did decline sequentially a little bit in the U.S. in 2Q. And that may just be, you know, based on small numbers and so forth. But I wanted to at least, you know, get your perspective on that because it is still early days, you know, given the opportunity in the U.S. Warren Foust: That's a good one. Look, I think the long-term value of the U.S. market is massive. I think access that we have is going to create a channel for us to do all sorts of things. And this is a long-term discussion, not a quarter-to-quarter one. But just as a practical matter, even though we do better than the laser market, there's often an inverse relationship between how the laser market declines and we grow, but we're not taking every one of those points of their decline clearly. And so when the overall refractive market shrinks or grows, we benefit from that or we suffer a bit from that. So in Q2, sequentially versus Q1, you saw the laser, the total refractive market go down, driven by lasers because they have the predominant share, And so we suffered a bit from that. So that explains, I think, some of the sequential, we grew but the decline versus our first quarter performance, which was like 22%. There's probably some timing in there also. And then the other thing I'll say candidly, the U.S. makes up 5%, maybe 7% of the share here. When we're on backorder or supply constraint in our largest market, China, or in other markets as a result, as we try and satisfy by building product, we have to build MTOs, made-to-order products for Torics. And when we do that, those are built in smaller units, smaller volume of units, and therefore it gums up our supply chain. And when that happens, guess what? The U.S. goes on back order for MTOs. And so that's going to explain some of it too. I suspect if you channel check, you'll find some unhappy customers, unfortunately, in the U.S. that are trying to get product from us, which we are cranking out now to try and get caught up. Operator: The next question will come from David Saxon with Needham and Co. Please go ahead. David Saxon: Maybe just on the, I'll start on the ERP, any way to quantify the impact of the second quarter earnings, I'm sorry, orders or revenue, and does that all get recouped in the third quarter or does that take longer or is it just lost sales at this point? Deborah Andrews: No, no, we don't think the impact was material, there was any material impact overall on our revenue numbers. You know, as far as the P&L is concerned, the impact was mainly on expenses as we work to stabilize the system overall and upgrade or update the system. But on the revenue side, could there have been some lost sales, I guess, on the MTO side of it, the made-to-order lens side of it? It could have been. But that's mainly driven not by the ERP system. It's driven by the strong demand in the first half of the year, especially in China. Warren Foust: Hey, David, we referenced it in the pre-release, and then we referenced it in the shareholder letter. Honestly, it's more of an acknowledgment of how hard our teams work because despite the internal exhaustion that it created, we were still shipping products, still booking orders, still servicing our customers, still delivering the revenue for the quarter, which delivered our profit. So I think the ERP system has been a big lift. We'll continue to tune it as we go, but from a revenue impact, I think it was negligible. Deborah Andrews: Yes, I mean, I would just say, understand that we've actually exceeded our plans, operating plans for both the first and second quarter of this year. That I will say. we're pleased overall. David Saxon: Okay. That's helpful. Thanks for that. And then maybe I'll try a third quarter question. So obviously appreciate the seasonality commentary. So, I mean, looking at third quarter, you know, round numbers, sounds like you'll land somewhere in the $70 to $90 million range. I guess sitting here halfway through the quarter or thereabouts, how would you characterize the sequential trend you're seeing? Like how steep or gradual is that trend line looking at this point? Warren Foust: Look, I won't comment on the specifics there. I would just say from a trend line standpoint, I don't think a lot has changed. We've seen some commentary out there around the high season for China, remembering we believe there's kind of 2 high seasons that happened back to back in Q1 and Q2 now because of the pull forward of the military procedures as well as the Chinese New Year. And then in the second quarter, you get a bit of the, to get some of the summer high season, which fades off during Q3. If you listen to what's happening in China, it's sort of flat to mid-single digit sort of growth for the market. And as you've heard us say, at least in the quarter, we've done better than that. So I all those dynamics hold as we go forward and then you just have to back out the $25.9 million from last quarter to get your Q3 and think about a little bit of growth there. Same for Q4. Q4 was unaffected by that order, but we think we're planning at least to grow in Q4. Operator: The next question will come from Mason Carrico with Stephens. Please go ahead. Harrison Parsons: This is Harrison on for Mason. Just wanted to ask on ASPs, blended ASPs under pressure from Toric/sphere mix and the diopter curve dynamics. After exiting Q2 at 30% of China volume, is the EVO Plus premium now large enough to offset these headwinds at the consolidated level in the back half of the year? Warren Foust: Look, it's a good question. I'd have to give a lot of thought to that to try and come up with the best answer. I would just say, clearly, we're going to continue to get ASP to the level that we can get it tailwind from EVO Plus. But honestly, price is a function of well at least in Europe, a country like Germany where we have the highest price in Europe, we're facing competition, we're going to have some ASP slippage there, but it's not massive. We've held price in most markets around the world partially because the adoption of Toric continues, and so Toric's a little bit higher priced, the higher mix of Toric we have, the better pricing we have, so I'm less concerned about pricing and I'm more concerned and focused on continuing to take share, which we believe we have line of sight to keep doing. So rather than say we're going to overcome price erosion with price in China on EVO Plus, I'd rather say we're focused on taking share on global markets and we think we can do that. You mentioned diopter, and outside of China, if you look at our percentage of units that we sell, if you look at above minus 8 and you look at below minus 8, we've moved ourselves down outside of China a couple of percentage points at least down from minus 8 into the minus 6 to minus 8 range. And so we believe that we are continuing to move ourselves down the diopter curve. And any time we're doing that, that gives us an opportunity to take share where lasers may have been treating that patient before. And so that's going to be our focus rather than the ASP component. Harrison Parsons: Great. Thank you. That all makes sense. And then, sorry if I already missed on the call, but when do you expect to have enough EVO Plus inventory to fully supply the demand you were seeing right now in the China region? Warren Foust: You know, I think we're there or thereabouts now. Remembering that we're going to start to see the summer part of the high season tail off, which gives us a chance to catch our breath and start to build units. So I think by the end of the third quarter, roughly, we should be in place where we can supply as much EVO Plus as necessary. Now our focus is to build V4c. Remember, every unit of V4c that we build in Switzerland for China gives us the benefit of not having to pay the tariffs. And so our focus is supplying EVO Plus, but a side card of we want to make sure we supply as much V4c out of China as possible. And we're hoping by the end of the year we're going to be able to accomplish that. Operator: The next question will come from Adam Maeder with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead. Adam Maeder: Congrats on the appointments. I'll keep it to one multipart question. In the press release, you talked about moving beyond a single product line company into kind of, I think, a true platform was the phrase you used. Could you just expand on that comment? Are you thinking about moving beyond the refractive market? Or is it more a focus of kind of having a broader offering within refractive? And I'm assuming everything kind of starts and stops with your polymer-based technology. Is that the right way to think about it? And just any comments around potential time lines, whether it's years or