National Vision Holdings, Inc.

What they do

The company sells eye exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses through 1,069 America's Best stores, 122 Eyeglass World stores, 72 Vista Optical military-base locations and 18 Vista Optical locations inside Fred Meyer stores as of July 4, 2026. America's Best stores are mainly in high-traffic strip centers next to value retailers, while Eyeglass World locations include on-site optical labs. All brands use centralized laboratories, and the company also sells through omni-channel websites and its DiscountContacts.com e-commerce site.

Revenue drivers

• Owned & Host segment — The only reportable segment, comprising America's Best, Eyeglass World and the Vista Optical Host brands, plus America's Best, Eyeglass World and Military omni-channel websites. It generated the vast majority of net revenue, which was $1.99B in fiscal 2025.
• America's Best — The largest brand with 1,069 stores as of July 4, 2026 and the company's leading brand; exams are provided by employed or independent optometrists and the company has refreshed the brand promise to 'Every Eye Deserves Better.'
• Managed care cohort — Management cited continued strength in managed care customers as a driver of comparable store sales growth and higher average ticket in the second quarter and year-to-date 2026.
• Corporate and other — Includes the DiscountContacts.com e-commerce contact lens and accessory business and FirstSight, a California-licensed single-service health plan issuing individual vision plans tied to California America's Best operations; also holds unallocated corporate overhead.

Recent performance

For the second quarter ended July 4, 2026, net revenue rose 2.5% to $498.8 million, with comparable store sales growth of 3.4% and Adjusted Comparable Store Sales Growth of 2.2%. Net income was $12.4 million, or $0.15 diluted EPS, and adjusted operating income rose 32.7% to $31.6 million with adjusted operating margin up 140 basis points to 6.3%. Management attributed the quarter to higher-value transactions, managed care customers and ticket growth, partly offset by lower self-pay customer traffic. Year-to-date 2026 net revenue increased 4.6% to $1,042.7 million, with comparable store sales growth of 3.9%.

Strategy

National Vision is executing a multi-year transformation focused on a more joyful consumer experience through refreshed merchandising, updated marketing and brand assets, new in-store technologies and an updated pricing architecture. The company completed a website replatform to a unified commerce foundation intended to connect the exam, prescription and retail journey at scale. It is targeting under-indexed growth vectors: managed vision care, progressive wearers, Outside Rx customers, premium lens coatings, advanced materials and premium frames. Management plans to open roughly 30 to 35 new stores per year in the near term, mostly America's Best, reaccelerating to about 60 per year beginning 2028 for approximately 240 new stores through 2030. Cost optimization and operating margin expansion are paired with these consumer-facing initiatives.

Risks

• Consumer and macroeconomic sensitivity — The company states its business depends on discretionary consumer demand and is sensitive to inflation, interest rates, tariffs, unemployment and consumer confidence, which can reduce exam frequency and purchases.
• Value-segment and self-pay traffic pressure — Second quarter 2026 results showed lower self-pay customer traffic, and management described an intentional shift away from least-profitable, lower-value transactions and deferred purchases.
• Margin mix and cost pressure — Costs applicable to revenue rose 60 basis points to 41.8% of net revenue in Q2 2026 on a strategic mix shift toward higher-value product offerings, and occupancy expense increased.
• Execution of transformation and new store growth — The strategy depends on continued expansion of exam capacity, new traffic-driving initiatives and opening 30 to 35 stores per year near term and about 60 per year beginning 2028, all subject to the risk factors in the 10-K.

Outlook

Management raised full-year adjusted operating income guidance and tightened its adjusted comparable store sales growth outlook in the August 12, 2026 earnings release. CEO Alex Wilkes said confidence in the earnings power of the business continues to build, supported by new brand introductions, store segmentation and increased back-half marketing investment. The company expects new store openings of roughly 30 to 35 per year near term, accelerating to approximately 60 per year beginning 2028, totaling about 240 new stores through 2030.