Optical retailer National Vision Q3 profit beats estimates on cost cuts

Overview

• U.S. optical retailer's Q3 revenue grew 4.8% but slightly missed analyst expectations

• Adjusted EPS for Q3 more than doubled and beat analyst expectations

• Company authorized new $100 mln share repurchase program, replacing prior authorization

Outlook

• Company now sees fiscal 2026 net revenue of $2.019 bln-$2.038 bln, down from $2.037 bln-$2.076 bln

• National Vision expects fiscal 2026 adjusted comparable store sales growth of 2.0%-3.0%, down from 3.0%-5.0%

• Company guides fiscal 2026 adjusted diluted EPS to $0.95-$1.03, compared with prior $0.94-$1.09

Result Drivers

• HIGHER-VALUE PRODUCT MIX - Growth in average ticket driven by a shift toward higher-value products and continued strength in managed care cohort, offsetting lower self-pay customer traffic

• COST OPTIMIZATION - Improved store labor efficiency, lower variable incentive compensation, and cost optimization efforts reduced SG&A as a percentage of revenue

• ONE-TIME TARIFF REFUNDS - Operating margin benefited from a one-time $4.7 mln IEEPA tariff refund, though underlying margin also improved excluding this item

Company press release:

Key Details

*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 8 "strong buy" or "buy", 3 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the miscellaneous specialty retailers peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for National Vision Holdings, Inc. is $27.00, about 49.3% above its November 11 closing price of $18.09

• The stock recently traded at 16 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 20 three months ago

Reuters Recommended Reads

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• Nov 12 - Germany's Mister Spex Q3 revenue falls as online sales decline, maintains 2026 forecast

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)