National Vision Holdings, Inc.EYE
National Vision Holdings, Inc. Debt Disclosure
Debt
Our debt consists of the following:
| In thousands | As of January 3, 2026 | As of December 28, 2024 | |||||||||
| 2025 Notes, due May 15, 2025 | $ | — | $ | 84,774 | |||||||
| Term Loan A, due June 13, 2028 | 237,625 | 254,188 | |||||||||
| Debt before unamortized discount and issuance costs | 237,625 | 338,962 | |||||||||
| Unamortized discount and issuance costs - 2025 Notes | — | (191) | |||||||||
| Unamortized discount and issuance costs - Term Loan A | (1,137) | (1,602) | |||||||||
| Debt less debt discount and issuance costs | 236,488 | 337,169 | |||||||||
| Less current maturities | (13,250) | (98,024) | |||||||||
| Long-term debt - noncurrent portion | 223,238 | 239,145 | |||||||||
| Finance lease obligations | 9,422 | 12,833 | |||||||||
| Less current maturities | (3,333) | (3,368) | |||||||||
| Long-term debt and finance lease obligations, less current portion, discount, and issuance costs | $ | 229,327 | $ | 248,610 | |||||||
2025 Notes
In May 2020, we completed the issuance of $402.5 million in aggregate principal amount of 2.50% convertible senior notes due on May 15, 2025 (the “2025 Notes”). The Company recognized an extinguishment loss of $0.6 million related to $100 million aggregate principal repurchases in fiscal year 2023. The Company recognized an extinguishment gain of $0.9 million related to $217.7 million aggregate principal repurchases in fiscal year 2024. During fiscal year 2025, the Company fully repaid the remaining outstanding balance.
We recognized the following in Interest expense, net related to the 2025 Notes:
| In thousands | Fiscal Year 2025 | Fiscal Year 2024 | Fiscal Year 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Contractual interest expense | $ | 802 | $ | 5,443 | $ | 9,747 | |||||||||||
| Amortization of issuance costs | $ | 191 | $ | 1,282 | $ | 2,293 | |||||||||||
Credit Agreement
On June 13, 2023, the Company entered into a second joinder and restatement agreement (“Second Restatement Agreement”) to amend and restate the original credit agreement, dated as of July 18, 2019 to, among other things, (i) establish new Term Loan A (“Term Loan A”) to repay all principal, interest, fees and other amounts outstanding (other than contingent obligations) under the original credit agreement, (ii) establish new Revolving Loans (the “Revolving Loans”), (iii) provide for a Secured Overnight Financing Rate, with a credit spread adjustment of 10 basis points for all interest periods and a SOFR floor of 0.00% per annum, and (iv) as set forth below, modify the applicable margins of Term Loan A and the revolving credit facility.
Term Loan A is amortized in equal calendar quarterly installments at a rate of 5.00% per calendar year since September 30, 2023.
Following the delivery of the financial statements for the period ending on September 30, 2023, the Applicable Margins for the Loans are based on NVI’s total leverage ratio as follows:
Consolidated Total Debt to Consolidated EBITDA Ratio | Term SOFR Rate | ABR Rate(1) | ||||||
> 2.50:1.00 | 2.25% | 1.25% | ||||||
≤ 2.50:1.00 but >1.75:1.00 | 2.00% | 1.00% | ||||||
≤ 1.75:1:00 but >0.75:1.00 | 1.75% | 0.75% | ||||||
≤ 0.75:1:00 | 1.50% | 0.50% | ||||||
(1) ABR = Alternate Base Rate | ||||||||
In connection with the Second Restatement Agreement, we deferred $2.0 million of debt issuance costs related to the revolving credit facility in Other assets and $0.9 million of debt issuance costs related to the Term Loan A in Long-term debt and finance lease obligations, less current portion and debt discount on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We will amortize these costs over the term of the amended credit agreement. We wrote off previously unamortized debt issuance costs of $0.2 million in Interest expense (income), net during fiscal year 2023 related to lenders who were parties to the original credit agreement but are not parties to the Second Restatement Agreement. We recognized $0.2 million of other refinancing fees in Interest expense (income), net during fiscal year 2023.
On August 9, 2024, NVI and certain other subsidiaries of the Company entered into a Joinder Agreement (the “Joinder Agreement”) to establish incremental term loans in an aggregate principal amount of $115.0 million, provided to NVI on August 9, 2024. These incremental term loans under the Joinder Agreement have the same terms as the existing term loans under the Credit Agreement. The additional borrowings resulted in $0.9 million of fees deferred on the Consolidated Balance Sheets during the fiscal year ended December 28, 2024.
The Second Restatement Agreement contains customary affirmative covenants, negative covenants, and events of default substantially comparable to the original credit agreement. The agreement includes covenants that, among other things, limit NVI’s ability to incur additional debt, create liens against assets, make acquisitions, pay dividends or distributions on its stock, merge or consolidate with another entity and transfer or sell assets. We were in compliance with all covenants related to our long-term debt as of January 3, 2026.
As of January 3, 2026, the Company had $293.3 million of availability under its $300.0 million revolving credit facility net of $6.7 million in outstanding letters of credit.
Scheduled annual maturities of debt are as follows:
| Fiscal Year | In thousands | |||||||
| 2026 | $ | 13,250 | ||||||
| 2027 | 13,250 | |||||||
| 2028 | 211,125 | |||||||
| $ | 237,625 | |||||||
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mar 4, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 26, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 27, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 28, 2022 | |
| 2021 | Mar 3, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 26, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 27, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Mar 8, 2018 | |
About Debt Disclosures
Debt disclosures detail a company's borrowing structure — the types of instruments, interest rates, maturity schedule, and covenant restrictions that define its financial obligations and flexibility. This section is essential for assessing refinancing risk, interest rate exposure, and the margin of safety against financial distress.
Key signals: the maturity schedule reveals concentration risk — large maturities within 1-2 years during tight credit markets can force dilutive refinancing or asset sales. Compare the fair value of debt against carrying amount to gauge whether the market views the company's credit risk differently than the balance sheet suggests. Watch covenant compliance disclosures for tightening cushions, especially leverage and interest coverage ratios. Variable-rate debt exposure quantifies sensitivity to interest rate changes. Secured versus unsecured mix affects recovery rates and future borrowing capacity. Compare net debt-to-EBITDA against industry peers and covenant limits to assess financial health.