medium, long term would be helpful. Warren Foust: Thanks Adam. I love the question. Look, we're excited to run this business for the long term. The thinking here now has really evolved to we want to establish the infrastructure and the capabilities for this to be a long-term investment for folks, but a long-term successful company in ophthalmology. And so from a pipeline standpoint, we've got great engineers, and great clinical, medical, regulatory talents in this organization that have been working in the background for years now on a variety of things. And so we're looking forward to bringing those things together in what will be a more cohesive, a more easy-to-understand portfolio. And we'll talk about that in future releases. We're not ready to talk about it today. You heard us say we're going to hire a chief technology officer. I'm excited about that. I'm excited to be able to start talking about first in human testing that we will be doing very soon, as early as even the first part of next year, if we can't even do it sooner. And that's on next generation products. We said before we're focused on things, of course, that are going to be very, very important. the material capabilities that we have are unique. And that's how Collamer has differentiated us for many years. So we want to use those same capabilities, whether it's Collamer or whether it's something else, for us to be able to accelerate and become beyond just an EVO ICL company. Refractive is our wheelhouse. In the sulcus is our wheelhouse, where the surgeons place the EVO ICL. So I think all of those represent opportunities. You've heard us talk in the past about extended depth of focus or presbyopia correction, being able to take advantage of a patient's natural ability to accommodate, but be able to give them some extra help with a lens-based technology, that's an option amongst many other options. So we'll talk about those in a more formal way as we go, but there's a lot of excitement here about our future. Adam Maeder: I'll stay tuned. Thank you. Operator: [Operator Instructions Please stand by as we pull for questions. Showing no further questions, this will conclude our question and answer session as well as conference call. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. 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This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. STAAR (STAA) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

STAAR Surgical’s second quarter results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations for both revenue and adjusted earnings, but the market reacted negatively, likely reflecting investor caution about the sustainability of recent growth. Management attributed the strong quarter to increased adoption of EVO Plus in China, ongoing market share gains from laser-based competitors, and consistent double-digit growth outside China, especially in the U.S. and EMEA. CEO Warren Foust emphasized that the company’s performance was supported by demand-driven growth in China, rather than inventory build, and highlighted the successful rollout of the new ERP system as a contributor to operational improvements. Is now the time to buy STAA? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $93.54 million vs analyst estimates of $90.51 million (111% year-on-year growth, 3.3% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.25 vs analyst estimates of $0.23 (9.7% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $20 million vs analyst estimates of $17.64 million (21.4% margin, 13.4% beat) Operating Margin: 10.8%, up from -67.6% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.24 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. John Young (Canaccord): Asked for clarification on Q3 expectations and the impact of one-time orders. CEO Warren Foust refrained from commenting on consensus but emphasized that underlying growth is expected off an adjusted base. Thomas Stephan (Stifel): Probed on normalized China growth rates and the impact of seasonality. Foust explained that Q1 and Q2 are now the seasonally strongest quarters, with Q3 and Q4 typically softer, but growth is still planned. Anthony Petrone (Mizuho Americas): Inquired about U.S. active sites and strategy between new versus existing accounts. Foust described focused efforts to deepen penetration at current sites and highlighted patient-driven demand as a key growth factor. Gursimran Kaur (Wells Fargo): Asked about the durability of China share gains amid emerging competition and the mechanism behind switching from laser-based procedures. Foust stated that EVO's material and reversibility are key differentiators, and competition has yet to significantly impact share. Ryan Zimmerman (BTIG): Questioned the sustainability of pricing power in China and the implications of a higher EVO Plus mix. Foust acknowledged that premium pricing is holding for now but remains focused on unit share and market expansion rather than offsetting price erosion. Over the coming quarters, our team will be watching (1) whether EVO Plus supply can meet demand in China and further drive share gains, (2) the successful migration of manufacturing to Switzerland to lessen tariff impacts on margins, and (3) the rollout of new R&D initiatives and clinical studies for next-generation lens products. Progress in U.S. adoption and the effectiveness of operational investments will also be important markers. STAAR Surgical currently trades at $24.65, down from $25.41 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively. Find out which 5 stocks it’s flagging this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+271% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Find your next quality investment with Simply Wall St's easy and powerful screener, trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. STAAR Surgical stock is coming into focus again as investors weigh a sharp share price decline over the past five years against mixed valuation signals, with one key intrinsic value estimate pointing to some upside while market based multiples suggest the shares are not cheap. STAAR Surgical shares have delivered a decline of 79.8% over the past five years, which raises questions about how much of the business risk and execution uncertainty is already reflected in the price. Expectations for strong revenue growth around upcoming earnings can support a higher intrinsic value, but any disappointment in that growth or in profitability may quickly pressure what investors are willing to pay for the stock. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) intrinsic value estimate suggests STAAR Surgical trades at roughly a 12.6% discount, yet the stock screens as overvalued on market multiples and scores just 1 out of 6 valuation checks, so it does not appear to be a clear bargain on the broader tests. The issue now is whether the DCF based intrinsic value case or the more cautious market multiple view will prove to be the better guide for STAAR Surgical from here. STAAR Surgical delivered -7.7% returns over the last year. See how this stacks up to the rest of the Medical Equipment industry. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model values STAAR Surgical by projecting future free cash flows and discounting them back to today. For STAAR Surgical, the latest twelve month free cash flow shows a loss of about $19.1 million. The model assumes recovering and then growing cash generation over time, which supports an estimated intrinsic value of about $29.96 per share. This DCF output implies the stock trades at roughly a 12.6% discount to that intrinsic value, so the shares screen as undervalued on this method. Because recent news highlights very strong expected revenue growth around upcoming earnings, the key question is whether those expectations are high enough to justify the future cash flow path implied by the DCF. If free cash flow does not move toward the projected positive levels, the valuation support from this model would weaken. On this DCF view, STAAR Surgical stock currently looks undervalued relative to the cash flows analysts expect it to generate. Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests STAAR Surgical is undervalued by 12.6%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 52 more high quality undervalued stocks. Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for STAAR Surgical. The P/S ratio fits STAAR Surgical because the company is still working through losses, so sales can be a cleaner anchor than earnings. The stock currently trades at about 3.9x P/S, which is higher than both the medical equipment industry average of roughly 3.0x and the peer group average of around 3.7x. The fair P/S ratio model points to about 3.0x as a level that would better match STAAR Surgical’s profile on growth, margins, size and risk. The current 3.9x is therefore meaningfully above this fair ratio, which suggests that the market is already asking investors to pay a premium for each dollar of revenue. On this P/S multiple, STAAR Surgical stock appears overvalued compared with both its tailored fair value range and its industry benchmarks. See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. Simply Wall St Narratives pick up where this STAAR Surgical valuation puzzle leaves off. They spell out which assumptions on growth, margins and earnings would need to hold for STAAR Surgical's stock to be worth significantly more or less than it is today, and each narrative links a fair value to a specific story about the company’s possible catalysts and risks. This allows you to see over time which version is closest to what actually happens. These sit on Simply Wall St’s Community page. The STAAR Surgical community sits on two very different scenarios, with one side seeing a recovery story and the other focusing on structural risks. Bull case: 12% undervalued Read the full Bull Case to see why STAAR Surgical could be undervalued Bear case: 31% overvalued Read the full Bear Case to see why STAAR Surgical could be overvalued Do you think there's more to the story for STAAR Surgical? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying! For STAAR Surgical, the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) intrinsic value points to some undervaluation, while the market multiples suggest the stock is already priced at a premium to peers. That split mainly reflects different views on future cash generation versus what growth the market is already paying for today. Broader valuation checks remain weak despite the DCF support, so the key question is whether revenue growth and margins can progress enough to turn current losses into durable cash flow. The crux for investors is whether the current discount to intrinsic value is compensation for real execution and concentration risks or a genuine opportunity if the bullish scenario plays out. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include STAA. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributed record first-half revenue to the successful China launch of EVO Plus, which drove market share gains despite an uneven broader refractive market. The company is successfully positioning lens-based surgery as a superior, reversible alternative to laser-based procedures, which continue to face demand pressure globally. China's seasonality has evolved, with the first and second quarters emerging as the strongest periods due to Chinese New Year and a shift in military recruitment procedure timing. U.S. growth is being driven by a 'go deep' strategy, focusing on clinically confident surgeons and highlighting the economic benefits of reducing 'walkout' revenue from high-diopter patients. Operational focus has shifted toward scaling the supply chain to meet global demand for EVO Plus, which has significantly outpaced management's initial projections. The successful ERP implementation is viewed as a foundational investment to improve business visibility and enable future AI-driven operational capabilities. Management is pivoting from a single-product mindset to a broader platform strategy, supported by a disciplined innovation roadmap and the upcoming appointment of a Chief Technology Officer. Third-quarter year-over-year comparisons must be adjusted for a non-recurring $25.9 million order from 2024 recognized in the third quarter of 2025 to accurately reflect the underlying growth trajectory. Management expects to achieve 100% Swiss manufacturing for products shipped to China by the end of 2026, which will eliminate the current margin drag from U.S. tariffs. The company plans to initiate first-in-human studies for its next-generation product as early as the first part of 2027, focusing on expanding its refractive wheelhouse. Financial guidance assumes significant free cash flow generation in the second half of 2026, with a target to end the year with over $200 million in cash and no debt. Future growth in China is expected to be supported by a 'halo effect' where EVO Plus marketing drives increased interest in the standard V4c lens for price-sensitive patients. Gross margins were impacted by China tariffs on U.S.-manufactured products, a headwind that will persist until the manufacturing transition to Switzerland is complete. The company incurred $1.7 million in ERP consulting expenses during the quarter, which management expects to decline significantly starting in the fourth quarter. Supply chain constraints for made-to-order (MTO) Toric lenses in the U.S. were driven by the inherent inefficiency of producing small-volume units during a period of high global demand that outpaced supply chain projections. Currency headwinds in Japan significantly dampened reported sales growth (2%) despite a robust 14% increase in underlying unit volume. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. EVO Plus reached approximately one-third of China unit volume by the end of the second quarter, exceeding internal expectations. Management confirmed that patients and surgeons have not balked at the premium pricing, which is currently serving as a significant revenue tailwind. The slight sequential decline in the U.S. was attributed to a broader refractive market contraction and temporary supply constraints for made-to-order lenses. Management remains focused on the long-term opportunity, noting that younger doctors are increasingly favoring removable, lens-based technologies over permanent laser surgery. Management expressed confidence in the durability of their lead, citing the 32-year safety record of their proprietary Collamer material compared to competitors' acrylic lenses. The presence of new entrants is viewed as a positive validation that the global refractive market is shifting toward lens-based solutions. Management clarified that there is no evidence of inventory build at the distributor level in China, confirming that growth is driven by end-user demand. Supply for EVO Plus is expected to fully catch up with global demand by the end of the third quarter as seasonal peaks in China begin to moderate.

Interested in STAAR Surgical Company? Here are five stocks we like better. STAAR Surgical reported a strong second quarter: Net sales more than doubled to $93.5 million, while the company returned to profitability with $8.1 million in net income and $20 million in adjusted EBITDA. China drove growth through EVO+ adoption: China sales rose more than 100% to $52.3 million, with EVO+ approaching one-third of unit volume and demand appearing to reflect end-market consumption rather than distributor inventory buildup. The company strengthened its financial position and outlook: STAAR ended the quarter with $181.5 million in cash and no debt, expects significant second-half free cash flow and more than $200 million in cash at year-end, while targeting full Swiss manufacturing for China-bound products by the end of 2026. Top 4 Stocks With Notable Insider Buying STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) reported second-quarter 2026 net sales of $93.5 million, up 111% from $44.3 million a year earlier, as growth in China, the Americas and parts of Europe contributed to what President and Chief Executive Officer Warren Foust called the company’s strongest first half of revenue performance. The prior-year quarter included minimal shipments to China while distributors worked through excess inventory, according to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Deborah Andrews. Excluding China, second-quarter sales were $41.2 million, an increase of 6% year over year. → SoundHound AI Sends a Loud Signal After Its Q2 Earnings Beat Star Surgical Shines as U.S. Outlook Improves for 2024 The company also returned to profitability, reporting net income of $8.