Revenue growth appears stalling with sequential flatlining at $93.5M, while gross margins have remained resilient above 72%, but operating profitability remains volatile and sensitive to volume changes.
STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) annual income statement — 30-year revenue, gross profit & net income history
| Metric | TTM | Jan'26 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Jan'21 | Jan'20 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Jan'16 | Jan'15 | Jan'14 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Jan'10 | Jan'09 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Jan'04 | Jan'03 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Jan'99 | Jan'98 | Jan'97 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 328.27M | 239.44M | 313.9M | 322.42M | 284.39M | 230.47M | 163.46M | 150.19M | 123.95M | 90.61M | 82.43M | 77.12M | 74.99M | 72.22M | 63.78M | 62.77M | 54.96M | 75.34M | 74.89M | 59.36M | 56.28M | 51.3M | 51.69M | 50.46M | 48.25M | 50.24M | 53.99M | 59M | 54.2M | 42.5M | 42.2M |
| Revenue Growth % | 42.36% | -23.72% | -2.64% | 13.37% | 23.39% | 41% | 8.84% | 21.16% | 36.8% | 9.92% | 6.88% | 2.85% | 3.84% | 13.22% | 1.62% | 14.21% | -27.06% | 0.6% | 26.16% | 5.47% | 9.71% | -0.74% | 2.43% | 4.58% | -3.96% | -6.94% | -8.5% | 8.86% | 27.53% | 0.71% | 21.61% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 88.14M | 57.02M | 74.32M | 69.76M | 61.01M | 51.84M | 45.1M | 38.23M | 32.44M | 26.33M | 24.06M | 24.4M | 26.16M | 21.91M | 19.49M | 20.4M | 19.88M | 33.45M | 34.79M | 30.1M | 29.85M | 27.52M | 25.54M | 22.62M | 24.1M | 28.2M | 22.6M | 18.7M | 14.1M | 6.8M | 7.9M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 23.81% | 23.68% | 21.64% | 21.45% | 22.49% | 27.59% | 25.46% | 26.17% | 29.06% | 29.19% | 31.64% | 34.89% | 30.33% | 30.56% | 32.5% | 36.18% | 44.4% | 46.45% | 50.7% | 53.03% | 53.64% | 49.42% | 44.83% | 49.95% | 56.14% | 41.86% | 31.69% | 26.01% | 16% | 18.72% |
| Gross Profit | 240.13M | 182.42M | 239.58M | 252.65M | 223.38M | 178.64M | 118.36M | 111.95M | 91.51M | 64.28M | 58.37M | 52.72M | 48.82M | 50.31M | 44.29M | 42.37M | 35.08M | 41.89M | 40.11M | 29.27M | 26.43M | 23.79M | 26.14M | 27.84M | 24.15M | 22.03M | 31.39M | 40.3M | 40.1M | 35.7M | 34.3M |
| Gross Margin % | 73.15% | 76.19% | 76.32% | 78.36% | 78.55% | 77.51% | 72.41% | 74.54% | 73.83% | 70.94% | 70.81% | 68.36% | 65.11% | 69.67% | 69.44% | 67.5% | 63.82% | 55.6% | 53.55% | 49.3% | 46.97% | 46.36% | 50.58% | 55.17% | 50.05% | 43.86% | 58.14% | 68.31% | 73.99% | 84% | 81.28% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -23.86% | -5.17% | 13.1% | 25.05% | 50.92% | 5.72% | 22.34% | 42.36% | 10.13% | 10.71% | 7.99% | -2.95% | 13.59% | 4.54% | 20.79% | -16.27% | 4.45% | 37.04% | 10.72% | 11.13% | -9.02% | -6.09% | 15.27% | 9.6% | -29.8% | -22.12% | 0.5% | 12.32% | 4.08% | 23.38% |
