Release Details

Strong Execution Drives Significant Margin Expansion and More Than Doubles Adjusted EPS

New Store Growth Expected to Accelerate in 2027, One Year Ahead of Plan

Updates Fiscal 2026 Outlook

Third quarter 2026 highlights compared to third quarter 2025:

• Net revenue of $510.5 million, increased 4.8%
• Comparable store sales growth of 3.6% and Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth of 2.8%
• Net income of $19.2 million, Diluted EPS of $0.24, with Net income margin improving to 3.8% from 0.7%
• Adjusted Operating Income increased to $37.1 million from $19.8 million, with Adjusted Operating Margin expanding 320 basis points to 7.3% from 4.1%
• Excluding the one-time benefit of IEEPA tariff refunds of $4.7 million, Adjusted Operating Income increased to $32.4 million from $19.8 million, with Adjusted Operating Margin expanding 230 basis points to 6.4% from 4.1%
• Adjusted Diluted EPS increased to $0.30 from $0.13

ALPHARETTA, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2026-- National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE) (“National Vision,” “we,” “our,” “us” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended October 3, 2026.

“Our strategy continues to deliver profitable growth as we execute the commercial transformation of the business,” said Alex Wilkes, National Vision’s CEO. “Third quarter adjusted operating margin expanded 320 basis points and adjusted diluted earnings per share more than doubled year over year. Comparable store sales growth was bolstered by positive traffic and ticket in our managed care cohort that meaningfully contributed to our profitability. Growth in higher value transactions offset industry headwinds concentrated in lower-value transactions. These lower value transactions represent only a high single digit share of sales and an even smaller share of gross profit – a distinction that matters as we focus on growth that translates into stronger earnings.”

Mr. Wilkes continued, “Our strong earnings power and cash flow generation gives us the flexibility to accelerate our new store openings one year ahead of plan while continuing to invest in the capabilities that will strengthen National Vision over the long term. We are updating our outlook to reflect the current consumer environment, and through continued disciplined execution, we expect to deliver full year profitability in line with our long-term algorithm. We believe the actions we are taking are building a stronger, more durable business, positioning National Vision to gain share and deliver durable profitable growth.”

This release includes certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures that are not recognized under generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), including Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted SG&A and Adjusted Diluted EPS. Please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information.

Third Quarter 2026 Summary

• Net revenue increased 4.8% to $510.5 million driven by Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth, new store sales, partially offset by closed stores and a negative 0.8% impact from the timing of unearned revenue.
• Comparable store sales growth was 3.6% and Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth was 2.8%, driven by higher average ticket that primarily reflects a favorable mix shift toward higher-value products, and continued strength in the managed care cohort, partially offset by lower self-pay customer traffic.
• The Company opened eight new America’s Best stores and closed three America’s Best stores and one Eyeglass World store, ending the quarter with 1,285 stores. Overall, store count grew 3.5%.
• Costs applicable to revenue increased 3.4% to $210.1 million. As a percentage of net revenue, costs applicable to revenue decreased 60 basis points to 41.1%, reflecting a one-time benefit of IEEPA tariff refunds of $4.7 million and leverage of optometrist-related costs on higher exam revenue, partially offset by lower product margin rate resulting from a strategic mix shift toward higher-value product offerings.
• Excluding the one-time benefit of IEEPA tariff refunds, costs applicable to revenue as a percentage of net revenue increased 40 basis points, reflecting higher-value product mix of goods sold that generate higher gross profit dollars despite lower product margin rates.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) decreased 2.1% to $247.1 million. As a percentage of net revenue, SG&A decreased 340 basis points to 48.4%, primarily driven by improved store labor efficiency, lower variable incentive compensation, as well as continued execution of cost optimization efforts. Adjusted SG&A decreased 0.5% to $241.2 million and represented 47.2% of net revenue, a decrease of 250 basis points.
• Net income increased to $19.2 million, compared to $3.4 million in the prior-year period. Net income margin improved to 3.8% from 0.7%.
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased to $0.24 compared to $0.04. Adjusted Diluted EPS increased to $0.30 from $0.13. The net change in margin on unearned revenue negatively impacted both Diluted EPS and Adjusted Diluted EPS by $(0.03).
• Adjusted Operating Income increased 87.4% to $37.1 million. Adjusted Operating Margin improved 320 basis points to 7.3% from 4.1%. The net change in margin on unearned revenue negatively impacted net income by $2.2 million and Adjusted Operating Income by $2.9 million.

