What is Allegiant's ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) model and how does it differ from Spirit or Frontier?

Traditional ULCC model (Spirit, Frontier): Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines are ultra-low-cost carriers competing at major U.S. hub airports (Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Miami) against American, Delta, United, and Southwest; they offer the lowest base fares and charge separately for everything else (bags, seat selection, food, priority boarding); they compete for price-sensitive leisure travelers who prefer low fares to amenities; they operate new-ish Airbus A320neo family aircraft; the ULCC model succeeds in markets with sufficient demand density to fill frequent daily flights. Allegiant's differentiation: Allegiant explicitly avoids markets where major or low-cost airlines fly; Allegiant serves routes from secondary and tertiary cities (Provo UT, Lincoln NE, Fayetteville AR, Jonesboro AR, Bozeman MT) to top leisure destinations (Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa, Los Angeles, Hawaii); on most Allegiant routes, Allegiant is the only nonstop option for residents; residents who previously had to drive to a major city airport and connect through a hub can now fly nonstop from their hometown. Limited frequency strategy: Allegiant typically flies each route only 2-4 times per week (not daily); this concentrates leisure travel demand (leisure travelers can adjust their travel day by 1-2 days to match Allegiant's schedule) while reducing aircraft utilization costs (the aircraft is used only on peak-demand days for that route); this selective scheduling allows Allegiant to serve routes with total demand too thin for daily service but sufficient for twice-weekly flights. Older aircraft fleet: Spirit and Frontier buy new Airbus aircraft; Allegiant buys older aircraft ($5-15M for used A320s vs. $60M+ for new aircraft); lower acquisition costs reduce per-seat depreciation; higher maintenance costs are a trade-off, but Allegiant's lower debt burden reduces financial risk from the lower acquisition cost.

What is Sunseeker Resort and why did Allegiant build a hotel?

Sunseeker Resort origin: Allegiant's founder and CEO Maurice Gallagher identified that Allegiant flies leisure travelers to vacation destinations but doesn't capture the hotel and ancillary spending of those travelers; Allegiant's vacation package business (booking hotels for Allegiant passengers through travel partners) earned commissions but left most of the trip spending with third-party hotels; building a hotel would capture that spending directly. Sunseeker Resort: Allegiant broke ground on Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor in Port Charlotte, Florida (on the Peace River/Charlotte Harbor waterway in Southwest Florida) — a large-scale resort with approximately 700 rooms, restaurants, pools, spa, and marina; Port Charlotte was chosen because it's in Allegiant's served market (Allegiant has flights from several markets to Fort Myers, the nearest major airport); Sunseeker opened in late 2023 after significant construction delays from Hurricane Ian (September 2022 damaged construction) and supply chain and cost issues. Capital and operational risk: the resort cost approximately $700M+ to build — a significant capital commitment for a company with $1B in revenue; Allegiant funded the resort through debt; the resort requires operating expertise (hospitality management) very different from running an airline; occupancy rates and RevPAR (revenue per available room) in a new, unproven resort property must meet pro forma targets to service the debt; the resort opened into a competitive Florida resort market; results have been mixed in the early operating period. Strategic rationale: Allegiant's management argues that Sunseeker creates a destination that Allegiant can actively market to its passenger base, increasing load factors on Port Charlotte-adjacent routes and capturing the full travel spend; skeptics argue it is an expensive, risky, non-core capital allocation decision that could absorb management attention and create financial stress.

How large is the global vision correction surgery market and what are the growth drivers?

Global myopia prevalence: the World Health Organization estimates that approximately 2.6 billion people globally are nearsighted (myopic) and 312 million have uncorrected distance vision impairment; myopia prevalence is increasing — by 2050, approximately 50% of the global population is projected to be myopic (up from 34% in 2020); the myopia epidemic is driven by urban lifestyles (less outdoor time in natural light) and near-work hours (screens, reading); East Asian populations are disproportionately affected. Refractive surgery market: vision correction surgery corrects myopia, hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism (irregular corneal shape) through various procedures; the primary procedures include: LASIK (the dominant modality — approximately 700,000-800,000 procedures annually in the U.S.); LASEK/PRK (surface ablation, similar to LASIK but without the corneal flap); SMILE (Zeiss VisuMax laser-based flapless procedure — competitive with LASIK); and ICL (implantable collamer lens — STAAR Surgical's EVO ICL). Growth drivers: ICL procedures have been growing faster than LASIK globally; drivers include: increased awareness of ICL as a LASIK alternative; growing penetration in Asia where myopia rates are highest; premium elective surgery demand in China's growing middle class; surgeon training expansion; and clinical evidence of excellent long-term outcomes. China market dynamics: STAAR received China NMPA (National Medical Products Administration) approval for EVO ICL; China's large myopic young adult population, rising disposable incomes, and high cultural emphasis on education (contributing to near-work myopia) create a large addressable market; Chinese ophthalmologists have adopted ICL rapidly due to the clinical benefits for their high-myopia patient base; STAAR's China procedure volumes have grown significantly as the primary revenue growth driver.

