stockrowWhat it does
Bausch + Lomb is an eye health company that develops, manufactures and markets products used by consumers, patients and eye care professionals. Its portfolio covers everyday vision correction and eye care, prescription treatments, and equipment and supplies used in eye surgery. Tom Appio is its chairman and interim chief executive officer.
Its Vision Care business sells contact lenses, lens cleaning solutions, over-the-counter eye drops and eye vitamins. Contact lenses include daily disposable and frequently replaced lenses, as well as designs for conditions such as astigmatism and presbyopia. Consumer products include Lumify redness-relief drops, Biotrue lens care solutions and PreserVision eye supplements.
The Pharmaceuticals business sells branded and generic medicines for conditions including dry eye, glaucoma and eye inflammation, as well as treatments used after surgery. Its products include MIEBO and XIIDRA for dry eye.
The Surgical business supplies equipment, instruments, consumables and implantable intraocular lenses—artificial lenses used in eye surgery. Its products include the Stellaris Elite surgical system and the enVista lens range. The company markets its products directly or indirectly in approximately 100 countries. At the end of 2025, it had approximately 13,000 employees and more than 60 research and development projects in its global pipeline.
How it makes money
Bausch + Lomb earns revenue by selling products across Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals and Surgical. Its customers buy products ranging from disposable contact lenses and eye drops to prescription medicines and surgical equipment. The portfolio also includes consumables used in procedures and implantable lenses.
Total revenue, in U.S. dollars: 5,101 (in millions) for 2025.
Vision Care combines consumer eye care with contact lenses. Consumer products include lens care solutions, vitamins and drops for dry eyes, allergies and redness. Contact lenses include daily disposables and lenses replaced on a planned schedule. Those products are purchased for ongoing use, although individual buying patterns can vary. For the year ended December 31, 2025, consumer eye care accounted for 65% of Vision Care revenue and contact lenses for 35%.
Pharmaceuticals sells both proprietary and generic medicines. MIEBO and XIIDRA treat dry eye, while other products address glaucoma, inflammation and post-operative conditions. Prices realized by the company can differ from list prices because of discounts, rebates and coverage decisions. In 2025, pharmaceutical revenue growth was partly offset by gross-to-net pricing pressures, primarily attributable to XIIDRA and MIEBO.
Surgical sells equipment alongside implantable lenses and consumables. For the year ended December 31, 2025, equipment and implantables each represented 24% of Surgical revenue, while consumables represented 52%. The company places equipment with providers as part of a strategy to support future sales of associated products. In Q3 2026, equipment revenue fell while consumables revenue rose.
Customers and how it sells
Bausch + Lomb serves consumers who buy eye drops, vitamins and lens care products, as well as patients who use contact lenses or prescription treatments. Eye care professionals recommend products to patients and use the company’s surgical equipment, instruments, implantable lenses and consumables in procedures. The company also works with retailers and distributors.
Products are marketed directly or indirectly in approximately 100 countries. The company has research, development, manufacturing and commercial operations across its global footprint. Its contact lens business includes both U.S. and international markets; in Q3 2026, contact lens revenue grew 9% in the U.S. and 4% internationally, on a constant-currency basis.
The company faces concentration among wholesalers. It also identifies fluctuations in buying patterns and inventory levels at large distributors and retail customers as risks.
Access to prescription products can depend on reimbursement by government health authorities, private insurers and other payors. Coverage decisions can limit the patients for whom a product is reimbursed, and government-controlled pharmaceutical prices apply in Canada and many other international markets.
Suppliers and costs
Bausch + Lomb manufactures products and also relies on third-party manufacturers. Some products or their components are available from a single source or a limited number of sources. The company identifies interruptions at its own or third-party manufacturing operations as a risk; the supplied disclosures do not identify those suppliers by name.
Manufacturing facilities and contract manufacturers are subject to regulatory requirements and periodic audits. The company invests in manufacturing and distribution infrastructure and uses predictive analytics to help reduce downtime on automated lines. It also acquired manufacturing equipment and assumed a facility lease in Mexico in 2025, which it expects to expand capacity.
Costs include manufacturing, research and development, selling, advertising and promotion. In 2025, Vision Care segment profit was affected by higher cost of sales, including manufacturing variances driven by tariffs. Pharmaceuticals segment profit was affected by higher selling, advertising, promotional and research expenses.
In Q3 2026, adjusted gross margin was 64.7%, including a one-time tariff refund of approximately $14 million. Excluding that benefit, adjusted gross margin was 63.6%. The company is pursuing sourcing and manufacturing-network optimization under its Vision 27 plan.
