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what it is
STAAR makes implantable eye lenses and the tools surgeons use to place them inside your eye.
how it gets paid
Last year Staar Surgical made $239M in revenue. EVO family ICL lenses was the main engine at $191M, or 80% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 23.7% last year. The latest print missed the Street badly (about $0.76 EPS expected vs -$0.37 reported), which tells you forecasting this business is still ugly.
what just happened
The quarter was a miss, with EPS at -$0.37 versus a $0.76 estimate.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
191.1x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
9.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 39/100 — weak
What they do
STAAR makes implantable eye lenses and the tools surgeons use to place them inside your eye.
This is a niche device business where surgeon habit matters. Once a doctor is trained on a lens platform and delivery system, switching is slow and risky for their workflow. STAAR also gets 94% of sales outside the U.S. in 2024, which tells you the product already travels well.
How they make money
$239M
annual revenue · their business grew -23.7% last year
EVO family ICL lenses
$191M
26.0%
Delivery systems
$24M
18.0%
Cataract lenses
$12M
15.0%
Other surgical products
$7M
20.0%
Royalties and service
$5M
10.0%
The products that matter
implantable ophthalmic lenses
Implantable Lenses
~80% EVO ICL · $191M of $239M
EVO family ICL lenses are the center of gravity (~$191M, ~80% of sales). Delivery systems and smaller lines fill out the rest, but the equity story still lives or dies on implantable lens demand.
EVO-led
Key numbers
191.1x
trailing p/e
At $19.11 a share and roughly $0.10 of trailing EPS (tiny positive on a loss-heavy year), the headline multiple is ~191x — a fragile number that breaks if the next quarters stay red. Operating margin is still deep negative.
-38.3%
operating margin
Operating margin means profit after running the business. Plain English: STAAR loses money before interest and taxes at this margin, so scale is not fixing the story yet.
$239M
annual revenue
Revenue fell 23.7% vs. prior year to $239M. Plain English: demand did not just slow. It shrank hard.
94%
international sales
International sales means business done outside the U.S. Plain English: your thesis lives or dies on overseas execution.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 10 / 100
- net profit margin negative — recent prints are loss-making, not mid-teens profitability
- return on equity weak / negative — aligns with losses, not a high-ROE compounder
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in STAA 3 years ago → it's now worth $2,730.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
The quarter was a miss, with EPS at -$0.37 versus a $0.76 estimate.
The latest reported quarter showed revenue of $57.8M, up about 18% vs. prior year in that quarter, but still below the ~$75.5M consensus cited in coverage. Full-year revenue still fell 23.7%, so quarterly green shoots do not undo the annual pressure. Gross margin stayed relatively firm even while operating execution did not.
$57.8M
quarter revenue
-$0.37
quarterly eps
75.7%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The gap versus a ~$0.76 EPS consensus (actual -$0.37) mattered most — it shows how wide the modeling error still is.
-
many developments have occurred since our last staar surgical report three months ago.
-
the company has decided to reject alcon’s acquisition offer.talks began in august, 2025, whereby alcon had offered shareholders $28.00 in cash for each staa share owned.
-
the buyout news caused a spike in the equity’s price.
-
however, as it would appear, the ‘‘all news is not good news’’ adage seemed to apply.
-
major equity owner (owns 31% of staa shares) and activist investor, broadwood partners swiftly stepped in and urged shareholders to reject the offer, citing the value of the company as a standalone entity was worth more than the offer.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is demand and reimbursement outside the u.s. stalling while costs and competition stay elevated.
med
international revenue concentration
Roughly 94% of sales are outside the u.s. — a geographic footprint, not a single “one customer” story, but it still means currency, regulators, and regional demand swings hit harder than for a domestic-heavy medtech name.
A slowdown in key overseas markets or pricing pressure can move the whole P&L quickly.
med
recovery that stays on paper
The market is looking for revenue to rebound to $275M from $239M, but full-year 2025 still came in at -$0.50 EPS and FY2026 EPS is still estimated at -$0.20.
If revenue recovers without earnings following, you are left with a bigger business that still does not earn much for shareholders.
med
strategic uncertainty after the rejected bid
Management rejected a $28.00 per share offer while the stock trades at $19.11. Broadwood Partners owns 31% and clearly has a view.
That can create upside if another deal appears. It can also leave you holding a standalone business the market still does not trust.
The combined risk picture is concentrated: overseas demand drives most of revenue, while the standalone recovery still depends on sales climbing from $239M toward the ~$275M path the street wants.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
non-u.s. demand and execution
~94% of sales sit outside the u.s. Watch whether international volumes stabilize as management tries to turn the operating line.
metric
revenue versus the $275M expectation
The street wants a rebound from $239M to $275M. Miss that path and the recovery thesis weakens.
calendar
next earnings for repeatability
After a ~$57.8M revenue quarter and a -$0.37 EPS print, you want evidence the next quarters improve — not one-off cost noise masking the same demand problem.
trend
deal chatter versus standalone execution
The stock can trade on M&A headlines because of the rejected $28 bid, but from here the business still has to prove it can stand on its own.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4 — in human-speak, analysts still see more downside risk than upside certainty in the next year.
risk profile
below average
stability score 4 means this stock has been shakier than most. Not a bunker stock.
chart momentum
top 5%
technical score 1 says the chart improved sharply. The quiet part: the tape looks better than the business.
earnings predictability
25 / 100
Quarterly results have not been easy to model. If you own this, expect revisions and surprise prints.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
106 buyers vs. 104 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 50.6M shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$11
$43
$19.11
current price
$27
target midpoint · +41% from current · range high: $43 (~+125% from current)
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