| Operating Expenses | 218.1M | 228.37M | 252.19M | 224.55M | 179.58M | 145.3M | 111.59M | 100.1M | 84.92M | 67.91M | 71.02M | 58.06M | 56.85M | 49.61M | 45.51M | 39.59M | 37.68M | 45.62M | 60.49M | 43.38M | 40.03M | 34.6M | 36.3M | 34.36M | 31.26M | 32.59M | 51.57M | 36.3M | 33.5M | 26.4M | 24.2M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 95.37% | 80.34% | 69.65% | 63.15% | 63.04% | 68.27% | 66.65% | 68.51% | 74.95% | 86.16% | 75.28% | 75.81% | 68.7% | 71.35% | 63.07% | 68.56% | 60.55% | 80.77% | 73.08% | 71.13% | 67.44% | 70.24% | 68.1% | 64.79% | 64.87% | 95.52% | 61.53% | 61.81% | 62.12% | 57.35% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 178.73M | 188.31M | 198.22M | 180.15M | 143.6M | 111.44M | 79.67M | 74.8M | 62.89M | 48.8M | 50.73M | 43.3M | 44.36M | 42.7M | 39.07M | 33.72M | 31.25M | 39.97M | 42.78M | 36.67M | 33.29M | 29.02M | 30.05M | 29.24M | 25.79M | 28.79M | 43.62M | 27.8M | 25.5M | 19M | 17.8M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 78.65% | 63.15% | 55.88% | 50.49% | 48.35% | 48.74% | 49.81% | 50.73% | 53.85% | 61.54% | 56.14% | 59.16% | 59.13% | 61.25% | 53.72% | 56.87% | 53.05% | 57.12% | 61.78% | 59.14% | 56.58% | 58.15% | 57.95% | 53.46% | 57.31% | 80.81% | 47.12% | 47.05% | 44.71% | 42.18% |
| Research & Development | 39.36M | 40.05M | 53.97M | 44.4M | 35.98M | 33.86M | 31.92M | 25.3M | 22.03M | 19.12M | 20.29M | 14.76M | 12.36M | 6.71M | 6.44M | 5.87M | 5.72M | 5.89M | 7.94M | 6.71M | 7.08M | 5.57M | 6.25M | 5.12M | 4.02M | 3.8M | 4.22M | 4.3M | 3.6M | 3.9M | 4.1M |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | 16.73% | 17.19% | 13.77% | 12.65% | 14.69% | 19.53% | 16.84% | 17.77% | 21.1% | 24.62% | 19.14% | 16.49% | 9.29% | 10.1% | 9.35% | 10.42% | 7.82% | 10.6% | 11.3% | 12.58% | 10.86% | 12.08% | 10.15% | 8.32% | 7.56% | 7.81% | 7.29% | 6.64% | 9.18% | 9.72% |
| Other Operating Expenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 715K | 628K | 470K | 0 | 381K | 486K | 0 | 0 | 700K | -238K | 9.77M | 0 | -331K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.45M | 0 | 3.73M | 4.2M | 4.4M | 3.5M | 2.3M |
| Operating Income | 22.03M | -45.95M | -12.61M | 28.1M | 43.8M | 33.34M | 6.77M | 11.85M | 6.59M | -3.63M | -12.65M | -5.34M | -8.03M | 700K | -1.22M | 2.78M | -2.6M | -3.73M | -20.39M | -14.12M | -13.6M | -10.81M | -10.16M | -6.53M | -7.11M | -17.79M | -20.18M | 4M | 6.6M | 9.3M | 10.1M |
| Operating Margin % | 6.71% | -19.19% | -4.02% | 8.71% | 15.4% | 14.47% | 4.14% | 7.89% | 5.32% | -4.01% | -15.35% | -6.92% | -10.7% | 0.97% | -1.91% | 4.43% | -4.73% | -4.95% | -27.22% | -23.78% | -24.17% | -21.07% | -19.65% | -12.93% | -14.74% | -35.4% | -37.38% | 6.78% | 12.18% | 21.88% | 23.93% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | -264.33% | -144.88% | -35.85% | 31.38% | 392.52% | -42.89% | 79.71% | 281.63% | 71.31% | -137.12% | 33.51% | -1246.71% | 157.38% | -143.84% | 206.96% | 30.22% | 81.71% | -44.39% | -3.8% | -25.8% | -6.44% | -55.68% | 8.27% | 60.01% | 11.87% | -604.55% | -39.39% | -29.03% | -7.92% | 42.25% |
