Warby Parker pares 2026 outlook ahead of eyewear launch

By Marcus Bennett

Warby Parker (NYSE: WRBY) generated $244.7 million in third-quarter revenue, up 10.4%, and $28.6 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), or 11.7% of revenue. Adjusted earnings exceeded guidance. Store traffic remained soft, and the company narrowed its 2026 outlook ahead of the Intelligent Eyewear launch.

Management’s 2026 forecast now includes a modest Intelligent Eyewear contribution for the first time. Executives expect the product line to become a major growth driver in 2027, with production and customer deliveries building throughout the year.

When do customers receive the products?

Warby Parker plans to unveil the full collection and pricing on Nov. 12, when pre-orders begin. Customers will be able to try the devices at 65 stores that week, with demonstrations expanding across the entire store fleet the following week.

Initial customer deliveries are expected to begin in mid-December. The company is developing the products in partnership with Google and Samsung, with the collection designed for prescription use from the outset.

Customers can also choose sun and photochromic lens options. Co-Founder and Co-CEO Dave Gilboa said the devices will cost more than Warby Parker’s traditional eyewear, although the company did not disclose prices on the call.

How should practitioners read the launch economics?

Management is focused on generating gross profit dollars per order. Gilboa said the company expects “a significant share of orders” to include lenses with margins comparable to those of existing products.

Warby Parker controls distribution and has invested in optical-lab capacity in New York and Nevada to fit prescription lenses. Production and deliveries are expected to build throughout 2027, and the company expects to run its largest marketing campaign around the product.

Asked about supply constraints and delivery pace against pre-orders, Co-Founder and Co-CEO Neil Blumenthal declined to provide specific projections. He said the company would share more about the combined business in February.

What do the current sales figures show?

Retail revenue increased 12.4% year over year in the third quarter, while e-commerce revenue rose 4.8% to $61.7 million. The e-commerce result improved from a 2% decline in the first half of 2026 as the effect of ending the Home Try-On program diminished.

Blumenthal expects that headwind to roll off fully at the end of the year. He said store traffic remained “softer than the company would like,” although customers continued to convert at healthy rates and spend more per order. Management described the optical-industry backdrop as challenging.

Warby Parker opened 12 net new stores in the quarter, bringing its total to 364. It has opened 41 net new stores year to date and remains on track for 50 openings for the full year.

Eye exams grew 30% year over year and the insurance business grew 22%, Gilboa said. In-network insurance penetration reached 8.4%, up from 7.4% a year earlier, while cash-pay customers were more affected by category softness than insured customers.

Active customers increased 3% over the trailing 12 months, while average revenue per customer rose 6.7% year over year. Blumenthal attributed part of that increase to eye exams and greater use of progressive lenses and other lens enhancements.

How did profitability move?

Adjusted gross profit reached $133.6 million in the third quarter, or 54.6% of revenue, an improvement of 40 basis points from a year earlier. CFO Adrian Mitchell attributed the increase partly to reduced tariffs, improved shipping and optical-lab efficiencies.

Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses rose to 49.4% of revenue from 48.7% a year earlier. The 70-basis-point increase in that expense ratio exceeded the 40-basis-point improvement in gross profit as a share of revenue.

What does the 2026 guidance assume?

The narrowed full-year forecast calls for:

• Revenue of $966 million to $976 million, representing growth of about 11% to 12%.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $117 million to $119 million.
• Fourth-quarter revenue of $243 million to $253 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $26 million to $28 million.

Mitchell said Intelligent Eyewear can contribute up to one percentage point of full-year revenue growth and several percentage points of fourth-quarter growth. The company recognizes revenue when products are delivered, not when customers place orders, so shipment timing determines when pre-orders enter reported sales.

The guidance assumes no boost to the core business from additional Intelligent Eyewear traffic. It includes launch-related staffing, brand and media investments, while Mitchell said the company retained flexibility to respond to additional needs during the launch.

What is the cash position?

Warby Parker ended the quarter with $288 million in cash. Mitchell said free cash flow was affected by launch-related investments, including spending on stores and optical labs, and by the timing of partner reimbursements.

What does the company sell?

Warby Parker is an optical retailer that designs, manufactures and sells prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses and related accessories. It offers products through its website, mobile applications and a growing retail network, combining online shopping with in-person frame fitting and eye examinations.

Founded in 2010 by Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider, Warby Parker began as an eyewear company selling directly to consumers. For practitioners, the near-term monitor is the conversion of pre-orders into delivered orders that generate gross profit. Because guidance excludes any assumed core-business traffic benefit, delivery timing and store traffic remain separate tests of the 2026 outlook.