By Christy Santhosh

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Contact lens makers are poised for steadier growth in 2026 after a slight slowdown in the previous year, banking on rising demand for premium daily disposables and increased vision correction needs globally.

The industry's big four - Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N, Alcon ALCC.S, Cooper Companies COO.O and Bausch + Lomb BLCO.TO - are expected to benefit from consumers trading up from monthly or reusable lenses to higher-priced single-use daily disposables.

"People prefer the convenience of just having something, putting it in and throwing it away, than having to manage it, keep track of it, clean it, save it, and so on," said Barclays analyst Matt Miksic.

Analysts expect the market to grow 4% to 6% annually going forward, in line with recent historical trends, after growth normalized from post-pandemic highs of about 8% to 9% in 2022 and 2023.

Daily disposables carry higher per-unit margins, with contact lens makers commanding prices about 30% to 50% higher than reusable lenses while boosting recurring sales volume since they require more frequent repurchasing.

Miksic said there is some friction with getting patients over the hump of "paying more annually for dailies than they do for monthlies", though he added the industry has been gradually working through that resistance.

In the fourth quarter, Johnson & Johnson's division that makes contact lens and other products grew 5.3% to $417 million on the back of its premium silicone hydrogel lens line and daily disposables.

INCREASING MYOPIA RATES IMPROVE DEMAND

Contact lens makers are also benefiting from an increase in global myopia or near-sightedness cases as time spent on computers, phones and other devices has created a steady influx of new patients requiring vision correction.

"Even if the mix between glasses and contact lenses stays the same, that still means more people are coming into contact lenses," said Baird analyst Jeff Johnson.

About 2.6 billion people were estimated to be myopic in 2020 and the number is expected to rise to about 3.36 billion by 2030, according to World Health Organization data.

William Blair analyst Steve Lichtman said a downturn in consumer confidence or employment is the biggest risk to contact lens growth, while pockets of weakness in Asia-Pacific have also weighed on the market.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com;))