Year-to-Date 2026 Summary

• Net revenue increased 4.7% to $1,553.2 million driven by Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth, new store sales, and a positive 0.7% impact from the timing of unearned revenue, partially offset by closed stores.
• Comparable store sales growth was 3.8% and Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth was 3.2%, primarily due to higher average ticket that primarily reflects a favorable mix shift toward higher-value products, and continued strength in the managed care cohort, partially offset by lower self-pay customer traffic.
• The Company opened 25 new America’s Best stores and closed eight America’s Best stores, one Military store and one Eyeglass World store. Additionally, the Company expanded its presence in the military channel by adding 20 new Military stores. Total store count at the end of the period was 1,285 stores, and overall, store count grew 3.5%.
• Costs applicable to revenue increased 4.7% to $637.6 million. As a percentage of net revenue, costs applicable to revenue remained flat at 41.0%, reflecting a one-time benefit of IEEPA tariff refunds of $4.7 million, offset by a strategic mix shift toward higher-value product offerings.
• Excluding the one-time benefit of IEEPA tariff refunds, costs applicable to revenue as a percentage of net revenue increased 30 basis points, reflecting higher-value product mix of goods sold that generate higher gross profit dollars despite lower product margin rates.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) decreased 1.1% to $746.7 million. As a percentage of net revenue, SG&A decreased 280 basis points to 48.1% primarily driven by improved store labor efficiency, lower variable incentive compensation, as well as lower advertising and promotional spending. Adjusted SG&A remained flat at $723.4 million and decreased 210 basis points to 46.6% of net revenue.
• Net income increased to $62.8 million compared to $26.3 million. Net income margin increased to 4.0% compared to 1.8%.
• Diluted EPS increased to $0.78 compared to $0.33. Adjusted Diluted EPS increased to $1.01 compared to $0.65. The net change in margin on unearned revenue benefited both Diluted EPS and Adjusted Diluted EPS by $0.07.
• Adjusted Operating Income increased 46.3% to $124.2 million. Adjusted Operating Margin expanded 230 basis points to 8.0% compared to 5.7%. The net change in margin on unearned revenue benefited net income by $5.3 million and Adjusted Operating Income by $7.1 million.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights as of October 3, 2026

• National Vision’s cash balance was $60.0 million as of October 3, 2026. The Company had no borrowings outstanding under its $300.0 million first lien revolving credit facility, exclusive of letters of credit of $6.7 million.
• Total debt was $233.6 million as of October 3, 2026, consisting of outstanding first lien term loans and finance lease obligations, net of unamortized discounts.
• During the three months ended October 3, 2026, the Company repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares for $20.0 million. As of October 3, 2026, the share repurchase authorization had remaining capacity of $10.0 million.

Share Repurchase Program

Effective November 9, 2026, the Company's board of directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to $100 million aggregate amount of shares of the Company's common stock until December 28, 2030. The new share repurchase authorization replaces the Company's previous share repurchase authorization approved effective March 2, 2026, which had remaining capacity of $10.0 million at the time of its replacement. Repurchases of shares of common stock may be made through various methods, including, but not limited to, open market, privately negotiated, or accelerated share repurchase transactions. The timing, manner, price, and actual amount of share repurchases will be determined by management based on various factors, including, but not limited to, stock price, economic and market conditions, other capital management needs and opportunities, and corporate and regulatory considerations. The Company has no obligation to repurchase any amount of its common stock, and such repurchases, if any, may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

Fiscal 2026 Outlook

The Company is updating its fiscal 2026 outlook for the 52 weeks ending January 2, 2027, as set forth below.

