STAAR Surgical stock price plummeted 12% due to unexpected losses in the fourth quarter

LootboxPhobia · 2026-03-03T22:40:50+00:00

STAAR Surgical reports fourth-quarter results below expectations, with a loss of -$0.37 per share. Although sales increased by 18.1% year-over-year, customer inventory reductions in the Chinese market impacted performance. The company expects market demand to grow modestly in 2026, especially in the Chinese market.

LootboxPhobia

2026-03-03 22:40:50

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California Forest Lake - STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) announced its fourth-quarter results, which fell short of analyst expectations, with an adjusted earnings per share of -$0.37, compared to the market consensus of $0.15. Following the announcement, the company’s stock price dropped 12%.

For the quarter ending January 2, 2026, the company reported net sales of $57.8 million, an 18.1% increase from $49 million in the same period last year.

The revenue growth was primarily driven by sales in the Chinese market, but inventory reductions by distributors and customers impacted performance. Excluding the Chinese market, net sales were $40.3 million, down 2.1% from $41.1 million last year. The company attributed the poor performance to uncertainties caused by the termination of the merger deal with Alcon, which led some Chinese distributors and customers to return inventory to distributors.

For fiscal year 2025, STAAR reported net sales of $239.4 million, a 23.7% decrease from $313.9 million last year. The company posted a net loss of $80.4 million, or -$1.62 per share, compared to a net loss of $20.2 million, or -$0.41 per share, last year. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $6.6 million, or -$0.13 per share, versus an adjusted EBITDA profit of $23.2 million, or $0.47 per share, last year.

“Throughout fiscal year 2025, we made meaningful progress in several areas, including rebalancing distributor inventories and strict management of gross profit and expenses,” said interim Co-CEO Warren Foust. “In 2026, as merger issues are resolved, we believe market demand will grow modestly, and we expect net sales in China to increase due to higher average selling prices and increased market share.”

The company held $187.5 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments at year-end, with no outstanding debt.

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