| EBITDA | 33.48M | -37.63M | -5.72M | 33.22M | 48.31M | 36.98M | 9.86M | 15.55M | 9.06M | -277K | -9.76M | -2.94M | -5.57M | 2.85M | 741K | 5.05M | -196K | 14K | -16.75M | -11.61M | -11.23M | -8.34M | -7.46M | -3.62M | -4.01M | -14.16M | -16.45M | 8.2M | 11M | 12.8M | 12.4M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 10.2% | -15.71% | -1.82% | 10.3% | 16.99% | 16.05% | 6.03% | 10.35% | 7.31% | -0.31% | -11.84% | -3.81% | -7.42% | 3.95% | 1.16% | 8.04% | -0.36% | 0.02% | -22.36% | -19.56% | -19.95% | -16.26% | -14.44% | -7.18% | -8.31% | -28.19% | -30.47% | 13.9% | 20.3% | 30.12% | 29.38% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 138% | -557.81% | -117.22% | -31.24% | 30.64% | 274.91% | -36.57% | 71.66% | 3370.4% | 97.16% | -232.53% | 47.26% | -295.26% | 284.75% | -85.32% | 2676.02% | -1500% | 100.08% | -44.23% | -3.39% | -34.65% | -11.72% | -106.04% | 9.63% | 71.69% | 13.91% | -300.63% | -25.45% | -14.06% | 3.23% | 44.19% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 11.45M | 8.32M | 6.89M | 5.12M | 4.51M | 3.64M | 3.1M | 3.7M | 2.46M | 3.35M | 2.89M | 2.4M | 2.46M | 2.15M | 1.96M | 2.27M | 2.41M | 3.74M | 3.64M | 2.51M | 2.37M | 2.47M | 2.69M | 2.9M | 3.1M | 3.62M | 3.73M | 4.2M | 4.4M | 3.5M | 2.3M |
| EBIT | 5.57M | -82.26M | -9.05M | 33.7M | 45.55M | 31.34M | 6.77M | 11.85M | 6.59M | -3.63M | -12.65M | -5.48M | -5.34M | 1.28M | -228K | 3.23M | -2.79M | -4.43M | -20.77M | -14.12M | -13.6M | -10.81M | -10.16M | -6.53M | -7.11M | -10.55M | -20.18M | 4M | 6.6M | 9.3M | 10.1M |
| Net Interest Income | 1.98M | 4.59M | 5.91M | 6.99M | 2.45M | -38K | 238K | 988K | 165K | -112K | -112K | -78K | -103K | -111K | -232K | -491K | -853K | -1.25M | -741K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 1.98M | 4.59M | 5.91M | 6.99M | 2.45M | 0 | 238K | 988K | 165K | 0 | 3K | 50K | 51K | 59K | 59K | 32K | 43K | 60K | 160K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 270K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 112K | 115K | 128K | 154K | 170K | 291K | 523K | 896K | 1.33M | 901K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -16.46M | -36.32M | 3.56M | 5.6M | 1.75M | -2.04M | 1.5M | 1.17M | 44K | 1.33M | 211K | -268K | -618K | 414K | 701K | -79K | -1.08M | -741K | -1.28M | -1.04M | 95K | 854K | -88K | -705K | -1.01M | 2.99M | -5.3M | -900K | -500K | 2.4M | 100K |
| Pretax Income | 5.57M | -82.26M | -9.05M | 33.7M | 45.55M | 31.3M | 8.27M | 13.03M | 6.64M | -2.3M | -12.44M | -5.61M | -8.64M | 1.11M | -519K | 2.7M | -3.68M | -4.71M | -21.67M | -15.16M | -13.51M | -9.96M | -10.25M | -7.16M | -8.12M | -18.24M | -25.48M | 3.1M | 6.1M | 11.7M | 10.2M |
| Pretax Margin % | 1.7% | -34.36% | -2.88% | 10.45% | 16.02% | 13.58% | 5.06% | 8.67% | 5.36% | -2.53% | -15.1% | -7.27% | -11.53% | 1.54% | -0.81% | 4.31% | -6.7% | -6.25% | -28.94% | -25.53% | -24% | -19.41% | -19.82% | -14.19% | -16.84% | -36.31% | -47.2% | 5.25% | 11.25% | 27.53% | 24.17% |
| Income Tax | 5.04M | -1.81M | 11.16M | 12.35M | 5.89M | 3.79M | 2.35M | -1.02M | 1.67M | -157K | -315K | 928K | -253K | 716K | 1.24M | 1.36M | 432K | 1.49M | 1.52M | 843K | 1.54M | 1.24M | 1.06M | 1.13M | 8.96M | -3.55M | -6.58M | 900K | 2M | 4.3M | 3.3M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 90.48% | 2.21% | -123.24% | 36.65% | 12.92% | 12.12% | 28.47% | -7.85% | 25.17% | 6.84% | 2.53% | -16.56% | 2.93% | 64.27% | -239.69% | 50.15% | -11.74% | -31.69% | -7.03% | -5.56% | -11.38% | -12.44% | -10.32% | -15.74% | -110.28% | 19.45% | 25.82% | 29.03% | 32.79% | 36.75% | 32.35% |