Last updated: August 4, 2026

brimindinvest.com / compare / staa-vs-algtLIVE

STAA

STAAR Surgical Company · Healthcare - Ophthalmic Medical Devices (Implantable Vision Correction Lenses)

$24.36

-13.46% this month

VERSUS

⟷

COMPARE

ALGT

Allegiant Travel Company · Consumer Discretionary - Ultra-Low-Cost Leisure Airline

$98.08

-17.69% this month

Scoreboard verdict

Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin

STAA

1

ALGT

3

ALGT LEADS 3/5

Comparison scoreboard

ALGT LEADS 3/5

AI Score

STAA ✓46.6

ALGT 26.4

1Y Return

STAA +35.94%

ALGT ✓+89.93%

Fwd P/E

STAA 24.62

ALGT ✓8.54

Target Up.

STAA +18.69%

ALGT ✓+32.39%

Op. Margin

STAA N/A

ALGT N/A

Metrics last refreshed: 8/4/2026

Quick take

STAA vs ALGT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

STAA (STAAR Surgical) and ALGT (Allegiant Travel) are both niche market leaders with dominant positions in specific market segments — STAAR Surgical leads global implantable collamer lens (EVO ICL) adoption with particularly strong positioning in Asia's myopia epidemic, while Allegiant Travel operates a unique ultra-low-cost leisure airline flying monopoly nonstop routes from smaller U.S. cities to vacation destinations without hub competition.

STAA vs ALGT is ophthalmic medtech leader with reversible vision correction technology and Asian myopia market tailwind (STAAR Surgical's EVO ICL global adoption, surgeon-trained market expansion, and China/Korea/Japan volume growth — China regulatory concentration risk and LASIK price competition) versus ultra-low-cost leisure airline with route monopoly pricing and ancillary revenue model (Allegiant's non-hub city strategy, lower competition routes, and vacation package bundling — Sunseeker Resort capital risk, older fleet maintenance exposure, and leisure travel cyclicality).

Live analysis · updated 8/4/2026

ALGT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ALGT leads on both 1-year return (+89.93%) and forward P/E quality (8.54x vs 24.62x for STAA), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for ALGT (+32.39%) than for STAA (+18.69%).

Normalized 1Y performance

STAA

ALGT

Recent returns

STAA

ALGT

Analyst price targets & sentiment

STAA · 9 analysts

STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL

Hold (2.6/5.0)

Price target range

analyst low$20.00
analyst high$40.00
analyst mean$28.89
current price$24.36

+18.7% upside to analyst mean

ALGT · 14 analysts

Price target range

analyst low$103.00
analyst high$160.00
analyst mean$137.00
current price$98.08

+32.4% upside to analyst mean

Who should consider this stock?

STAA may suit investors who:

→Want ophthalmic medical device exposure through the EVO ICL global market leader benefiting from Asia's extraordinarily high myopia rates — particularly China, Japan, and South Korea where myopia affects 70-90% of young adults
→Value EVO ICL's clinical differentiation from LASIK for specific patient populations (thin corneas, high myopia, reversibility preference) that LASIK cannot serve, defining a protected market segment
→Believe STAAR's established surgeon training network and 130+ country regulatory approvals create durable competitive advantages in a growing elective vision correction market

ALGT may suit investors who:

→Want ultra-low-cost leisure airline exposure through Allegiant's unique strategy of flying monopoly nonstop routes from underserved smaller cities to vacation destinations — avoiding direct competition with legacy and low-cost carriers at major hub airports
→Value Allegiant's ancillary revenue model (seat fees, bags, vacation packages) and simplified leisure-focused operations as generating per-passenger economics comparable to larger ULCCs despite a more limited fleet and route network
→Accept Sunseeker Resort construction risk and older fleet maintenance variability as temporary challenges to a competitively differentiated leisure airline business with structural route advantages

Performance & AI score

Performance & AI score
Metric	STAA	ALGT
AI score	46.6	26.4
AI rank	#631	#2569
Latest close	$24.36	$98.08
1M return	-13.46%	-17.69%
6M return	+28.62%	+7.26%
1Y return	+35.94%	+89.93%

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
Period	STAA	ALGT
1Y ago	$13.59K (+35.9%) started 2025-07-31	$18.99K (+89.9%) started 2025-07-31
5Y ago	$1.9K (-81.0%) started 2021-08-02	$5.56K (-44.4%) started 2021-08-02
10Y ago	$35.2K (+252.0%) started 2016-08-01	$9.52K (-4.8%) started 2016-08-01