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $16.8 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA was $20 million, compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $14.8 million a year earlier. China sales rose more than 100% year over year and increased 10% sequentially to $52.3 million. Foust said the company saw no evidence of inventory buildup at distributors or hospitals, which he said supports the view that demand, rather than channel inventory, is driving growth. → AST SpaceMobile Earnings Just Reminded Investors How Risky Space Can Be STAAR attributed its China performance in part to the launch of EVO+, its lens-based refractive surgery offering. Foust said EVO+ adoption exceeded the company’s expectations and had outpaced its supply capabilities. By the end of the second quarter, EVO+ represented “probably close to a third” of unit volume in China, he said. Foust said the company continues to receive a premium price for EVO+ and that customers and patients have not resisted that pricing. He also said STAAR believes it is gaining share in a refractive market that remains uneven, with laser-based procedures facing pressure in China and other markets. → First Solar’s Profit Engine Faces a New Policy Test in Washington “We’re definitely getting a lift from the EVO+ rollout,” Foust said, adding that patients and surgeons are responding to the lens-based procedure’s reversibility and its preservation of corneal tissue. Management said China’s seasonal pattern has shifted, with the first and second quarters emerging as the company’s strongest periods because of Chinese New Year, military recruitment-related procedures shifting earlier in the year, and summer demand. STAAR expects third-quarter China revenue to be moderately lower sequentially than the second quarter, while still growing year over year when compared with an adjusted prior-year base. The fourth quarter is expected to remain seasonally softer, though management also expects year-over-year growth. Foust cautioned investors that third-quarter 2025 revenue included $25.9 million related to a 2024 order. Reported third-quarter 2025 net sales were $94.7 million, but the comparable base excluding that item is $68.8 million. The one-time order will not recur in third-quarter 2026. APAC revenue increased 189% year over year, while APAC sales excluding China rose 7%. In Japan, unit volume increased 14%, although reported sales increased 2% because of currency headwinds. Foust said Japan remains a market with strong category awareness and long-term potential, supported by direct-to-consumer initiatives launched in November 2025. The Americas grew 12% year over year, with the U.S. producing another approximately $6 million quarter. Foust said the U.S. business has delivered back-to-back quarters above $6 million and remains underpenetrated. The company is focusing on increasing adoption at practices where surgeons are already clinically confident using EVO and can benefit economically from offering lens-based refractive procedures. EMEA sales declined 1% due to continued conflicts in the Middle East. Excluding the Middle East, EMEA revenue increased 12% year over year. Management also highlighted Taiwan, which launched last year and has generated significant sequential growth, according to Andrews. The company recently received approval for EVO+ in Taiwan. Gross margin was 74.5%, compared with 74% in the prior-year quarter. Andrews said the increase reflected lower Switzerland ramp-up costs, reduced advanced manufacturing expenses, lower inventory provisions, and lower freight and other cost of sales as a percentage of revenue. Those improvements were partly offset by higher per-unit manufacturing costs tied to lower 2025 production volumes. China tariffs on U.S.-manufactured product also weighed on gross margin. Andrews said tariffs will continue to affect margins until all products shipped to China are manufactured in Switzerland, which the company expects to achieve by the end of 2026. Operating expenses were $59.6 million, down from $62.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Excluding $5.2 million in restructuring and merger-related costs in the year-earlier period, operating expenses increased about 3.7%. Current-quarter expenses included $1.2 million of marketing severance and $1.7 million in enterprise-resource-planning, or ERP, consulting costs. The severance expense is not expected to recur, and ERP consulting expense is expected to decline significantly beginning in the fourth quarter. STAAR ended the quarter with $181.5 million in cash equivalents and investments available for sale, up from $163.9 million at the end of the first quarter, and had no debt. Andrews said the company expects significant free cash flow in the second half and expects to end 2026 with well over $200 million in cash. Foust said the company completed its ERP system implementation during the quarter and is optimizing the system in the third quarter. Management said the implementation had no material effect on overall revenue, though it required substantial internal effort and added consulting costs. The company is also preparing for first-in-human studies of a next-generation product and plans to hire a chief technology officer to lead its innovation agenda. Foust said STAAR aims to develop into a broader ophthalmology platform rather than remain a single-product company, while continuing to build on its Collamer material technology and expertise in refractive procedures. “Refractive is our wheelhouse,” Foust said, adding that the company sees potential opportunities in areas including presbyopia correction and other lens-based technologies. STAAR Surgical Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells implantable lenses for the eye, and companion delivery systems to deliver the lenses into the eye. The company provides implantable Collamer lens product family (ICLs) to treat visual disorders, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. It markets its products to health care providers, including ophthalmic surgeons, vision and surgical centers, hospitals, government facilities, and distributors, as well as products are primarily used by ophthalmologists. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "STAAR Surgical Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Net Sales: $93.5 million, up 111% year over year. China Net Sales: $52.3 million, up over 100% year over year and up 10% sequentially. Ex-China Net Sales: $41.2 million, up 6% year over year. Gross Margin: 74.5%, compared to 74% in the prior year quarter. Net Income: $8.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $16.8 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA: $20 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $14.8 million in the prior year quarter. Cash Position: $181.5 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments available for sale, up from $163.9 million at the end of the first quarter. Regional Performance: Americas grew 12% year over year; EMEA declined 1% due to Middle East conflicts, but grew 12% excluding the Middle East; Japan unit volume rose 14%. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with STAA. Is STAA fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 12, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Record first-half revenue performance, with Q2 net sales up 111% year-over-year to $93.5 million. Strong growth in China driven by EVO Plus launch, with market share gains and no evidence of inventory build. Back-to-back record quarters in the US, with double-digit growth in the Americas and EMEA (ex-Middle East). Return to profitability and significant cash generation, with cash balance increasing to $181.5 million and no debt. Successful ERP implementation and progress on innovation, including preparation for first-in-human studies on next-generation products. Q3 2026 comparisons will be impacted by the non-repeat of a $25.9 million one-time order from Q3 2025, requiring an adjusted base for growth evaluation. China refractive market remains uneven, with overall market growth only mid-single digits and pressure from declining laser procedures. Currency headwinds in Japan dampened reported sales growth despite strong unit volume growth of 14%. Gross margin negatively impacted by China tariffs on US-manufactured product, expected to persist until end of 2026. Supply chain constraints, particularly for EVO Plus and made-to-order lenses, have led to backorders and potential lost sales in the US. Q: Can you provide a bridge for how investors should model Q3 2026, given the one-time $25.9 million order recognized in Q3 2025, and are you comfortable with the current consensus estimate of $80.9 million?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) stated the company does not comment on consensus numbers but emphasized the importance of removing the $25.9 million one-time order from the Q3 2025 base to create an appropriate comparison. He confirmed the company plans to grow off that adjusted base of $68.8 million and also plans for year-over-year growth in Q4. The primary growth driver remains China, where EVO Plus is fueling market share gains despite a muted overall refractive market. Q: What is the current penetration of EVO Plus in China as a percentage of volume, and how does the pricing premium compare to initial expectations?