Eyecare company Bausch + Lomb (NYSE: BLCO) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q2 CY2025, with sales up 5.1% year on year to $1.28 billion. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $5.1 billion at the midpoint came in 1.4% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.07 per share was 16.9% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy Bausch + Lomb? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.

“Our continued growth speaks to the breadth and depth of our portfolio and is driven by a mix of hero products and a steady stream of new introductions around the world,” said Brent Saunders, chairman and CEO, Bausch + Lomb.

Company Overview

With a nearly 170-year history dedicated to vision care and eye health innovation, Bausch + Lomb (NYSE: BLCO) develops and manufactures a comprehensive range of eye health products including contact lenses, pharmaceuticals, surgical devices, and consumer eye care solutions.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Unfortunately, Bausch + Lomb’s 7.2% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was mediocre. This was below our standard for the healthcare sector and is a tough starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within healthcare, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. Bausch + Lomb’s annualized revenue growth of 11.9% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting some bright spots.

We can dig further into the company’s sales dynamics by analyzing its constant currency revenue, which excludes currency movements that are outside their control and not indicative of demand. Over the last two years, its constant currency sales averaged 13.2% year-on-year growth. Because this number aligns with its normal revenue growth, we can see that Bausch + Lomb has properly hedged its foreign currency exposure.

This quarter, Bausch + Lomb reported year-on-year revenue growth of 5.1%, and its $1.28 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 2.2%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 5.9% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. Still, this projection is above the sector average and implies the market is forecasting some success for its newer products and services.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report one of our favorites growth stories.

Operating Margin

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

Bausch + Lomb was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 4.6% was weak for a healthcare business.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Bausch + Lomb’s operating margin decreased by 9 percentage points over the last five years. The company’s two-year trajectory also shows it failed to get its profitability back to the peak as its margin fell by 2.8 percentage points. This performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows its expenses were rising and it couldn’t pass those costs onto its customers.

In Q2, Bausch + Lomb’s breakeven margin was down 3 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Sadly for Bausch + Lomb, its EPS declined by 23.2% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew by 7.2%. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded due to non-fundamental factors such as interest expenses and taxes.

We can take a deeper look into Bausch + Lomb’s earnings to better understand the drivers of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Bausch + Lomb’s operating margin declined by 9 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals.

In Q2, Bausch + Lomb reported EPS at $0.07, down from $0.14 in the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Bausch + Lomb’s full-year EPS of $0.42 to grow 103%.

Key Takeaways from Bausch + Lomb’s Q2 Results

It was good to see Bausch + Lomb provide full-year revenue guidance that slightly beat analysts’ expectations. We were also happy its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EPS missed. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock traded up 4.4% to $15.32 immediately following the results.

So do we think Bausch + Lomb is an attractive buy at the current price? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free.