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Valuation & upside potential

Valuation & upside potential
Metric	STAA	ALGT
Market cap	$1.21B	$2.78B
Trailing P/E	N/A	N/A
Forward P/E	24.62	8.54
Price/Sales	4.17	1.05
EV/Revenue	3.74	1.08
Analyst target	$28.89	$137.00
Target upside	+18.69%	+32.39%

Growth, profitability & risk

Growth, profitability & risk
Metric	STAA	ALGT
Revenue growth	119.60%	4.80%
Earnings growth	N/A	32.60%
EPS growth	N/A	+32.60%
FCF margin	-6.03%	-1.05%
Operating margin	N/A	N/A
Profit margin	-7.24%	-1.30%
ROIC proxy	-5.99%	-3.11%
Return on equity	-5.99%	-3.11%
Dividend yield	0.00%	0.00%
Beta	1.23	1.53
Debt/equity	10.58	169.13
Current ratio	5.12	0.91
Quick ratio	4.09	0.81

Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot

STAA max drawdown43.65%

ALGT max drawdown39.13%

STAA max wkly drop16.53%

ALGT max wkly drop22.17%

5Y risk snapshot

STAA max drawdown90.72%

ALGT max drawdown81.93%

STAA max wkly drop30.26%

ALGT max wkly drop30.21%

10Y risk snapshot

STAA max drawdown90.72%

ALGT max drawdown86.01%

STAA max wkly drop30.26%

ALGT max wkly drop39.26%

Performance metrics by period

Performance metrics by period
Period	Metric	STAA	ALGT
1Y	Growth	+35.94%	+89.93%
	CAGR	+35.97%	+90.01%
	Sharpe ratio	0.69	1.24
	Max drawdown	43.65%	39.13%
	Max daily drop	9.34%	8.64%
	Max wkly drop	16.53%	22.17%
5Y	Growth	-81.01%	-46.20%
	CAGR	-28.30%	-11.67%
	Sharpe ratio	-0.30	-0.03
	Max drawdown	90.72%	81.93%
	Max daily drop	24.68%	15.32%
	Max wkly drop	30.26%	30.21%
10Y	Growth	+252.02%	-14.86%
	CAGR	+13.42%	-1.60%
	Sharpe ratio	0.42	0.14
	Max drawdown	90.72%	86.01%
	Max daily drop	24.68%	28.33%
	Max wkly drop	30.26%	39.26%

Business comparison

Business comparison
Category	STAA	ALGT
Company	STAAR Surgical Company	Allegiant Travel Company
Sector	Healthcare - Ophthalmic Medical Devices (Implantable Vision Correction Lenses)	Consumer Discretionary - Ultra-Low-Cost Leisure Airline
Industry	N/A	N/A
Core business	STAAR Surgical is a global ophthalmic medical device company focused on implantable lenses for vision correction and cataract surgery. STAAR's flagship product is the EVO Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) — a soft, flexible lens implanted in the eye (between the iris and the natural lens) to correct nearsightedness (myopia) and astigmatism without removing or reshaping corneal tissue; the ICL is removable (unlike LASIK, which permanently ablates cornea); EVO ICL is approved in 130+ countries and has gained strong adoption in Asia (China, Japan, South Korea) where myopia rates are very high. STAAR also produces toric IOLs (intraocular lenses for cataract surgery). EVO ICL procedures are performed by ophthalmologists in outpatient surgical settings. STAAR's revenue is heavily weighted toward international markets, particularly Asia.	Allegiant Travel is an ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) focused exclusively on leisure travel, operating a unique airline model: Allegiant serves non-hub, smaller U.S. cities (cities like Provo, Utah; Bismarck, North Dakota; Peoria, Illinois) with direct nonstop flights to leisure vacation destinations (Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix, Florida beaches, Hawaii); Allegiant flies almost entirely on routes with no hub airline competition (unlike Spirit or Frontier which compete directly with American, Delta, United at major airports); Allegiant flies leisure-only routes only 2-4 days per week (the lowest-cost days for leisure travelers — peak demand); Allegiant operates an older Airbus fleet (A319, A320) purchased at low prices; Allegiant's ancillary revenue (seat fees, bag fees, vacation packages) represents 30%+ of total revenue. Allegiant also owns Sunseeker Resort in Port Charlotte, Florida — a significant real estate venture.
Investor focus	Investors track STAAR's global ICL procedure volumes (particularly China/Asia adoption), average selling price, geographic expansion milestones, and the competitive landscape against LASIK laser vision correction procedures.	Investors track Allegiant's revenue per available seat mile (RASM), cost per available seat mile (CASM-ex), load factor, ancillary revenue per passenger, aircraft utilization, and Sunseeker Resort performance as the company opened this major capital project.

