By Emon Reiser

Shares of Warby Parker gained after the eyewear maker and retailer posted its first full-year profit since going public and revealed a stock buyback and plans for artificial-intelligence eye glasses that can be worn all day.

The stock rose 16%, to $25.16, midday Thursday. Shares are up about 5.9% over the past 12 months.

The company before the market open reported a profit of $1.6 million for the year ended Dec. 31, up from a loss of $20.4 million in the prior fiscal year. It marks the first time the company has posted a full-year profit since going public in 2021 after posting its first quarterly profit earlier this year.

The New York company posted a fourth-quarter loss of $5.9 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $6.9 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 2 cents a share.

Net revenue increased 11%, to $212 million. Analysts expected $213 million.

Warby Parker's full-year guidance also fell behind Wall Street's expectations. The company guided for net revenue between $959 million and $976 million. Analysts expected $985.2 million.

Executives said on a call with analysts that it is planning conservatively for the near-term as more volatility and softer demand is seen across the optical industry.

"Today, we believe the optical industry is in a period of transition," Co-Chief Executive Officer Dave Gilboa said on the call. "While the core eyewear category remains large and more stable than most consumer sectors, we've seen more volatility in demand and transient softness than usual in the post-pandemic era, including during some periods over the last year."

Warby Parker plans this year to launch its AI glasses, first announced in December, in partnership with Samsung Electronics and Alphabet's Google, which would offset a large portion of the prelaunch investments, executives said.

"At the same time, we continue to use AI across the organization to drive productivity and efficiency. We are already seeing impact across teams from creative and design to engineering, where AI is now generating more than 50% of our code base," Co-CEO Neil Blumenthal said on the call.

Warby Parker's board on Thursday also authorized a share-repurchase program of up to $100 million.

Write to Emon Reiser at emon.reiser@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2026 13:44 ET (18:44 GMT)

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