| Net Income | 530K | -80.45M | -20.21M | 21.35M | 39.66M | 27.51M | 5.91M | 14.05M | 4.97M | -2.14M | -12.13M | -6.53M | -8.39M | 398K | -1.76M | 1.35M | 53K | -6.2M | -23.2M | -16M | -15.04M | -11.18M | -11.33M | -8.36M | -17.16M | -14.83M | -18.9M | 2.2M | 2.4M | 7.4M | 6.9M |
| Net Margin % | 0.16% | -33.6% | -6.44% | 6.62% | 13.95% | 11.94% | 3.62% | 9.35% | 4.01% | -2.36% | -14.71% | -8.47% | -11.19% | 0.55% | -2.76% | 2.15% | 0.1% | -8.23% | -30.97% | -26.95% | -26.73% | -21.78% | -21.93% | -16.56% | -35.56% | -29.53% | -35.01% | 3.73% | 4.43% | 17.41% | 16.35% |
| Net Income Growth % | 100.55% | -298.1% | -194.66% | -46.18% | 44.18% | 365.26% | -57.91% | 182.77% | 332.26% | 82.36% | -85.66% | 22.15% | -2208.54% | 122.58% | -230.79% | 2443.4% | 100.85% | 73.27% | -44.98% | -6.35% | -34.62% | 1.39% | -35.6% | 51.29% | -15.67% | 21.53% | -959.16% | -8.33% | -67.57% | 7.25% | -8% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 530K | -80.45M | -20.21M | 21.35M | 39.66M | 27.51M | 5.91M | 14.05M | 4.97M | -2.14M | -12.13M | -6.53M | -8.39M | 398K | -1.76M | 1.35M | -4.11M | -6.2M | -23.2M | -16M | -15.04M | -11.18M | -11.33M | -8.36M | -17.16M | -14.83M | -18.9M | 2.2M | 4.1M | 7.4M | 6.9M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22K | 204K | 100K | 382K | 203.92K | 500K | 900K | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 0.01 | -1.62 | -0.41 | 0.43 | 0.80 | 0.50 | 0.12 | 0.30 | 0.11 | -0.05 | -0.30 | -0.17 | -0.22 | 0.01 | -0.05 | 0.04 | 0.00 | -0.19 | -0.79 | -0.57 | -0.60 | -0.47 | -0.58 | -0.47 | -1.00 | -0.87 | -1.23 | 0.15 | 0.17 | 0.53 | 0.50 |
| EPS Growth % | 100.51% | -295.12% | -195.35% | -46.25% | 60% | 316.67% | -60% | 172.73% | 310.73% | 82.6% | -76.47% | 22.73% | -2300% | 120.58% | -221.5% | - | 100.79% | 75.95% | -38.6% | 5% | -27.66% | 18.97% | -23.4% | 53% | -14.94% | 29.27% | -920% | -11.76% | -67.92% | 6% | -9.09% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | -1.62 | -0.41 | 0.44 | 0.83 | 0.52 | 0.13 | 0.32 | 0.11 | -0.05 | -0.30 | -0.17 | -0.22 | 0.01 | -0.05 | 0.04 | 0.00 | -0.19 | -0.79 | -0.57 | -0.60 | -0.47 | -0.58 | -0.47 | -1.00 | -0.87 | -1.23 | 0.15 | 0.18 | 0.57 | 0.50 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 51.45M | 49.57M | 49.13M | 49.43M | 49.38M | 49.46M | 47.95M | 46.9M | 45.26M | 41M | 40.33M | 39.26M | 38.09M | 38.61M | 36.25M | 36.88M | 34.83M | 32.5M | 29.47M | 28.12M | 25.23M | 23.7M | 19.6M | 17.7M | 17.16M | 17M | 15.37M | 14.67M | 14.12M | 13.96M | 13.8M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 50.54M | 49.57M | 49.13M | 48.52M | 47.99M | 47.21M | 45.6M | 44.49M | 45.16M | 41M | 40.33M | 38.43M | 38.09M | 36.71M | 35.26M | 35.43M | 34.83M | 32.5M | 29.47M | 28.12M | 25.23M | 23.7M | 19.6M | 17.7M | 17.14M | 17M | 15.37M | 14.67M | 13.33M | 12.98M | 13.8M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying STAA stock.