- Revenue$5.1B
- Cost of revenue−$2.1B
- Research and development−$371.0M
- Selling, general and administrative−$2.2B
- Other operating costs−$333.0M
- Operating income$113.0M
Competitive position
Bausch + Lomb competes across contact lenses, consumer eye care, pharmaceuticals and surgical products. In intraocular lenses, Alcon offers PureSee; Bausch + Lomb’s then-CEO discussed that product alongside the company’s premium lens business in 2026. The company also faces competition from similar products even where it retains patent protection or exclusivity rights.
Bausch + Lomb uses brands, relationships with eye care professionals and retailers, product development, and intellectual property across its portfolio. It owns or licenses trademarks and relies on patents, regulatory exclusivity and proprietary know-how for certain products. As of February 11, 2026, it owned or exclusively licensed approximately 2,499 granted patents worldwide. Some products, however, have no meaningful patent or regulatory exclusivity protection, while protections for others are nearing expiration.
Our reading: Brands and relationships offer a meaningful commercial advantage across consumer and professional channels, though customers and providers can choose competing products. Our reading: Patents and regulatory exclusivity can protect individual products, but their strength varies because some products lack meaningful protection and patents expire. Our reading: The breadth of the portfolio gives the company several ways to serve eye care customers, but it also places the business in multiple competitive markets.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Alcon | Premium intraocular lenses for eye surgery | Medium |
Growth opportunities
Bausch + Lomb plans to grow through product development, launches in additional markets, education for patients and eye care professionals, and acquisitions or licensing. Its development pipeline spans contact lenses, eye medicines, vitamins, eye drops and surgical technologies. It also seeks new indications for products and uses its regulatory and commercial capabilities to support approvals and launches.
In Q3 2026, revenue grew 8% on a constant-currency basis. Pharmaceuticals grew 11%, Surgical grew 9% and Vision Care grew 6% on that basis. The company attributed pharmaceutical performance to dry eye products and international sales, while premium intraocular lenses contributed to Surgical growth. Daily silicone hydrogel and ULTRA lenses contributed to contact lens growth.
The company is developing Project Halo, a bioactive contact lens material, and describes it as early in development. It expects the next generation of Lumify to launch in the first half of 2027. It also plans to expand its premium intraocular lens portfolio and anticipates a U.S. launch of enVista Beyond in 2027.
The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $5.450 to $5.550 billion, reflecting expected constant-currency growth of approximately 6.1% to 8%. It also expects to continue investing in research and development while seeking operating efficiencies and lower leverage.
- $3.8BFY2021
- $3.8BFY2022
- $4.1BFY2023
- $4.8BFY2024
- $5.1BFY2025
- $5.5BFY2026 guidance
Structural risks
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Control and separation: Bausch Health controls the direction of the business while it remains the majority owner. A separation, distribution or sale may not occur, and a separation could disrupt operations or fail to deliver anticipated benefits.
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Debt: Indebtedness could adversely affect the business and its ability to meet obligations. In Q3 2026, net interest expense was $93 million, and net leverage was 4.1 times.
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Product development and regulation: Developing the pipeline requires significant time and spending, and necessary approvals are uncertain. Products remain subject to extensive regulation after approval; noncompliance can result in recalls, production interruptions or other penalties.
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Supply and quality: Certain products or components have a single source or a limited number of sources. Manufacturing interruptions and product recalls can affect operations. The voluntary recall of certain enVista lenses contributed to lower Surgical segment profit in 2025.
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Pricing and reimbursement: Product acceptance can change because of inadequate reimbursement. Discounts, rebates, coverage decisions and government price controls can affect the prices realized on medicines.
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Competition and intellectual property: Similar products can compete even where the company has patent protection or exclusivity. Some products lack meaningful exclusivity, and protections for others are approaching expiration.
Leadership
Bausch Health Companies controlled approximately 88% of Bausch + Lomb’s outstanding common shares as of February 11, 2026.
| Name | Role | Since | Total pay, FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brenton L. SaundersChairman of the Board and | Chief Executive Officer | — | $32.2 million |
| Sam A. EldessoukyExecutive | Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | — | $5.0 million |
| A. Robert D. BaileyExecutive | Vice President and Chief Legal Officer | — | $3.6 million |
| Yehia Hashad, M.D.Executive | Vice President of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer | — | $2.8 million |
| Andrew J. StewartPresident, Global Pharmaceuticals and International Consumer | — | $2.5 million |
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: Bausch + Lomb combines frequently used eye care products and medicines with a surgical business that sells both equipment and procedure supplies. Its brands, professional relationships and intellectual property support the business, although protection varies by product. Growth depends in part on new launches and execution, while debt, reimbursement, manufacturing and the uncertainty around its parent’s control remain material exposures.