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) revealed that EVO Plus demand has "outstripped our supply capabilities" and has performed better than expected. By the end of Q2, EVO Plus represented close to one-third of units sold in China. The company is still commanding a considerable price premium for EVO Plus, and customers and patients have not balked at the higher price, a trend expected to continue in the near term. Q: Looking beyond the current year's unusual comps, what is a normalized year-over-year growth range for China in 2027, and how should we think about the quarterly seasonality shift?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) explained that the refractive market in China is currently growing mid-single digits, but STAAR is outperforming the market by taking share. He highlighted a "halo effect" where patients seeking EVO Plus either pay the premium or opt for V4c, creating a tailwind. He reiterated that Q1 and Q2 are now the strongest seasonal quarters, with Q3 moderately lower and Q4 the softest, but the company is still planning for year-over-year growth in both Q3 and Q4. Q: Can you provide an update on the US market strategy, specifically regarding active sites and the balance between deepening penetration at existing sites versus opening new accounts?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) stated the US has "hundreds and hundreds" of active sites. The strategy focuses on making surgeons clinically confident and then addressing the economic model, which varies between in-office suites and multi-specialty ASCs. He noted that younger patients and doctors are increasingly requesting EVO because it is removable and reversible, which is driving adoption and reducing "walkout revenue" for practices. This dynamic contributed to another quarter with over $6 million in US sales. Q: How durable are the China market share gains as domestic competition develops, and what is the mechanism driving the shift from laser-based procedures to ICL?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) welcomed competition as validation that the future of refractive surgery is lens-based. He believes STAAR's proprietary Collamer material, backed by 32 years of safety data, provides a significant competitive advantage over acrylic lenses from rivals. The share gains are driven by a combination of patients asking for EVO Plus and surgeons expanding their ICL offerings. He noted that while laser volumes face headwinds, STAAR is capturing a bigger share of the refractive market through both unit and dollar share growth. Q: Ex-China, growth rates in APAC appear to be decelerating. Should we think of ex-China as a mid-single-digit grower, or is there potential to re-accelerate?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) attributed the apparent deceleration to currency headwinds, particularly in Japan, where unit volume rose 14% but reported sales grew only 2%. He highlighted strong contributions from Japan, Korea, and a very successful launch in Taiwan, which is growing significantly each quarter. He emphasized that the underlying demand for EVO remains strong and there is no reason to believe the viability of the product in these markets is under threat. Q: Given that EVO Plus is roughly a third of China volume with a significant price premium, does that imply that underlying unit volume in China is actually declining?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) clarified that the one-third penetration is an exit rate for July, not a full-year average, and the launch is still rolling out to more hospitals. He reiterated that revenue growth in China is driven by two factors: the return of V4c with a halo effect and the adoption of EVO Plus, which brings both unit and price benefits. He declined to break down the exact unit versus price contribution but maintained that the company is taking share. Q: US sales were roughly flat sequentially in Q2. Can you explain this, given the long-term opportunity in the market?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) explained that while STAAR outperforms the declining laser market, it is still affected by the overall refractive market's contraction. He also cited supply chain constraints, noting that when the company prioritizes building made-to-order (MTO) Toric lenses for China, it can cause backorders in the US. He acknowledged that some US customers may have experienced delays but confirmed the company is working to catch up on supply. Q: Can you quantify the impact of the ERP implementation on Q2 revenue, and will any lost sales be recouped in Q3?A: Deborah Andrews (CFO) stated the ERP impact on revenue was not material, with the main effect being on expenses related to stabilizing the system. Warren Foust (President and CEO) added that despite the internal disruption, the team still shipped products and delivered revenue, calling the impact "negligible." He noted that any potential lost sales were more likely due to strong demand in China rather than the ERP system itself. Q: When will you have enough EVO Plus inventory to fully supply demand in China, and how does this relate to tariff mitigation?A: Warren Foust (President and CEO) stated the company is "there or thereabouts" on supply and expects to be fully caught up by the end of Q3 as summer demand tails off. He emphasized a dual focus: supplying EVO Plus while also building V4c lenses in Switzerland to avoid US tariffs on products shipped to China. The goal is to have 100% of China-bound product manufactured in Switzerland by the end of 2026. QFor the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Net Sales of $93.5 million, up 111% Y/Y Net Income of $8.1 million, with GAAP EPS of $0.16 Adjusted EBITDA1 of $20.0 million, or $0.39 per diluted share Earnings Call and Webcast Today at 5:30 PM Eastern LAKE FOREST, Calif., August 12, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), the global leader in phakic IOLs with the EVO™ family of Implantable Collamer® Lenses (EVO ICL™) for vision correction, today reported results for the second quarter ended July 3, 2026. Second Quarter 2026 Financial Overview Net sales of $93.5 million, up 111% Y/Y Net sales excluding China of $41.2 million, up 6.0% Y/Y China sales of $52.3 million up over 100%, 10% sequentially APAC sales up 189% Y/Y, ex-China sales up 7% Y/Y Americas up 12% Y/Y EMEA down 1% Y/Y, ex-Middle East up 12% Y/Y Gross margin at 74.5% vs. 74.0% a year ago Net income of $8.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(16.8) million, or $(0.34) per diluted share a year ago Adjusted EBITDA1 of $20.0 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared to Adjusted EBITDA1 loss of $(14.8) million, or $(0.30) per diluted share a year ago Cash, cash equivalents, and investments available for sale at July 3, 2026, totaled $181.5 million, compared to $163.9 million at the end of the first quarter of 2026 Fellow Shareholders, I am honored to write to you for the first time as Chief Executive Officer of STAAR and grateful for the opportunity to lead this talented organization. I look forward to partnering with you as we drive STAAR forward, build sustainable long-term value, and transform an industry facing the relentless global expansion of myopia3. First, I want to express my deep gratitude to Deborah Andrews. Over the past six months serving together as Interim Co-CEOs, Deborah has been an extraordinary partner — steady, wise, and tireless in her commitment to STAAR. Her clarity and focus on our financial discipline, culture, and strategy have profoundly benefited STAAR, and I’m thrilled she will continue as Chief Financial Officer, and now also as an Executive Vice President. I could not ask for a better partner. Together with our strong, experienced leadership team, we are aligned and focused on the work ahead as we realize STAAR’s substantial long-term opportunity. Progress Against Our Priorities Nearly six months ago, we set a clear agenda: Revenue Growth, Profit Expansion, and Innovation Acceleration. In the first half of this year, we delivered on all three. In the second quarter, we grew revenue, gross margin and net income — versus both the year-ago quarter and the first quarter. Demand for ICL procedures is strong in our key markets. In our largest market, China, representing over 50% of revenue, our sales benefited from gains in market share, driven by both volume growth and ASP expansion, which were supported by an improving product mix following the successful launch of EVO+ in the first quarter. Importantly, we saw no evidence of excess ICL inventory at our distributors or hospitals in China. Other key markets, including Japan and Korea, continue to contribute meaningfully to revenue, while the Americas and EMEA (excluding the Middle East) delivered double-digit