National Vision (EYE) 46th Annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference summary

Financial performance and guidance

• Reiterated full-year guidance with 4.5% comp growth and about 1 point of operating margin expansion versus prior year.

• Completed $20 million of a $50 million share buyback authorization in May, purchasing over a million shares.

• Q2 expected to land in the low single-digit comp range, consistent with Q1 trends.

Technology and operational transformation

• Recent website replatforming initially doubled acquisition costs due to marketing inefficiencies, but costs have since normalized.

• Bookings and marketing efficiency have returned to historic norms after initial disruption.

• Technology upgrades include a new Oracle ERP, Adobe CRM, and e-commerce platform to enable unified commerce and CRM capabilities.

Strategic evolution and market positioning

• Shifted from a simple value-focused model to a more premium assortment and lifestyle selling, introducing higher-end frames and lenses.

• Micro assortment strategy tailors inventory to local consumer types, leveraging a showroom model for agility.

• Managed care mix has grown from 30% to 40%, targeting 50%, with CRM enabling more frequent consumer engagement.