STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) Stock

STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) is a Healthcare stock trading at $23.13 (as of 2026-09-02), with a market capitalization of $1.15B and a trailing P/E of 298.3. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

STAAR Surgical Company designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells implantable eye lenses and related delivery systems. Its product lines include implantable Collamer lenses and cataract intraocular lenses with corresponding injector systems, which it supplies to ophthalmic surgeons and other healthcare providers through direct sales and distributors.

Understand STAAR Surgical Company: how it makes money

STAAR Surgical designs and sells premium implantable contact lenses (ICLs) and cataract surgery kits to ophthalmic surgeons for refractive and cataract procedures. The Visian ICL franchise is the core product, with China driving the majority of volume and a proprietary lens-plus-delivery-system moat in premium refractive surgery.

The 63-point spread between 74% gross margin and 11% operating margin is the entire story: each ICL earns a premium price, but building out the global commercial franchise (sales force, distributors, plant capacity, post-merger integration) still consumes most of that gross before it reaches the bottom line.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
China$0.1B
Ex-China$0.0B

Business quality (Mixed): A genuinely high-margin product franchise (74% gross) held back by a thin operating margin (11%) that reflects heavy investment in distribution, manufacturing footprint, and innovation. The 111% revenue recovery is real but off a disrupted base, and the valuation leaves no room for a missed quarter.

Valuation: At 299× earnings, STAA trades 815% above the Medical Equipment average (33×).

Bull case

  • U.S. Indication Widens TAM: The expanded U.S. indication adds approximately 8 million potential EVO candidates, materially enlarging the addressable patient base for the premium ICL franchise beyond its current China-centric mix.
  • Pricing Premium in Core Market: EVO Plus demand is encouraging and carries a price premium in China, the company's dominant market, supporting the 74% gross margin that is well above the medical equipment norm.
  • Operating Leverage as Growth Normalizes: With operating margin at just 11% against 74% gross, management pointed to cost discipline that could create meaningful operating leverage as the 111% revenue-growth base normalizes into mid-to-high single-digit growth.

Bear case

  • EMEA Distribution Shock: EMEA sales declined 20% amid a distributor transition and merger-related disruption, exposing execution fragility in the one region where the company needs secondary growth to offset China concentration.
  • Extreme Valuation Disconnect: At 299x earnings versus a 33x medical equipment industry median (815% above), the stock embeds near-flawless recovery and margin expansion; any growth wobble gets punished by a multiple compression that dwarfs the fundamental miss.
  • Innovation Pipeline Lag: Management acknowledged that innovation delivery has lagged expectations, raising the risk that surgical competitors close the ICL design gap before STAAR's next product wave protects its premium pricing.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$23.13
Market Cap$1.15B
P/E Ratio298.3
EV / EBITDA45.2
Price / Book3.13
Price / Sales3.37
FCF Yield-3.5%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$239.44M
Net Margin-33.6%
Revenue Growth (YoY)111.0%
EPS Growth (YoY)-147.1%
FCF Growth (YoY)-166.1%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score6.44 (safe)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E298.3
Sector P/E (Healthcare)21.6
Industry P/E (Medical Equipment)29.8
vs Sector1281.3%
vs Industry902.6%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderBROADWOOD CAPITAL INC ($301.52M)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Company
SectorHealthcare
IndustryMedical Equipment
CEOWarren Foust
Employees1,157
CountryUS
IPO Date1992-02-24

STAAR Surgical Company earnings call transcripts

  • STAA Q4 FY25 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-03-03) · analysis

All STAA earnings calls

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STAA earnings history · STAA institutional & insider holders · STAA KPIs & operating metrics · STAA financials · STAA investor presentations & press releases · STAA SEC filings · STAA peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-09-02.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.