growth. The current demand dynamics should continue throughout the remainder of the year. As part of our focus on achieving our revenue growth goals, we are concurrently focused on continuously improving our production and supply chain efficiency to support our customers, partners and the patients we serve. We increased investments in ERP, supply chain and production efficiency during the second quarter, yet we still delivered the highest first half adjusted EBITDA results in STAAR's history. These strategic investments are foundational to improving our operating leverage and driving a stronger incremental revenue-to-adjusted EBITDA conversion ratio. The math is straightforward: with a largely fixed cost base and the right infrastructure in place, margin expansion will naturally follow revenue growth. China: Gaining Market Share China remains critical to our success, and an area where we see compelling opportunities ahead. In the second quarter, we delivered sequential growth driven by increased EVO+ adoption, increased overall EVO ICL procedure volume, and a favorable shift towards toric lenses, which carry a higher ASP. Notably, our China sales growth has clearly decoupled from the broader Chinese refractive surgical market in the first half of the year, providing strong evidence that EVO ICL is gaining market share from laser-based procedures. Looking ahead, we see ample opportunities to grow both market share and sales through continued increases in EVO+ mix. We remain focused on driving EVO ICL adoption lower down the diopter curve as this opens a considerable new patient population and market opportunity. With ICL procedures representing a low double-digit percentage of overall refractive surgeries today, we believe we are positioned for a long and exciting growth runway in China. China’s refractive surgery market is undergoing a shift in seasonality that should serve as a framework for evaluating our performance through the year. The first and second quarters are our new peak revenue quarters in China. Consistent with this shift in seasonality, third quarter volumes typically step down from our first half peak. Even so, excluding the one-time $25.9M order booked in the third quarter of 2025, we still anticipate strong year-over-year growth — evidence that our underlying momentum is durable across the seasonal cycle. Additionally, while the fourth quarter remains a seasonally softer period during which we will have a greater focus on planning for the year ahead, we are planning for year-over-year growth. A look at how typical in-market sales2 mix by quarter has shifted due to seasonal changes: First quarter — Peak season; boosted by an increase in Chinese New Year-related procedures, and more significantly, a shift in military recruitment vision screenings, pulling pre-enlistment demand out of the third quarter and into the first quarter. Second quarter — Peak season; supported by summer demand Third quarter — End of peak season; summer tailwinds continue Fourth quarter — Off-season; consistently the smallest quarter, used to plan for the year ahead The continued adoption of EVO+ and our growing partnerships with key hospital systems signal STAAR’s long-term growth trajectory in China. Lens-based refractive surgery continues to gain relevance and share — and that trend is apparent in our results. APAC Outside of China Outside of China, the broader APAC region remains a meaningful contributor to our global revenue, led by Japan. Japan continues to show healthy underlying demand, supported by direct-to-consumer awareness activities that began in November 2025. EVO ICL holds a significant share of the refractive surgery market in Japan, and our investment in market education and DTC activity has had a direct and positive impact on sales. Based on early success with a smaller investment, we have shifted incremental funding toward Japan to drive continued DTC activity throughout the year. We see some of the largest opportunities for our business across the broader APAC region, although these markets vary in their maturity, competitive dynamics, and near-term demand environment, including factors such as product availability, foreign currency dynamics, and affordability. We are focused on ensuring supply, supporting surgeon and patient awareness, and directing investment toward markets with the clearest return potential. Americas, Led by the United States The Americas region grew 12% in the second quarter, powered by our second consecutive quarter of more than $6 million in U.S. net sales. Our U.S. growth continues to be driven by sizable market share gains, against a backdrop of declining laser vision correction procedures. The broader laser refractive market in the U.S. has declined at double-digit rates for several years. As surgeons and practices look to offset declines in laser vision correction procedures, and as reimbursement rates for other ophthalmic surgical procedures continue to decline, EVO ICL represents an attractive option to expand their revenue while delivering exceptional patient outcomes. Adoption of EVO ICL historically has been shaped by two barriers: clinical confidence and economic confidence. As surgeons gain experience and evaluate their outcomes, clinical confidence naturally follows. Our focus now is on helping those clinically confident surgeons build a practice model that makes lens-based refractive surgery a meaningful and profitable part of their business. We continue to expand our surgeon training programs across the Americas and around the world. These programs are building a growing network of practices that are leading an industry shift from laser-based to lens-based refractive surgery and making EVO a growing and profitable part of their offering. EMEA In EMEA, it is important to focus on the region’s healthy long-term trends. Excluding the impact of the Middle East, the rest of the EMEA region grew 12% versus the prior year — a result that reflects strong underlying demand and good commercial execution across Europe and other parts of the region. Profit Expansion and Operating Leverage We are committed to growing profitably by making smart investments where they matter while staying disciplined across our spending. One recent example: we flattened the structure of our global marketing function to enable closer connectivity to and more direct investment in our commercial regions and our customers worldwide. We believe this kind of thoughtful decision making allows us to grow revenue significantly while also expanding operating margins and delivering the strong profitability of which this business is capable. During the quarter, we incurred additional costs related to the ongoing implementation and fine-tuning of our new ERP system. I am pleased with the capabilities of the new ERP system as it is more than an operational upgrade; it is a foundational investment in STAAR’s future that ranges from simple operational efficiencies to implementing artificial intelligence capabilities. As the cost of AI rapidly declines and its range of specific functional capacities expands, we intend to apply it to improve many aspects of our business. As we look forward Our third quarter 2025 results included the recognition of $25.9 million related to a one-time order placed in 2024 (the "2024 Order"), elevating reported net sales to $94.7 million. As this item was non-recurring in nature, we ask shareholders to reference the adjusted base of $68.8 million when assessing year-over-year performance in the third quarter of 2026. Fourth quarter 2025 results were unaffected by the 2024 Order. Net sales of $57.8 million for the fourth quarter reflected ordinary course business activity and provide a clean basis for future comparison. Our Future: From Product to Platform to Enterprise With respect to Innovation Acceleration, our early success with the launch of EVO+ in China is a great example of the impact that new products can make on our business. Focusing on the future, our R&D team and our Advanced Research group are preparing for first-in-human studies of next generation products. We look forward to providing more information on these topics in future communications. At STAAR, we take pride in being the pioneer and leader of lens-based refractive surgery. For more than 32 years, our proprietary Collamer material has been implanted in patients, and a growing body of research continues to affirm its long-term benefits and advantages over other materials. This is why I believe Collamer remains a durable competitive advantage for STAAR. We have made real progress in revenue and profitability, but I believe we can do much more. We have a removable, reversible solution for myopia correction that protects the