Staar Names Foust Chief Executive After Record First Half
First-quarter net sales reached $93.5 million, up 119.6% from a year earlier, as the company said it completed its strongest first half on record.
STAAR Surgical Company (STAA), the global leader in phakic intraocular lenses, appointed Warren Foust as President and Chief Executive Officer and a new member of the Board, effective August 4, 2026, after an extensive global search.
Foust joined the company in April 2023, became President and Chief Operating Officer in March 2025, and served as Interim Co-CEO beginning in February 2026. Deborah Andrews, who served as Interim Co-CEO alongside him, moved to Executive Vice President and continued as Chief Financial Officer.
The appointment capped a first half that was the strongest in the company’s history, marked by robust year-over-year growth, increasing profitability, and accelerating market share momentum.
In the first quarter ended April 3, 2026, net sales were $93.5 million, up 119.6% from a year earlier, the highest first-quarter total in company history. Net sales excluding China were $46.1 million, up 6.0% year over year. Gross margin was 73.6%, versus 65.8% a year earlier. The company reported net income of $5.2 million, or $0.10 a share, compared with a net loss of $54.2 million, or $1.10 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $24.4 million, or $0.48 a share, versus an adjusted EBITDA loss of $26.3 million, or $0.53 a share.
Those results followed a fourth quarter ended January 2, 2026, in which net sales were $57.8 million, up 18.1% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA was breakeven. Fiscal 2025 net sales were $239.4 million, down 23.7% from fiscal 2024, with a net loss of $80.4 million, or $1.62 a share. Cash, cash equivalents, and investments available for sale ended the year at $187.5 million.
The company returned to growth in China in the first quarter, with distributor inventory at or below contractual levels, a strong launch of EVO+ ICL in China, and double-digit U.S. net sales growth, with quarterly U.S. net sales surpassing $6 million. Sequential growth in China in the first half was reported without inventory accumulation, driven by continued share gains, the EVO+ launch, and favorable average selling prices from an improving product mix.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, in-market demand in China accelerated, but that recovery did not translate into sales growth because of a reduction in sub-distributor and customer inventory, including inventory returned after Alcon acquisition uncertainty. For 2026, modest growth in China in-market volume demand is expected, and China net sales are expected to increase due to rising average selling prices and market share gains, with EVO+ ICL for China manufactured in Switzerland and not subject to U.S.-China tariff volatility.
The company remains focused on revenue growth, profit expansion, and innovation acceleration, and its innovation agenda will transform it into a multi-product company. Board Chair Neal C. Bradsher said Foust brings operational discipline and a focus on change and innovation, and that the Board looks forward to what STAAR will achieve under his leadership.
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