Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
BLCO is Bausch + Lomb, a pure-play global eye-health company (contact lenses, lens care, dry-eye and surgical products) that has kept growing revenue at a high-single-digit pace through 2026 while still carrying meaningful debt and an unresolved separation from majority owner Bausch Health. In October 2026 it also changed CEOs, with Bausch Health chief Thomas Appio stepping in on an interim basis. It is a turnaround-and-catalyst story rather than a steady compounder, so the investment case hinges on margin expansion sticking and the ownership overhang clearing.
BLCO stock price
As of 2026-10-19, Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) last closed at $16.65, up 5.7% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $14.56 and $18.60.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Bausch + Lomb Corporation's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) do?
Bausch + Lomb is one of the oldest and best-known names in eye health, operating across three segments: Vision Care (roughly 57% of sales, spanning contact lenses like Biotrue and lens-care solutions plus consumer eye drops such as LUMIFY and PreserVision supplements), Pharmaceuticals (around 25%, led by the dry-eye drug MIEBO and international brands), and Surgical (about 18%, including intraocular lenses, phacoemulsification systems and cataract and retina instruments). Full-year 2025 revenue reached roughly $5.1 billion, trailing twelve-month revenue is now about $5.3 billion, and the company sells into the structurally growing markets of an aging population, rising myopia and expanding cataract volumes.
The investment picture is a mix of genuine operating improvement and unresolved corporate complexity. Q1 2026 revenue grew about 9% year over year to roughly $1.24 billion, and Q2 2026 (reported in July) brought about $1.39 billion of revenue, with adjusted EPS of $0.16 matching consensus and the GAAP net loss shrinking to about $14 million. On October 12, 2026, the company said CEO Brent Saunders would depart by mutual agreement, named Bausch Health CEO Thomas Appio as interim CEO, and said it expects to raise full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance on the back of a strong third quarter. At the same time, Bausch + Lomb remains roughly 88% owned by heavily indebted parent Bausch Health, whose long-delayed separation continues to cap the valuation. Layered on top are the residual effects of the 2025 enVista intraocular-lens recall and the company's own leverage (about $5.1 billion of debt), making this a name where the story matters as much as the numbers.
What's driving Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO)?
1. Margin and EBITDA expansion
After years of underearning, Bausch + Lomb has been driving structural cost changes and pricing discipline. Trailing EBITDA is now about $816 million, the GAAP net loss narrowed from about $71 million in Q1 2026 to about $14 million in Q2, and in October 2026 management said it expects to raise full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance again. Analysts expect adjusted EPS of about $0.81 for 2026 and $1.11 for 2027, so the profitability inflection is what the forward multiple is pricing in.
2. Pharmaceuticals and MIEBO ramp
The pharmaceuticals segment has posted the fastest growth in 2026, led by the dry-eye drug MIEBO and international brands. In early October 2026 RBC pointed to building dry-eye prescription momentum heading into Q3. Dry-eye disease is a large, underserved market, and continued MIEBO uptake gives the company a branded growth engine to offset slower U.S. generics. The company also said in October that it is advancing an oral treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration after a constructive FDA meeting, an early-stage pipeline option rather than a near-term revenue driver.
3. Secular eye-care demand and surgical recovery
An aging global population, rising rates of myopia and growing cataract-surgery volumes support steady demand across contact lenses and surgical devices. The enVista intraocular-lens franchise returned to full production and reached pre-recall sales levels by late 2025, restoring its role in the premium IOL segment.
4. Separation catalyst and the leadership change
Bausch Health still owns the large majority of BLCO and has explored both a spin-off and a sale for years. The October 2026 appointment of Bausch Health CEO Thomas Appio as interim Bausch + Lomb CEO (he already chaired the board from August 2026) ties the two companies' leadership more closely together. A clean separation, if it clears solvency hurdles, could remove the control discount and let BLCO trade closer to eye-care peers, though timing remains uncertain and the release announced no new separation step.
What are the risks to Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO)?
The dominant overhang is Bausch Health's roughly $20 billion of consolidated debt and the repeatedly delayed separation, which caps BLCO's valuation and creates forced-seller and solvency-test risk. Bausch + Lomb carries its own meaningful leverage (about $5.1 billion of debt against roughly $367 million of cash), so rising rates or slower EBITDA growth would pressure the balance sheet. The sudden CEO change in October 2026, with an interim chief who also runs the parent, adds execution and governance questions until a permanent leader is named. The 2025 enVista recall, tied to toxic anterior segment syndrome, was estimated to weigh on 2026 revenue by roughly $78 million and could linger as a brand and litigation risk. The company remains net-loss-making on a GAAP basis (about -$171 million TTM), RBC flagged foreign exchange turning into a modest headwind in Q3, and competition from far larger and better-capitalized rivals like Alcon, Johnson & Johnson and CooperVision is intense across every segment.
What is the Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) forecast?
14 analysts publish price targets on BLCO, averaging $19.39 against a $16.49 price as of October 2026, or +17.6%. The published targets run from $16.00 to $24.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 7 buy, 7 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 4 raises and 2 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full BLCO forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is BLCO a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on Bausch + Lomb Corporation. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Margin and EBITDA expansion. After years of underearning, Bausch + Lomb has been driving structural cost changes and pricing discipline. The most optimistic published target, $24.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. The dominant overhang is Bausch Health's roughly $20 billion of consolidated debt and the repeatedly delayed separation, which caps BLCO's valuation and creates forced-seller and solvency-test risk. The most pessimistic target, $16.00, is roughly what BLCO is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on BLCO, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Has Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) split its stock?
No. Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.