patient's natural cornea, does not cause dry eye disease, and addresses a broad spectrum of myopia and astigmatism. Despite these strengths, and despite our consistent market share gains, our global share of the refractive market remains well below its potential. The path forward means evolving beyond a single-product line focus into a true platform, providing us with even greater growth opportunities than we have today. Getting there demands structured product development, a disciplined innovation roadmap, and a firm commitment to achieving milestone timelines. To lead and accelerate that effort, we are in the process of recruiting a new Chief Technology Officer to lead STAAR's innovation agenda. I am personally leading this search with support from trusted advisors and our Board of Directors. Soon, I look forward to sharing additional news on this search. In Closing Our strategy is clear, our team is focused and ready, and a transformation is underway. We have much to be proud of: year-over-year and sequential revenue growth, growing EVO+ adoption in China, a meaningful improvement in year-over-year profitability, a successful ERP implementation, and early progress as we begin to accelerate the development of our product pipeline with an eye toward our mid- and long-term future. The refractive surgery market has undergone significant change over the last few years, and STAAR has emerged from that period stronger, more focused, and with clear momentum. Our growth and profitability in the first half of 2026 reflect the underlying health and strength of our business, and we believe that continued execution will speak for itself. We look forward to building on this progress and earning the confidence of a broader set of investors in the quarters ahead. Thank you for your continued support and your belief in STAAR. Sincerely, Warren FoustPresident and Chief Executive Officer Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results We delivered strong financial performance in the second quarter, centered on our core pillars of revenue growth, increasing profitability, and accelerating innovation. Higher gross margins and disciplined expense management supported a meaningful improvement in our bottom line, and we remain focused on driving operating leverage as we scale. Deborah Andrews, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said, "Our second quarter results reflect tangible progress across these key areas, with revenue, gross margin and net income all growing both year-over-year and sequentially. We successfully navigated the complexities of our ERP cutover while maintaining our focus on efficiency and growth. These results speak to the dedication of our team and the underlying health of our business." Net sales were $93.5 million for the second quarter of 2026, up 111% from $44.3 million in the prior year quarter. Excluding China, net sales were $41.2 million, an increase of 6.0%, as compared to $39.0 million in the prior year quarter. The year-over-year increase in net sales primarily was led by sequential growth in China, solid growth across the broader Asia-Pacific region apart from India, and double-digit percentage growth in the Americas. In the EMEA region, net sales declined by a low single-digit percentage, reflecting ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. However, excluding the Middle East, EMEA achieved double-digit percentage growth, underscoring the strength of the Company's underlying business across that region. As previously disclosed, net sales during the second quarter of 2025 did not reflect surgical demand because the Company shipped minimal quantities of EVO ICLs to China while distributors worked through excess inventory. As of the end of the second quarter of 2026, the Company’s distributor inventory appears to be within the targeted range to appropriately service the refractive market. Gross profit margin for the second quarter of 2026 was 74.5% of total net sales, compared to 74.0% in the prior year quarter. The year-over-year improvement was primarily driven by the elimination of period costs related to the ramp-up of manufacturing in Switzerland, a reduction in Advanced Manufacturing expenses, lower inventory provisions, and decreased freight and other cost of sales as a percent of sales. These gains were partially offset by higher per unit manufacturing costs resulting from selling lenses that were made during periods of lower production volume in 2025 and increased tariff expense on U.S. manufactured product sold to China. Margins will continue to be impacted by tariffs until 100% of products shipped to China are manufactured in Switzerland, which should happen by the end of 2026. Total operating expenses for the second quarter of 2026 were $59.6 million, compared to $62.8 million in the prior year quarter. Excluding restructuring and merger-related costs of $5.2 million in the prior year, operating expenses increased 3.7% over the prior year quarter. General and administrative expenses were $22.7 million, up from $21.0 million in the prior year quarter. The increase was primarily driven by higher amortization costs associated with the launch of the Company's new ERP system in the second quarter, increased expenses related to other ongoing ERP initiatives, and higher outside services costs, partially offset by a reduction in salary-related expenses. Selling and marketing expenses were $26.9 million, up from $26.3 million in the prior year quarter. The increase was primarily attributable to severance expenses associated with workforce reductions in global marketing, partially offset by lower salary-related expenses. Research and development expenses were $9.9 million, down from $10.3 million in the prior year quarter, primarily reflecting lower salary-related expenses. Operating income for the second quarter of 2026 was $10.1 million compared to an operating loss of $(30.0) million in the prior year quarter. Net income for the second quarter of 2026 was $8.1 million or $0.16 per diluted share, up from a net loss of $(16.8) million or $(0.34) per diluted share for the prior year quarter. The year-over-year improvement in net income was primarily attributable to higher gross profit and lower operating expenses. Adjusted EBITDA1 for the second quarter of 2026 was $20.0 million or $0.39 per diluted share, up from an Adjusted EBITDA1 loss of $(14.8) million or $(0.30) per diluted share in the prior year quarter. Cash, cash equivalents, and investments available for sale at July 3, 2026, totaled $181.5 million, compared to $163.9 million at the end of the first quarter of 2026. The Company has no outstanding debt. Earnings Conference Call and Webcast The Company will host an earnings conference call and webcast today, Wednesday, August 12 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern / 2:30 p.m. Pacific to discuss its financial results and operational progress. To access the webcast please use the following link: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=lb5LeYQ0 In addition to live questions, participants may submit questions by email to [email protected] Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement the Company’s financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying tables include certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA per diluted share and constant currency measures. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in its evaluation of Company operating performance and believes investors will find them useful in evaluating the Company’s operating performance, including cash flow generation, and in analyzing period-to-period financial performance of core business operations and underlying business trends. Non-GAAP financial measures are in addition to, not a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is calculated by adding interest income and expense, net; provision for income taxes; and depreciation and amortization to net income. In calculating Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA per diluted share, the Company further adjusts for stock-based compensation expense, restructuring, impairment and related charges, and commencing with the first quarter ended March 28, 2025, merger transaction and related costs. As stock-based compensation is a non-cash expense that can vary significantly based on the timing, size and nature of awards granted, the Company believes that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense can assist investors in comparisons of Company operating results with other peer companies because (i) the amount of such expense in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations and (ii) such expense can vary significantly between periods as a