Alcon (ALC) Stock Overview

Researches, develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells eye care products worldwide. More details

ALC fundamental analysis
Snowflake Score
Valuation	3/6
Future Growth	2/6
Past Performance	2/6
Financial Health	6/6
Dividends	0/6

Rewards

Trading at 32.2% below our estimate of its fair value

Earnings are forecast to grow 18.14% per year

Analysts in good agreement that stock price will rise by 45.6%

Risk Analysis

Profit margins (7.7%) are lower than last year (11.3%)

ALC Community Fair Values

Create Narrative

See what others think this stock is worth. Follow their fair value or set your own to get alerts.

View all narratives

Alcon Inc. Competitors

Price History & Performance

Summary of share price highs, lows and changes for Alcon
Historical stock prices
Current Share Price	CHF 66.29
52 Week High	CHF 92.55
52 Week Low	CHF 61.84
Beta	0.70
1 Month Change	-10.53%
3 Month Change	-20.21%
1 Year Change	-22.17%
3 Year Change	-16.41%
5 Year Change	-5.14%
Change since IPO	14.21%

Recent News & Updates

Seeking Alpha • May 31

Alcon: Product Cycle Reset Creates An Attractive Entry Point (Initiating Buy)

Summary Alcon receives a buy rating, driven by the launch of Tryptyr in the mature dry eye disease market. Tryptyr's unique mechanism and rapid tear production differentiate it, but commercial adoption hinges on refill rates, payer coverage, and patient persistence. ALC's robust commercial footprint and strong balance sheet support ongoing R&D, M&A, dividends, and buybacks, mitigating financing risks. Key risks include payer restrictions, patient tolerability, competition, and potential growth deceleration post-2026. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Recent updates

Seeking Alpha • May 31

Alcon: Product Cycle Reset Creates An Attractive Entry Point (Initiating Buy)

Seeking Alpha • Feb 04

Alcon: An Eyecare Leader With Strong Profit Margins, But Overheated Valuation

Summary Alcon is downgraded to a hold from my buy rating in fall 2023, after it has gone up +18% since then and now appears overvalued with a 48x earnings multiple. The firm has a strong profit margin vs its sector, low debt/equity vs a key peer Bausch & Lomb, and investment-grade credit ratings. Its positive cashflow growth should help sustain its dividend. Some risks in this sector are product recalls and supply-chain disruptions, as past events have shown us. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Sep 04

Alcon Q2: Positive News From Unity VCS/CS And AR-15512

Summary I reiterate a 'Strong Buy' rating for Alcon with a one-year price target of $115 per share, driven by new product pipelines and FDA clearances. Alcon's Unity VCS/CS systems received FDA clearance, set for U.S. commercialization in 2025, enhancing their competitive edge in cataract and vitreoretinal surgery markets. Alcon's partnership with Ocumension in China will leverage local distribution and manufacturing to expand their dry eye treatment business, including Systane Ultra and AR-15512. Despite some U.S. market challenges, I project Alcon to achieve 7% organic revenue growth, supported by product innovation and strategic acquisitions. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Aug 01

Alcon: Trading At An Undeserved Premium Valuation

Summary Global eye care giant Alcon, Inc. has seen its stock rise some 30% since its late October lows. The company is delivering solid, but hardly spectacular revenue growth, and is seeing much better free cash flow. The stock now trades at a significant valuation premium to the overall market. Is that premium valuation deserved? An analysis of Alcon follows in the paragraphs below. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • May 14

Alcon Q1: Robust Product Pipeline Drives Future Growth (Rating Upgrade)

Summary Alcon has experienced robust Q1 growth, driven by double-digit growth in vision care, particularly in the contact lens market. The company's strong revenue growth is attributed to successful product launches, such as TOTAL30 and DAILIES TOTAL1, which have helped Alcon gain market share. Alcon's FY24 forecast shows potential for increased free cash flow, strong revenue growth in vision care, and growth opportunities in the surgical business. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Oct 10