The fiscal 2026 outlook information provided in this release includes Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS guidance. The Company is not able to reconcile these forward-looking non-GAAP measures to GAAP without unreasonable efforts because it is not possible to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty the actual impact of certain items and unanticipated events, including taxes and non-recurring items, which would be included in GAAP results.

The fiscal 2026 outlook is forward-looking, subject to significant business, economic, regulatory and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and its management, and based upon assumptions with respect to future decisions, which are subject to change. These uncertainties include, but are not limited to, dynamic market conditions, unexpected disruptions including additional regulatory actions impacting international trade such as tariffs, issues relating to the implementation of our transformation initiatives, geopolitical issues, higher transportation or other costs due to rising fuel or energy costs, and other macroeconomic risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary and those variations may be material. As such, the Company’s results may not fall within the ranges contained in its fiscal 2026 outlook. The Company uses these forward-looking measures internally to assess and benchmark its results and strategic plans. See “Forward-Looking Statements” below.

Conference Call Details

The Company will host a conference call to discuss the third quarter 2026 financial results and fiscal-year 2026 guidance today, November 12, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. To pre-register for the conference call and obtain a dial-in number and passcode, please refer to the “Investors” section of the Company’s website at www.ir.nationalvision.com. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the “Investors” section of the Company’s website at www.ir.nationalvision.com, where presentation materials will be posted prior to the conference call. A replay of the audio webcast will also be archived on the “Investors” section of the Company’s website.

About National Vision Holdings, Inc.