result of the timing of grants of new stock-based awards, including inducement grants in connection with hiring. Additionally, the Company believes that excluding stock-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA per diluted share assists management and investors in making meaningful comparisons between the Company’s operating performance and the operating performance of other companies that may use different forms of employee compensation or different valuation methodologies for their stock-based compensation. Investors should note that stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to employees whose efforts contributed to the operating results in the periods presented and are expected to contribute to operating results in future periods. Investors should also note that such expenses will recur in the future. The Company believes that restructuring, impairment and related charges are not indicative of the underlying operating expense profile for the Company. These charges, which include costs related to severance, reduction in force and consulting expenses, impairment expenses on leasehold improvements and machinery and equipment, impairment on real property right-of-use assets, and impairment of internally developed software, are anticipated to be completed within a finite period of time and can vary significantly in any specific period. The Company believes that excluding restructuring, impairment and related charges from Adjusted EBITDA allows investors to analyze period-to-period financial performance of its core business operations more consistently and better assess the Company’s current and future continuing operations. Similarly, the Company believes that merger transaction and related costs are not indicative of the underlying operating expense profile for the Company and that excluding such costs from Adjusted EBITDA allows investors to more consistently analyze period-to-period financial performance of its core business. The Company also presents certain financial information on a constant currency basis, which is intended to exclude the effects of foreign currency fluctuations. The Company conducts a significant part of its activities outside the U.S. It receives sales revenue and pays expenses principally in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs, Japanese yen and euros. The exchange rates between dollars and non-U.S. currencies can fluctuate greatly and can have a significant effect on the Company’s results when reported in U.S. dollars. In order to compare the Company's performance from period to period without the effect of currency, the Company will apply the same average exchange rate applicable in the prior period, or the "constant currency" rate to sales or expenses in the current period as well. In the tables provided below, the Company has included a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA per diluted share to net income (loss) and net income (loss) per diluted share, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, as well as supplemental financial information with net sales expressed in constant currency. About STAAR Surgical STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ: STAA) is the global leader in implantable phakic intraocular lenses, a vision correction solution that reduces or eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses. Since 1982, STAAR has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery, and for over 30 years, STAAR has been designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing advanced Implantable Collamer® Lenses (ICLs), using its proprietary biocompatible Collamer material. STAAR ICLs are clinically proven to deliver safe long-term vision correction without removing corneal tissue or the eye's natural crystalline lens. Its EVO ICL™ product line provides visual freedom through a quick, minimally invasive procedure. STAAR has sold more than 4 million ICLs in over 85 countries. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California, the company operates research, development, manufacturing, and packaging facilities in California and Switzerland. For more information about ICL, visit www.discovericl.com. To learn more about STAAR, visit www.staar.com. We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information about the Company and for complying with Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included on our website in the ‘Investor Relations’ sections at investors.staar.com. Accordingly, investors should monitor such portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about the Company when you enroll your email address by visiting the Email Alerts section at investors.staar.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "plan," "estimate," "project," "continue," "will," "should," "may," and similar terms. All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from what is expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: our ability to grow and generate profit; our reliance on independent distributors in international markets; a slowdown or disruption to the Chinese economy; global economic and geopolitical conditions; disruptions in our supply chain; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; international trade disputes (including involving tariffs) and substantial dependence on demand from Asia; changes in effective tax rate or tax laws; any loss of use of our principal manufacturing facility; competition; potential losses due to product liability claims; our exposure to environmental liability; data corruption, cyber-based attacks or network security breaches and/or noncompliance with data protection and privacy regulations; acquisitions of new technologies; climate changes; the willingness of surgeons and patients to adopt a new or improved product and procedure; extensive clinical trials and resources devoted to research and development; compliance with government regulations; the discretion of regulatory agencies to approve or reject existing, new or improved products, or to require additional actions before or after approval, or to take enforcement action; laws pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse; changes in FDA or international regulations related to product approval; product recalls or failures; and other important factors set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 2026 under the caption "Risk Factors," which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available in the "Investor Information" section of the Company’s website under the heading "SEC Filings," as any such factors may be updated from time to time in the Company’s other filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and, except as may be required under applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260812574801/en/ Contacts Investor/Media Contact:[email protected] Connie Johnson(626) 303-7902 (ext. 2207)[email protected] Asia Investor/Media Contact:Niko Liu, [email protected] United States: (626) 303-7902 (ext. 3023)Hong Kong: +852 6092-5076

Staar Surgical (STAA) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.21 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.07 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +47.62%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of implantable lenses would post earnings of $0.13 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.38, delivering a surprise of +192.31%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Staar Surgical, which belongs to the Zacks Medical - Dental Supplies industry, posted revenues of $93.54 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.05%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $44.32 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Staar Surgical shares have added about 8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.9%. While Staar Surgical has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Staar Surgical was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.12 on $80.17 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.62 on $333.92 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Medical - Dental Supplies is currently in the top 14% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, The Cooper Companies (COO), is yet to report results for the quarter ended July 2026. The results are expected to be released on September 9. This surgical and contact lens products maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.11 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +0.9%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. The Cooper Companies' revenues are expected to be $1.1 billion, up 3.8% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research