STAAR Surgical NASDAQ: STAA said its first quarter of 2026 marked a sharp rebound in sales and profitability, driven by strong demand in China, continued growth in the U.S. and tighter cost controls following a difficult 2025.
On the company’s earnings call, Interim Co-CEO, President and Chief Operating Officer Warren Foust said STAAR has “now largely moved past many of the challenges” it faced last year, citing disruption related to the potential Alcon merger process, elevated channel inventory in China and tariff risks. Foust said those issues are now “behind us.”
STAAR reported first-quarter net sales of $93.5 million, up 119.6% from a year earlier. Deborah Andrews, Interim Co-CEO and Chief Financial Officer, said the increase was driven primarily by strong China sales and double-digit growth in the Americas. Adjusted EBITDA was $24.4 million, compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $26.3 million in the prior-year quarter.
Net income was $5.2 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $54.2 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2025. Operating income was $8 million, compared with an operating loss of $57.4 million a year earlier.
China Leads First-Quarter Growth
China remained the company’s largest growth driver in the quarter. STAAR reported China net sales of $47.4 million, supported by the commercial launch of EVO+ ICL and continued demand for EVO ICL. Foust said China’s refractive market conditions were more stable in the first quarter than during the more volatile 2022-to-2024 period.
Foust said STAAR entered the quarter with China inventory levels normalized and aligned with contractual targets. He added that the company was able to grow sales while maintaining, and slightly reducing, inventory levels during the quarter. Andrews said the company was pleased that its sales “to the market approximated the sales into the market,” which she described as the desired result of stable distributor inventory.
During the question-and-answer session, Foust said distributor inventory in China is contractually targeted at about six months and is currently “at or below” those levels. He said STAAR had worked through elevated inventory during 2025 and brought it under control by September of that year.
The company also highlighted early demand for EVO+ in China. Foust said surgeon adoption and consumer interest were strong enough that STAAR needed more EVO+ product than initially planned. He said the company expects to fully supply market needs by the end of the second quarter and, for the rest of the year, to supply both EVO and EVO+ for China from its Nidau, Switzerland manufacturing facility.
U.S. Sales Rise Despite Weak Laser Vision Correction Market
STAAR also reported its first quarter with more than $6 million in U.S. sales. Foust said U.S. net sales grew 22% year over year despite continued sluggishness in laser vision correction procedures that require removal of corneal tissue.
The company said it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval expanding the EVO ICL indication to patients aged 45 to 60. Foust said the expanded label increases STAAR’s addressable market and may open the product to roughly 8 million additional potential patients, though he said it is difficult to quantify the near-term contribution from the expanded indication.
Foust said the U.S. remains under-penetrated relative to more mature ICL markets and continues to represent an important long-term growth opportunity for the company.
Profitability Improves as Spending Falls
Gross profit margin was 73.6% of net sales in the first quarter, up from 65.8% in the prior-year period. Andrews attributed the improvement to the elimination of period costs tied to the ramp-up of Swiss manufacturing, lower advanced manufacturing expenses, reduced inventory provisions and lower freight and other cost-of-sales items as a percentage of revenue. These benefits were partially offset by higher per-unit manufacturing costs resulting from lower production volumes in 2025.
Total operating expenses were $60.9 million, down from $85.4 million a year earlier. Excluding restructuring and merger-related costs, operating expenses were $51.5 million, an 18% decrease from $62.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Andrews said the company remains on track with its 2026 spending target of $225 million.
Andrews said STAAR is targeting gross margin of about 75% for the year, though she said the company knew it would fall short of that level in the first quarter. She said the company hopes to exit the year at that level and expects improved unit costs in the second half as volumes increase at the Swiss facility.
STAAR ended the quarter with $163.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments, and no outstanding debt. Andrews said cash declined sequentially due to items including seasonal bonuses, employee incentives, global sales meetings, severance and costs associated with a cooperation agreement with Broadwood Partners. She said the company expects to build cash during the rest of the year.
Company Declines to Provide Revenue Guidance
STAAR did not provide formal revenue guidance for 2026. Analysts repeatedly asked management about expectations for the second quarter and the seasonal high-demand period in China, but Foust and Andrews declined to endorse consensus estimates or provide a specific forecast.
Foust said the company is optimistic but not ready to make predictions given macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty across multiple markets. Andrews said the second quarter is shaping up as she would expect “in a normal Q2 based on historical trends,” but added that STAAR wants more evidence before giving guidance.
“As soon as we feel like we have enough information to accurately predict for you is what we would need to have in order to provide it,” Foust said.
Outside China and the U.S., STAAR said geopolitical and trade-related disruption affected several markets, especially parts of the Middle East. Foust said the net sales impact was limited to less than $2 million. Andrews said ex-China sales grew 6%, with weakness in the Middle East and India limiting growth.
Foust said the broader trend toward lens-based refractive surgery remains a long-term growth driver for STAAR. He also said competition in China, including from Eyebright, has so far been “a non-issue” for STAAR, while adding that the presence of competitors helps validate the lens-based refractive surgery category.
The company also noted that it surpassed 4 million ICLs sold globally during the quarter and continues to roll out a new Oracle ERP system, which management said has caused limited disruption to date.
About STAAR Surgical NASDAQ: STAA
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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