ALPHARETTA, Ga.—National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE), one of the largest optical retail companies in the U.S., yesterday reported its financial results for the second quarter and year-to-date ended July 4, 2026. Net revenue for the quarter increased 2.5 percent year-over-year to $498.8 million, driven by what the company said was new store sales, a positive 0.8 percent impact from the timing of unearned revenue and adjusted comparable store sales growth, partially offset by closed stores. Net income increased to $12.4 million, compared with $8.7 million in the prior-year period. Year-to-date reporting showed that net revenue increased 4.6 percent to $ 1,042.7 million, while net income rose to $43.6 million, up from $22.9 million in the prior-year period.
“The second quarter was an important step forward for National Vision,” said CEO Alex Wilkes. “We delivered stronger profitability as higher-value transactions, managed care customers and ticket growth gained momentum. We remained disciplined in how we pursue growth, focusing on an intentional shift toward a healthier customer base, improving our product mix, enhancing the customer experience and maintaining cost discipline. We believe these actions are building a more durable business and are more than offsetting deferred purchases among our least profitable, lower-value transactions.”
On a call with analysts, the company highlighted a new, unified e-commerce platform, which it said is designed to help customers shop, try on and buy prescription eyewear online. This initiative is supported by a connected in-person experience, with doctors and opticians available to provide care at more than 1,200 locations, while data and insights fuel personalized patient experiences. Furthermore, the platform integrates end-to-end AI assistance to help consumers navigate their eye health and shopping experience.
“Completing the website re-platform was a significant milestone, moving us to a unified commerce foundation that will enable us to connect the exam, prescription and retail journey at scale,” said Wilkes. “We are creating a unified commerce platform supported by our employee- doctor model that will connect the exam, prescription, product selection and purchase experience in a way that is more seamless, more personalized and more relevant to each customer.”
Furthermore, Wilkes highlighted that National Vision is driving product innovation forward through the introduction of Nikon Eyes, Stellest lenses, and ongoing store segmentation, while advising that the company is gaining strong traction in categories such as smart eyewear that mirror evolving consumer preferences.
“Our smart eyewear category continues to do very well, demonstrating our ability to be a clear leader in smart glasses, with strong customer adoption we are seeing with Ray-Ban Meta,” he stated on the call. “At the beginning of the quarter, we expanded Ray-Ban Meta and added Oakley Meta smart glasses to each of our over 1,200 locations, and they are continuing to perform above expectations.”
Comparable store sales growth in the second quarter was 3.4 percent, and adjusted comparable store sales growth was 2.2 percent, due to what the company said was a 7.1 percent higher average ticket and continued strength in the managed care cohort, partially offset by lower self-pay customer traffic. The company opened nine new America’s Best stores and closed two, ending the second quarter with 1,281 stores, the report stated. Overall, store count grew 3.3 percent.
Costs applicable to revenue grew 4.0 percent in the second quarter to $208.4 million, while selling, general and administrative expenses declined 1.5 percent to $243.4 million. Adjusted operating income increased 32.7 percent to $31.6 million, while the adjusted operating margin improved to 6.3 percent from 4.9 percent.
In year-to-date developments, the company’s total store count reached 1,281 at the end of the period, it reported, representing an overall growth of 3.3 percent. These updates reflect the opening of 17 new America’s Best stores alongside five closures, as well as an expanded presence within the military channel by adding 20 new optical departments within Army & Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES) military exchanges, as previously reported in VMAIL, and closing one location.
As of July 4, 2026, National Vision reported a cash balance of $36.0 million and a total debt of $237.7 million. Additionally, during the three months ended July 4, 2026, the company repurchased approximately 1.2 million shares for $20.0 million; the remaining capacity under the share repurchase authorization is $30.0 million.
The company updated its fiscal 2026 outlook for the 52 weeks ending January 2, 2027, including new projected net revenue guidance of $2.037 billion to $2.076 billion from the previous guidance of $2.033 billion to $2.091 billion issued on May 13, 2026. The company is expecting capital expenditures in a range of $72 million to $76 million for new store openings, existing stores and investments in technology.
