Top-Line Growth
Total company revenue of $1.244 billion in Q1, up 6% year-over-year on a constant currency basis; FX provided a tailwind of approximately $42 million in the quarter.
Bausch + Lomb Corporation
· BLCO
April 29th, 2026
Summary
- Earnings Call Date:
- 2026-04-29
- Change Since:
- +1.11%
- Next Earnings Date:
- 2026-08-05
Earnings Call Sentiment
PositiveThe call emphasized substantial progress on execution: consistent revenue growth, large adjusted EBITDA and margin expansion, strong Pharma and premium product momentum, active pipeline and elevated R&D investment — all supported by a modest guidance raise. Lowlights were mostly transitional or seasonal (Surgical field-force rebuild, weather-related disruptions, regional softness, prescription seasonality, and cash/capex timing). Overall, the positives—material margin improvement, strong product-level growth (notably Miebo, Xiidra, Daily SiHy, premium IOLs), and upgraded guidance—outweigh the temporary challenges.
Company Guidance
Management raised full‑year revenue guidance by $45 million to $5.42–5.52 billion (implying ~5.3%–7.2% constant‑currency growth, ~+30 bps vs. prior) and increased adjusted EBITDA guidance by $10 million to $1.01–1.06 billion (≈19% margin at the midpoint, ~16% YoY EBITDA growth and roughly 3x revenue growth), while forecasting a ~$50 million full‑year currency tailwind, adjusted gross margin of ~62%, R&D at 7.5%–8% of revenue, interest expense of about $365 million, an adjusted tax rate of ~19% and unchanged full‑year CapEx of ~$285 million (weighted to H1); Q1 that informed the raise included $1.244 billion revenue (+6% YoY; ~$42M FX tailwind), $200 million adjusted EBITDA (+59% YoY) and 16.1% EBITDA margin (+500 bps), 61.2% adjusted gross margin (+170 bps), adjusted R&D of $101 million (+15–17% YoY), adjusted operating cash flow of $45 million and CapEx of $100 million, and management reiterated a target to reach ~3.5x net leverage by year‑end 2028.
Strong Adjusted EBITDA and Margin Expansion
Adjusted EBITDA of $200 million, up 59% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 16.1%, a 500 basis point improvement versus prior year.
Improved Gross and SG&A Margins Driving Operating Leverage
Adjusted gross margin of 61.2%, up 170 basis points year-over-year; adjusted SG&A margin improved by ~340 basis points, supporting meaningful operating leverage.
Pharmaceutical Segment Outperformance
Pharma revenue of $305 million, up 12% on a constant currency basis (14% reported); Miebo revenue of $76 million (+33% YoY) and Xiidra revenue of $87 million (+30% YoY) demonstrating strong prescription growth and commercialization execution.
Vision Care and Contact Lens Momentum
Vision Care revenue of $711 million, up 5% YoY; contact lens revenue +5% with Daily SiHy growth of ~23% (management cited 23–25% range) and Ultra up 3%; U.S. contact lens growth +6%, international +4%.
Premium Surgical Franchise Progress
Surgical premium IOLs grew 27% constant currency; enVista U.S. sales +16% and Envy product up 88% YoY; U.S. system placements were nearly 3x prior-year levels, indicating strong premium adoption.
Pipeline and Regulatory Milestones
NDA filed for LUMIFY NXT and CE Mark submission completed for seeLYRA; PreserVision AREDS3 and Blink Triple Care preservative-free shipped in Q1; management highlighted active pipeline with 60+ programs advancing.
Increased R&D Investment While Growing Profitability
Invested approximately $101 million in adjusted R&D in Q1, an increase of ~15–17% YoY, while delivering substantial margin expansion—indicative of growth plus innovation balance.
Raised 2026 Financial Guidance
Full-year revenue guidance increased by $45 million to $5.42B–$5.52B (constant currency growth ~5.3%–7.2%); full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance raised by $10 million to $1.01B–$1.06B (implied margin ~19% at midpoint).
Improved Cash/Capital and Leverage Progress
Adjusted EPS (ex Acquired IPR&D) of $0.08 vs. loss of $0.07 prior year; net leverage improved in the quarter with a target to reach ~3.5x by end of 2028; Q1 CapEx $100 million (full-year ~ $285 million) and adjusted operating cash flow of $45 million reflecting seasonal cadence.
Operator
Good morning, and welcome to Bausch + Lomb's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to George Gadkowski, Vice President of Investor Relations and Business Insights. Please go ahead.
George Gadkowski
Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our first quarter 2026 financial results conference call. Participating on today's call are Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Brent Saunders; Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Sam Eldessouky; and President of Consumer, Mr. John Ferris. In addition to this live webcast, a copy of today's slide presentation and a replay of this conference call will be available on our website under the Investor Relations section. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that our presentation today contains forward-looking information.
We would ask that you take a moment to read the forward-looking legend at the beginning of our presentation as it contains important information. This presentation contains non-GAAP financial measures and ratios. For more information about these measures and ratios, please refer to Slide 1 of the presentation. Non-GAAP reconciliations can be found in the appendix to the presentation posted on our website. The financial guidance in this presentation is effective as of today only. It is our policy to generally not update guidance until the following quarter unless required by law and not to update or affirm guidance other than through broadly disseminated public disclosure. With that, it's my pleasure to turn the call over to...
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