> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bullished.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # STAAR Surgical Couldn't Fill All China Lens Orders, So Price Alone Drove Its Growth There - URL: https://www.bullished.co/staar-surgical-couldnt-fill-all-china-lens-orders-so-price-alone-drove-its-growth-there-a512911d/ - Published: 2026-11-04T23:56:51.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T23:56:51.000Z - Description: The lens maker's China sales rose 31% excluding last year's deferred sales, and management would not give 2027 guidance. - Author: Matteo Parrino - Tags: Earnings, STAA, Industry: Healthcare [STAAR Surgical](https://www.bullished.co/tag/staa/), which makes implantable lenses for the eye, could not fully meet demand for its lenses in China during the third quarter, and [all of its China sales growth](https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/11/62900997/staar-surgical-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript?ref=bullished.co) came from higher average selling prices, executives said on the company's earnings call Wednesday. Chief Executive Warren Foust also declined to say when the company might give 2027 guidance. ## Price, not volume, lifted China Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Deborah Andrews said China net sales were [$39.3 million](https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/11/62900997/staar-surgical-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript?ref=bullished.co), against $55.8 million a year earlier. Excluding $25.9 million of deferred China sales in the prior-year quarter, China grew 31% from $29.9 million. She tied the price gains to a mix shift toward V5 and toric lenses. Company-wide, third-quarter net sales were [$83.4 million](https://www.wusa9.com/article/syndication/associatedpress/staar-surgical-q3-earnings-snapshot/616-c9f7ab6f-3f13-4737-8d9d-ff0a0e4d2f88?ref=bullished.co), down 12% from a year ago, or up 21% excluding the deferred sales. Outside China, sales rose 13% to $44.1 million. Gross margin was 70.9%, against 82.2% a year earlier and 75.5% excluding the deferred-sales effect. A BTIG analyst pressed on how a 31% rise squares with distributor unit volume. Foust said the 12.4% figure covers units distributors ship downstream to hospitals over the first nine months, a proxy for implants, and that it ran about 12.5% for the full year. The company does not share its own unit sales. ## Demand outran supply Patients ask for V5 "by name," Foust said. "We know that there's [runway for V5](https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/11/62900997/staar-surgical-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript?ref=bullished.co) purely by the nature of we weren't able to provide what was needed," he told analysts. Supplying China pressured made-to-order lenses, which are custom-made for individual patients. Foust said the company is "mostly through" that backlog in the U.S. All China-bound lenses are now made in Switzerland, where a second clean room has won certification. He said each point of manufacturing yield improvement could add about $750,000 to $1 million in annual gross profit. STAAR sells nearly all of its revenue from Implantable Collamer Lenses, and 91% of revenue in the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026 came from outside the United States. ## No 2027 guidance Asked by a Needham analyst about 2027, Foust said, "we're stopping short of giving guidance or saying when we think we might be willing to give guidance." He cited macro and geopolitical uncertainty. For the fourth quarter, he said China sales would be lower than the third quarter but higher than a year earlier, and he does not expect large distributor restocking. Management expects fourth-quarter gross margin above the third quarter's level as tariffs and inventory provisions ease. Cash and investments stood at [$206.4 million](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202611041601BIZWIRE%5FUSPRX%5F%5F%5F%5F20261104%5FBW516093-1&ref=bullished.co) as of October 2, 2026, with no debt. The board authorized a $50 million share repurchase in September. Foust said first-in-human trials of two presbyopia lenses are expected to start enrolling patients in the next few months, subject to remaining regulatory authorizations. Learn - [How To Read An Earnings Call Transcript: Start With Guidance, Then Find What's Missing →](https://www.bullished.co/learn/how-to-read-an-earnings-call/) How to read an earnings call transcript: check guidance first, look for dropped metrics, compare growth with last quarter, and watch hedged wording. ### Sources - [Staar Surgical: Q3 Earnings Snapshot | wusa9.com](https://www.wusa9.com/article/syndication/associatedpress/staar-surgical-q3-earnings-snapshot/616-c9f7ab6f-3f13-4737-8d9d-ff0a0e4d2f88?ref=bullished.co) — Associated Press - [Staar Surgical Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript](https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/11/62900997/staar-surgical-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript?ref=bullished.co) — benzinga.com - [STAAR Surgical Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results – Company Announcement - FT.com](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202611041601BIZWIRE%5FUSPRX%5F%5F%5F%5F20261104%5FBW516093-1&ref=bullished.co) — Financial Times - [STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance](https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/quote/STAA/?ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance ### More on STAAR Surgical - [STAAR Surgical Sales Fall 12% To $83.4 Million, But Rise 21% Without A Year-Ago China Catch-Up](https://www.bullished.co/staar-surgical-sales-fall-12-to-83-4-million-but-rise-21-without-a-year-ago-china-catch-up-55091519/) - [STAAR's Two China Distributors Now Hold 61% Of Its Trade Receivables, Up From 33%](https://www.bullished.co/staars-two-china-distributors-now-hold-61-of-its-trade-receivables-up-from-33-08c39f18/) - [STAAR Surgical Corrects Its Disclosure Of David Bailey's $850,000 Grant: Half Stock Options, Not All Stock Units](https://www.bullished.co/staar-surgical-fixes-david-baileys-pay-terms-850-000-grant-was-split-wrongly-filing-says-43183eff/) [All STAAR Surgical (STAA) coverage →](https://www.bullished.co/tag/staa/)