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE) is one of the largest optical retail companies in the United States with over 1,200 stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico. With a mission of helping people by making quality eye care and eyewear more affordable and accessible, the company operates four retail brands: America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, Eyeglass World, and Vista Opticals inside select Fred Meyer stores and on select military bases, and an e-commerce website DiscountContacts.com, offering a variety of products and services for customers’ eye care needs. For more information, please visit www.nationalvision.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements contained under “Fiscal 2026 Outlook,” as well as other statements related to our current beliefs and expectations regarding the performance of our industry, the Company’s strategic direction, market position, prospects including remote medicine and optometrist recruiting and retention initiatives, and future results. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “guidance,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “projects,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or variations of these words or other comparable words. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement as such statements speak only as of the date when made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, market volatility, an overall decline in the health of the economy, global macroeconomic conditions and other factors that may affect consumer spending or behavior; our ability to successfully implement our strategic initiatives, or anticipate the impact of important strategic initiatives; our ability to recruit and retain vision care professionals for in-store roles or to provide remote care offerings; our ability to compete in the highly competitive optical retail industry; our ability to maintain, protect, and enhance the value of our owned brands; the success of our marketing, advertising and promotional efforts; our ability to open and operate new stores (including as a result of store conversions) in a timely and cost-effective manner or to successfully enter new markets; our ability to increase sales in existing stores and to successfully reinvest in existing stores; our ability to successfully implement our pricing strategies; changes in the cost of inputs, and factors such as wage rate increases, inflation, cost increases, tariffs and related measures, increases in the price of raw materials and energy prices; significant capital requirements to fund our expanding business including updating our Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) and Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”), and other technological, systems and capabilities; the potential for our growth strategies to strain our existing resources and cause the performance of our existing stores to suffer; risks associated with leasing substantial amounts of space, including future increases in occupancy costs; our ability to successfully manage the distinct risks faced by our e-commerce and omni-channel business; our ability to retain our existing senior management team, attract qualified new personnel or successfully implement our succession plans; seasonal fluctuations in our operating results and inventory levels; the potential impacts of catastrophic events, including changing climate and weather patterns leading to severe weather and natural disasters; the potential for certain technological advances, greater availability of, or increased consumer preferences for, vision correction alternatives to prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses, or future drug development for the correction of vision-related problems to reduce the demand for our products; our ability to successfully manage our inventory balances and inventory shrinkage; the potential for the loss of, or disruption in the operations of, one or more of our distribution centers or optical laboratories, which would impact our ability to process and fulfill customer orders and deliver our products in a timely manner, or at all, or result in quality issues; the performance of our Host brands and our ability to maintain or extend our operating relationships with our Host partners; sustainability issues, including those related to climate change; our ability to develop, maintain and extend relationships with managed vision care companies, vision insurance providers and other third-party payors; our reliance on third-party coverage and reimbursement, including government programs, for an increasing portion of our revenues; risks associated with vendors from whom our products and certain services are sourced and our dependence on a limited number of suppliers; changes in U.S. or international laws, including tariffs, affecting our ability to source merchandise and services internationally; the impact of any significant failure, inadequacy, interruption or security breach affecting our information technology systems, or those of our vendors; our ability to comply with state, local and federal vision care and healthcare laws and regulations, as well as managed vision care laws and regulations; liability stemming from rapidly changing and increasingly stringent laws, regulations, contractual obligations, and industry standards relating to privacy, data security and data protection; product liability, product recall or personal injury issues; our ability to comply with laws, regulations and enforcement activities or changes in statutory, regulatory, accounting and other legal requirements; the outcome of legal proceedings relating to our business operations; the protection and validity of our intellectual property; risks related to our indebtedness; changes in interest rates; restrictions in our credit agreement that limit our flexibility in operating our business; and risks related to owning our common stock. Additional information about these and other factors that could cause National Vision’s results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in filings by National Vision with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in our filings with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s financial information presented in accordance with GAAP and aid understanding of the Company’s business performance, the Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures, namely “EBITDA,” “Adjusted Operating Income,” “Adjusted Operating Margin,” “Adjusted EBITDA,” “Adjusted EBITDA Margin,” “Adjusted Diluted EPS,” “Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth,” “Adjusted SG&A,” and “Adjusted SG&A Percent of Net Revenue.” We believe EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Diluted EPS, Adjusted SG&A, and Adjusted SG&A Percent of Net Revenue assist investors and analysts in comparing our operating performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in highlighting trends in our operating performance, while other measures can differ significantly depending on long-term strategic decisions regarding capital structure, the tax jurisdictions in which we operate and capital investments. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to supplement GAAP measures of performance in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our business strategies, to make budgeting decisions, to establish discretionary annual incentive compensation and to compare our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures. Management supplements GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures to provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting the business than GAAP results alone.

To supplement the Company’s comparable store sales growth presented in accordance with GAAP, the Company provides “Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth,” which is a non-GAAP financial measure we believe is useful because it provides timely and accurate information relating to the two core metrics of retail sales: number of transactions and value of transactions. Management uses Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth as the basis for key operating decisions, such as allocation of advertising to particular markets and implementation of special marketing programs. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth provides timely and accurate information relating to the operational health and overall performance of each brand. We also believe that, for the same reasons, investors find our calculation of Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth to be meaningful.

EBITDA: We define EBITDA as net income (loss), plus interest expense (income), net, income tax provision (benefit) and depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted Operating Income: We define Adjusted Operating Income as net income (loss), plus interest expense (income), net and income tax provision (benefit), further adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, (gain) loss on extinguishment of debt, asset impairment, litigation settlement, secondary offering expenses, management realignment expenses, long-term incentive plan expenses, amortization of acquisition intangibles, Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) and Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) implementation expenses, shareholder activism costs, severance and associate-related costs associated with organizational restructuring and certain other expenses.