For fiscal year 2025, STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) reported total revenue of $239.4M. This represents a 467.4% increase compared to $42.2M in 1996.
STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) reported a net loss of $80.4M for the fiscal year ending 2025.
STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) reported an operating income of $-45.9M, resulting in an operating profit margin of -19.2%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) generated $182.4M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 76.2%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
China demand volatility
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Volatile Recovery Masked by Quarterly Comparisons
The reported 111% YoY revenue growth in Q2 2026 is misleading, as it follows a deeply depressed Q2 2025, and sequential revenue has flatlined at $93.5M, suggesting the recovery may be stalling.
The year-over-year growth figures are heavily distorted by the severe demand trough in mid-2025, where revenue fell to $44.3M. The more telling signal is the sequential stagnation between Q1 and Q2 2026, indicating that the rebound from the China-driven slump may have hit a ceiling. This pattern suggests the business is not yet on a sustainable, accelerating growth trajectory but is instead experiencing a volatile, uneven recovery.
Gross Margin Resilience vs. Operating Cost Burden
Despite a severe revenue contraction, STAAR's gross margin has remained structurally high, averaging over 75% in recent quarters, which underscores the pricing power of its proprietary Collamer lens technology.
The consistent gross margin, even during periods of significant revenue decline, indicates that the core product economics are robust and not subject to promotional discounting. However, this strength is currently overshadowed by an operating cost structure that is misaligned with the current revenue base. The high fixed costs of its specialized manufacturing and direct sales force are creating severe operating leverage in reverse, turning modest gross profit into operating losses when volumes dip.
Negative Operating Leverage Amplifies Downturn
Operating income swung from a -$57.4M loss in Q1 2025 to a +$17.4M profit in Q1 2026 on a revenue increase of only $50.9M, demonstrating extreme sensitivity to volume changes.
The company's cost structure exhibits powerful negative operating leverage. When revenue fell below a certain threshold in 2025, SG&A and R&D expenses consumed all gross profit and more, leading to massive operating losses. Conversely, as revenue recovers toward the $90M+ quarterly level, operating income turns positive quickly. This implies that profitability is highly binary and dependent on maintaining a high volume of procedures, making the business model exceptionally sensitive to any demand shocks.
SG&A Discipline Emerging After Period of Overspend
SG&A expenses have been reduced from a peak of $54.6M in Q2 2024 to $40.4M in Q1 2026, suggesting management is now prioritizing cost control following a period of aggressive investment that failed to yield proportional growth.
The reduction in SG&A, particularly notable in Q1 2026, appears to be a direct response to the revenue shortfall and margin pressure. This indicates a shift in management's capital allocation from pure growth investment toward operational efficiency. However, the subsequent increase to $49.7M in Q2 2026 raises questions about the sustainability of these cuts and whether they represent a true structural change or a temporary pause in spending.
The 2025 Demand Shock and Cost Misalignment
The operational inflection point occurred in Q1 2025, when revenue plunged 44.9% YoY to $42.6M, exposing a cost structure built for a much larger business and triggering a period of deep operating losses.
This quarter marked the clearest break from the prior growth trajectory, likely driven by a sharp downturn in the Chinese market. The lasting impact was the revelation of the company's high fixed-cost base, which immediately translated the revenue decline into a -134.8% operating margin. The subsequent quarters have been defined by the struggle to right-size expenses against a volatile revenue stream, a process that appears ongoing.
Sustainability of Recovery in Question
The strongest challenge to the recovery narrative is that Q2 2026 revenue merely matched Q1 2026, while EPS of $0.16 missed consensus estimates, suggesting the path to sustained profitability is fraught with execution risk.
Short-sellers would focus on the sequential revenue plateau and the EPS miss as evidence that the initial rebound was a low-base effect rather than a return to durable growth. The persistent high SG&A, even after cuts, indicates that the cost base remains bloated relative to the current sales volume. Furthermore, the reliance on a single quarter of positive operating income after four consecutive loss-making quarters does not yet constitute a proven inflection, and any renewed weakness in China could quickly return the company to cash burn.