STAA strengths

→EVO ICL addresses a large global vision correction market with meaningful clinical advantages over LASIK for specific patient populations — patients with thin corneas (not LASIK-eligible), high myopia (over -6 diopters where LASIK results are less predictable), dry eye syndrome, or those who prefer a reversible procedure; EVO ICL serves approximately 25% of myopia patients who are poor LASIK candidates
→Asian myopia epidemic provides massive growth market — China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia have myopia rates of 70-90% among young adults; this represents a global addressable market of hundreds of millions of potential ICL patients; STAAR's early China approval and established presence is a strong strategic position
→ICL's reversibility differentiates from LASIK — LASIK permanently ablates corneal tissue and cannot be reversed; EVO ICL can be removed if the patient's vision changes or if they want different correction; younger patients with evolving prescriptions and those concerned about permanence prefer reversible ICL

ALGT strengths

→Route monopoly strategy — flying from smaller cities without hub airline competition allows Allegiant to price without airline competition; Allegiant often has the only nonstop flight from Provo to Las Vegas or Bismarck to Phoenix; without competition on the route, Allegiant has pricing power unavailable to airlines competing at major hub airports
→Leisure-only model simplifies operations — flying only on high-demand leisure days (Thursday-Monday) allows Allegiant to use the same aircraft more efficiently than airlines flying 7 days per week with business travelers; leisure passengers are flexible on days, accepting Allegiant's limited schedule in exchange for lower fares and convenient nonstop service from their hometown airport
→Vacation package bundling (hotel, car rental, activities) increases revenue per passenger — Allegiant bundles hotel and car rental packages with its flight bookings, earning commissions and ancillary revenue; this package revenue streams complement fare revenue

Risks to watch — STAA

→China market execution and regulatory risk — China is STAAR's largest market; any change in China regulatory environment, reimbursement policy, or trade tensions affecting medical device approvals could significantly impact STAAR's results
→LASIK competition — LASIK procedures are more widely available, lower cost ($2,000-3,000 bilateral vs. ICL's $4,000-6,000 bilateral), and familiar to consumers; LASIK providers actively compete for the same elective vision correction patient market
→Ophthalmic surgeon training and adoption — EVO ICL requires specialized surgical training; growing procedure volumes requires training more ophthalmologists globally; the adoption rate is constrained by surgeon training pace

Risks to watch — ALGT

→Sunseeker Resort is a significant capital commitment that has faced construction delays and cost overruns — Allegiant invested $700M+ in a resort hotel in Port Charlotte, Florida; resort development has introduced balance sheet risk and operational complexity unrelated to the airline's core competency
→Older aircraft maintenance costs and reliability issues — Allegiant's strategy of buying older, fully-depreciated aircraft reduces capital costs but increases maintenance spending and potential operational disruptions from maintenance events
→Smaller city leisure market is seasonally and cyclically volatile — leisure travel is highly seasonal; Allegiant's smaller city routes may see severe demand seasonality; economic downturns reduce discretionary vacation travel budgets first

Frequently asked questions

LASIK mechanism: LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) corrects vision by using an excimer laser to permanently ablate (remove) microscopic amounts of corneal tissue, reshaping the cornea to focus light correctly on the retina; LASIK is the most performed elective vision correction surgery globally with over 30 million procedures performed since the 1990s; LASIK provides excellent outcomes for most patients but permanently alters the corneal structure. ICL mechanism: the Implantable Collamer Lens is a soft, flexible lens made from collamer (a collagen-copolymer biocompatible material) that an ophthalmologist surgically implants in the posterior chamber — the space between the iris (the colored part of the eye) and the patient's natural crystalline lens; the ICL adds refractive power to the eye's optical system, correcting myopia (nearsightedness) and/or astigmatism; the natural lens is left intact; the ICL floats in the posterior chamber. Key differences: reversibility — ICL can be removed by a surgeon if needed (if the prescription changes significantly or the patient wants correction adjustment); LASIK cannot be reversed; corneal tissue preservation — ICL does not remove or reshape corneal tissue, preserving corneal thickness and biomechanical integrity; LASIK removes corneal tissue permanently; eligibility — patients with thin corneas, high myopia (>-6 diopters), dry eye, or keratoconus risk may not be LASIK candidates but may be ICL candidates; cost — ICL procedures typically cost $4,000-6,000 for both eyes vs. LASIK's $2,000-3,500; the higher cost reflects the surgical complexity and implant cost. Asian myopia rates: East Asian populations have dramatically higher myopia prevalence than Caucasian populations — approximately 70-90% of young adults in Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and China are myopic; this epidemiological difference (partly genetic, partly related to near-work hours and reduced outdoor time in Asian educational systems) creates an enormous potential patient population for vision correction procedures in Asia.

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