Adjusted Operating Margin: We define Adjusted Operating Margin as Adjusted Operating Income as a percentage of net revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA: We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), plus interest expense (income), net, income tax provision (benefit) and depreciation and amortization, further adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, (gain) loss on extinguishment of debt, asset impairment, litigation settlement, secondary offering expenses, management realignment expenses, long-term incentive plan expenses, ERP and CRM implementation expenses, shareholder activism costs, severance and associate-related costs associated with organizational restructuring and certain other expenses.

Adjusted EBITDA Margin: We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net revenue.

Adjusted Diluted EPS: We define Adjusted Diluted EPS as diluted earnings (loss) per share, adjusted for the per share impact of stock-based compensation expense, (gain) loss on extinguishment of debt, asset impairment, litigation settlement, secondary offering expenses, management realignment expenses, long-term incentive plan expenses, amortization of debt discounts and deferred financing costs of our term loan borrowings, amortization of the conversion feature and deferred financing costs related to our 2.50% convertible senior notes due on May 15, 2025 ("2025 Notes") when not required under U.S. GAAP to be added back for diluted earnings (loss) per share, derivative fair value adjustments, ERP and CRM implementation expenses, shareholder activism, severance and associate-related costs associated with restructuring and certain other expenses, less the tax effect of these adjustments, including tax expense (benefit) from stock-based compensation.

Adjusted SG&A: We define Adjusted SG&A as SG&A adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, litigation settlement, secondary offering expenses, management realignment expenses, long-term incentive plan expense, ERP and CRM implementation expenses, shareholder activism, severance and employee-related costs associated with restructuring and certain other expenses.

Adjusted SG&A Percent of Net Revenue: We define Adjusted SG&A Percent of Net Revenue as Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of total net revenue.

Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth: We measure Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth as the increase or decrease in sales recorded by the comparable store base in any reporting period, compared to sales recorded by the comparable store base in the prior reporting period, which we calculate as follows: (i) sales are recorded at the point of sale (ii) sales are adjusted for managed care insurance collection estimates (iii) stores are added to the calculation during the 13th full fiscal month following the store’s opening; (iv) closed stores are removed from the calculation for time periods that are not comparable; (v) sales from partial months of operation are excluded when stores do not open or close on the first day of the month; and (vi) when applicable, we adjust for the effect of the 53rd week; (vii) in fiscal years following a 53-week fiscal year, there is a one week calendar shift to the comparable prior year period. For the calculation of the adjusted comparable store sales growth in the three months ended October 3, 2026, we compared weeks 27 through 39 in fiscal 2026 against weeks 28 through 40 in fiscal 2025 and for the nine months ended October 3, 2026, we compared weeks 1 through 39 in fiscal year 2026 against weeks 2 through 40 in fiscal year 2025. Quarterly, year-to-date and annual adjusted comparable store sales are aggregated using only sales from all whole months of operation included in both the current reporting period and the prior reporting period. When a partial month is excluded from the calculation, the corresponding month in the subsequent period is also excluded from the calculation. There may be variations in the way in which some of our competitors and other retailers calculate comparable store sales. As a result, our adjusted comparable store sales may not be comparable to similar data made available by other retailers.

EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Diluted EPS, Adjusted SG&A, Adjusted SG&A Percent of Net Revenue and Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth are not recognized terms under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income or income from operations as a measure of financial performance, SG&A, the ratio of SG&A to net revenue as a measure of financial performance, cash flows provided by operating activities as a measure of liquidity, comparable store sales growth as a measure of operating performance, or any other performance measure derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Additionally, these measures are not intended to be a measure of free cash flow available for management’s discretionary use as they do not consider certain cash requirements such as interest payments, tax payments and debt service requirements. The presentations of these measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, the presentations of these measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies and can differ significantly from company to company.

Please see “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Financial Measures” below for reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures used in this release to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

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Investor contact:
investor.relations@nationalvision.com
National Vision Holdings, Inc.
Tamara Gonzalez

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National Vision Holdings, Inc.

Source: National Vision Holdings, Inc.