How is Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO) valued? (approximate, October 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Bausch + Lomb Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$5.3B
- Revenue growth (Q2 2026, YoY): ~9%
- Q2 2026 revenue: ~$1.39B (adj. EPS $0.16 vs $0.16 est.)
- Gross / operating margin: ~61% / ~8%
- Net income (TTM): ~-$171M
- Forward P/E: ~15x
- EV/EBITDA: ~13x
- Market cap: ~$5.9B
BLCO is not yet GAAP-profitable, so investors lean on adjusted EBITDA, forward earnings and revenue growth rather than trailing multiples. At about 13 times EV/EBITDA, 15 times forward earnings and roughly 1.1 times sales, the stock trades below eye-care peers such as Alcon and The Cooper Companies, a gap that reflects the Bausch Health control discount, leverage and now a leadership transition. Q3 2026 results are due October 28, 2026, with consensus at about $1.37 billion of revenue and $0.22 of adjusted EPS, and the company has already signaled a guidance raise.
Who competes with Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO)?
Contact lenses and vision care
Alcon, CooperVision (The Cooper Companies) and Johnson & Johnson Vision are the leading contact-lens and lens-care rivals, all larger and financially stronger, competing directly with Biotrue, Renu and Bausch + Lomb's lens portfolio.
Surgical and ophthalmic devices
Alcon, Johnson & Johnson (surgical vision), Carl Zeiss Meditec and Hoya compete in intraocular lenses, phacoemulsification systems and cataract and retina surgical equipment, where scale and physician relationships matter.
What stocks are similar to Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO)?
Other names that sit close to BLCO: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
How to invest in Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO)
There are three common ways to get BLCO exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so BLCO sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where BLCO fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO)
BLCO offers exposure to secular eye-care demand with improving fundamentals (TTM revenue ~$5.3 billion, losses narrowing), but the Bausch Health control overhang, leverage and a fresh leadership change keep it a higher-variance, situation-driven name. As of 2026-10-16 the stock was roughly flat for the year at about $16.47.
More on Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO)
Whether BLCO is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is BLCO a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the BLCO stock forecast.
For income investors, whether BLCO pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does BLCO pay a dividend? And to weigh BLCO against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: BLCO vs ALC and BLCO vs COO.
Wondering how BLCO fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Bausch + Lomb Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how BLCO fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does Bausch + Lomb (BLCO) do?
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It is a global eye-health company selling contact lenses, lens-care solutions and consumer eye drops (Vision Care), prescription eye medicines like the dry-eye drug MIEBO (Pharmaceuticals), and cataract, retina and other surgical devices including intraocular lenses (Surgical). Trailing twelve-month revenue is about $5.3 billion.
Is BLCO profitable?
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BLCO is growing revenue and adjusted EBITDA, but it still reports GAAP net losses, about $171 million over the trailing twelve months. The quarterly loss has been shrinking: roughly $71 million in Q1 2026 and about $14 million in Q2 2026, when revenue reached about $1.39 billion. Analysts expect adjusted EPS of about $0.81 for full-year 2026.
Why does BLCO trade at a discount to eye-care peers?
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Bausch + Lomb is roughly 88% owned by heavily indebted parent Bausch Health, whose long-delayed separation and about $20 billion of consolidated debt create a control overhang and forced-seller risk that peers such as Alcon and CooperVision do not carry. As of October 2026 BLCO traded near 13 times EV/EBITDA and about 15 times forward earnings.
What is the Bausch Health separation about?
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Bausch Health has tried since 2020 to fully separate its majority stake in BLCO through a spin-off or sale. Progress has been complicated by the parent's debt load and the need to pass a solvency test, leaving the timing and outcome uncertain. The October 2026 CEO change put Bausch Health's CEO in the interim top job at Bausch + Lomb but announced no new separation step.
What was the enVista recall?
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In 2025 Bausch + Lomb voluntarily recalled certain enVista intraocular lenses after reports of toxic anterior segment syndrome tied to a raw material from a vendor. Production later resumed, and enVista IOL sales returned to pre-recall levels by late 2025, though estimated revenue impact runs into the tens of millions in 2026.
Who are BLCO's main competitors?
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Key rivals include Alcon, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Carl Zeiss Meditec and Hoya in lenses and surgical devices, plus AbbVie (Allergan) and Novartis in eye pharmaceuticals. Most are larger and less leveraged than Bausch + Lomb.
What are the biggest risks with BLCO?
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The main risks are the Bausch Health debt and separation overhang, BLCO's own leverage (about $5.1 billion of debt), the October 2026 leadership transition, continued GAAP losses, residual effects and possible litigation from the enVista recall, currency swings, and intense competition from larger, better-funded eye-care companies.
How does BLCO fit a thematic portfolio?
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BLCO can serve as an eye-health or aging-population healthcare exposure with a turnaround and catalyst angle. Because of the ownership overhang and leverage it tends to be higher-variance than pure-play peers, which some investors weigh when sizing it. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Why did Bausch + Lomb change CEOs in October 2026?
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On October 12, 2026, the company said Brent Saunders, CEO since 2023, and the board had mutually agreed that he would depart. Thomas Appio, who has run Bausch Health since 2022 and chaired the Bausch + Lomb board from August 2026, became interim CEO while keeping his Bausch Health role. The company gave no further reason and said it expects to raise full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance.
How has BLCO stock performed in 2026?
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As of the October 16, 2026 close of about $16.47, BLCO was down roughly 0.7% year to date and up about 11% over the past year, trading within a 52-week range of about $14.44 to $18.92. Its market value is roughly $5.9 billion. The next catalyst is Q3 2026 results on October 28.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Bausch + Lomb Corporation's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.