Bausch & Lomb Swings to Profit, Raises Guidance on Surgical Surge
Bausch & Lomb (BLCO) reported second-quarter revenue of $1.394 billion, up 9%, as surgical sales jumped 19% and the company posted its second straight quarterly operating profit.
Bausch & Lomb (BLCO) turned an operating loss into back-to-back quarterly profits, reporting second-quarter revenue of $1.394 billion, up 9% on a reported basis and 8% in constant currency, an acceleration from the 9% reported and 6% constant-currency growth posted in the first quarter. The eye-health company's currency tailwind narrowed to $12 million from $42 million a quarter earlier, meaning the underlying business, not foreign exchange, drove the faster constant-currency pace.
The quarter's central story was Surgical, where revenue grew 19% reported and 16% in constant currency, up sharply from 7% reported and 1% constant-currency growth in the first quarter and from 8% reported and 3% constant-currency growth in the fourth quarter of 2024. Premium intraocular lens revenue rose 175% year over year, and premium products climbed to 13% of total Surgical revenue from 6% a year earlier, a metric the company broke out for the first time this quarter.
Operating income reached $83 million, a swing of $94 million from an $11 million operating loss in the year-earlier quarter, building on the first quarter's turn to a $33 million profit from an $83 million loss a year before that. Net loss narrowed to $14 million from $62 million, continuing a trend that saw the first-quarter loss shrink to $71 million from $212 million. Cash flow from operations rose to $153 million from $35 million, a $118 million improvement that pointed to faster cash conversion alongside the earnings recovery.
Not every segment kept pace. Pharmaceuticals grew 15% reported and 14% in constant currency, a slight deceleration from the fourth quarter's 16% reported and 14% constant-currency growth even as it outpaced the first quarter's 14% reported and 12% constant-currency rate. Vision Care grew 4% in both reported and constant-currency terms, down from 8% reported and 5% constant-currency growth in each of the prior two quarters, making it the slowest-growing segment for a second straight period.
Adjusted EBITDA excluding acquired in-process research and development rose to $246 million, up $54 million from a year earlier, though down sequentially from $330 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 on seasonal patterns. Adjusted EBITDA on a non-GAAP basis climbed to $241 million from $191 million, a $50 million increase that outpaced the first quarter's year-over-year gain to $189 million.
Bausch & Lomb raised full-year 2026 guidance for the second consecutive quarter. The company now expects revenue of $5.440 billion to $5.540 billion, implying 5.8% to 7.7% constant-currency growth, up from the $5.420 billion to $5.520 billion range set after the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA excluding acquired IPR&D is now guided to $1.025 billion to $1.075 billion, up from $1.010 billion to $1.060 billion. $25 million of the revenue increase is attributed to stronger underlying business performance, offset by a $5 million cut to the expected currency tailwind, which is now pegged at $45 million for the year, down from $50 million.
Bausch & Lomb also disclosed topline results from a pivotal trial of its investigational enVista Beyond intraocular lens, the first such data reported for the program. The study met several co-primary endpoints but narrowly missed predefined targets for depth-of-focus and intermediate-vision performance. The fourth-quarter 2024 release had described the trial only as a recruitment-stage study that was on schedule.