STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• STAAR Surgical beat revenue expectations but missed on earnings, reporting quarterly EPS of $0.10 versus the $0.13 consensus, while revenue came in at $93.52 million, well above the $78.72 million forecast.
• The company posted strong year-over-year growth and improved profitability, with revenue up 119.6% from a year earlier and adjusted EBITDA swinging to a $24.4 million profit from a $26.3 million loss.
• Management highlighted China-led momentum but stayed cautious on guidance, citing early demand for EVO+ ICL and better inventory levels, while avoiding specific future forecasts due to macro, geopolitical, and seasonal uncertainty.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $93.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.72 million. STAAR Surgical had a negative return on equity of 10.03% and a negative net margin of 33.60%.The firm's revenue was up 119.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.10) earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from STAAR Surgical's conference call:

• STAAR reported a strong Q1 2026 with net sales of $93.5 million, up 119.6% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA swung to a $24.4 million profit from a $26.3 million loss last year.
• China drove the quarter, with $47.4 million in sales, early demand for EVO+ ICL, and distributor inventory back within targeted levels, which management said makes the quarter a cleaner base going forward.
• The company said it is seeing operating leverage and margin improvement, with gross margin rising to 73.6% and operating expenses down 18% excluding special items, while still targeting $225 million in full-year 2026 spending.
• STAAR highlighted several growth catalysts, including FDA approval expanding EVO ICL to patients ages 45 to 60, continued U.S. momentum with sales above $6 million, and the global milestone of more than 4 million ICLs sold.
• Management remained cautious on guidance, declining to endorse consensus or give specific Q2/Q3 forecasts because of macro, geopolitical, and seasonal uncertainty, even though it said Q2 appears to be shaping up normally.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of STAAR Surgical stock traded up $1.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.40. 1,318,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 781,679. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.04 and a beta of 1.20. STAAR Surgical has a twelve month low of $15.59 and a twelve month high of $30.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 316,017 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.61 per share, for a total transaction of $5,881,076.37. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 16,123,842 shares in the company, valued at $300,064,699.62. This represents a 2.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders bought 670,213 shares of company stock worth $12,266,249. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 2,605.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,055 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 9,928.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 375.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,919 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 4,673 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical during the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $251,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STAA. Canaccord Genuity Group raised STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised STAAR Surgical to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research note on Friday, January 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded STAAR Surgical from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.93.

About STAAR Surgical

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.

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