Alcon: Buy An Eyecare Leader With $2 Billion In Quarterly Sales

Summary Alcon gets a Buy Rating today, in line with Wall Street consensus. Strengths include earnings growth, share price crossover below 200-day average, outperformance vs. the S&P500 index, and the company's strong cash position. Offsetting factors include a high valuation and poor dividend yield. The downside risk of debt levels was also addressed. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Jul 26

Alcon: Lackluster Growth Given Its Valuation

Summary Alcon stock is currently trading at over 30x earnings, which is considered high for a company not expected to deliver EPS above 20 - 25% in the next few years. Despite the high trading multiple, Alcon has a strong business model and is a leader in the eye care industry, with recent positive developments in its product line and services. Alcon's share price is currently inflated due to hopes of significant free cash flow being diverted to shareholders, but I suggest this optimism may be misplaced and recommend a hold rating for the company. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Jun 27

Alcon: The Steady Force Of 'Boring'

Summary Alcon is expected to outpace market growth and gain market share in the surgical and vision care sectors, with growth driven by factors such as the increasing global aging population and rise in myopia. Along with Costco, Aon, and Marsh & McLennan, Alcon is another "boring" investment in my portfolio. Alcon's focus on R&D, product innovation, and accelerated free cash flow generation contribute to a positive outlook, earning a "Buy" rating. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha • Feb 13

Alcon reached $199M settlement with J&J Surgical Vision

Eye care company Alcon (NYSE:ALC) has reached a settlement with J&J Surgical Vision on its pending legal proceedings related to femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery devices. The parties have exchanged cross-licenses of certain intellectual property and other mutually agreed covenants and releases, as part of the settlement. In addition, Alcon (ALC) has agreed to make a one-time payment of $199M to J&J Surgical Vision for those rights and to resolve various worldwide IP disputes relating to this matter.

Seeking Alpha • Feb 01

Alcon: Case Of Growth Destructive To Value, Reiterate Hold At 24x Earnings

Summary A firm creates value when its return on invested capital exceeds its cost of capital. If it doesn't, regardless of its expansion, growth will become destructive to shareholder value. This has been the case for Alcon Inc. over the past few years. Hence, despite a breakout above long-term resistance, we believe there's no mispricing on offer. Net-net, reiterate Alcon Inc. hold at 24x earnings. Investment summary Participating as an equity investor over the broad healthcare spectrum requires unique insights. This could come from [but is not limited to] industry experience, investing experience, managing a portfolio or basket of healthcare securities, or a combination of all three. Nevertheless, the core principles of understanding what constitutes a good equity investment remain the same. I'm going to run through the underlying framework we took with re-evaluating Alcon Inc. (ALC) after our last publication in September last year [see it here]. Back then, we rated Alcon Inc. a hold, asking for the stock to break its longer-term downtrend. This happened in December, and shares are up ~13%. So, it's worth sharing the deeper fundamental analysis we undertook in rating it a hold. We'd note there's scope for the stock to re-rate higher. However, net-net, we reiterate Alcon Inc. stock as a hold for long biased, long-term, fundamental healthcare investors. Exhibit 1. ALC breakout above long-term resistance Data: Updata Underlying concepts in ALC analysis Growth, free cash flow and return on capital - the tripod of success Companies want to grow at a specified, yet non-linear growth into perpetuity. Investors want a piece of that growth, but only at a "fair" price, to maximize the upside. The questions being, what is fair, and what is the opportunity cost. For mature companies, the growth profile is harder to come by, not in the least related to sheer size. Mauboussin (2021) quotes theoretical physicist Geoffrey West, who compares the "sigmoidal growth" of companies to that of mammals - after birth, the focus is on expending energy on growth. After time, this molds to a focus on maintenance. It's no different for companies in their mature stage of their lifecycle. Still, there are a number of ways a company can evolve and expand efficiently, from adding new products, increasing productivity, reducing capital intensity, or decompressing margins. Within this mix, there's also many subcomponents. For instance, Mckinsey & Co. (2017) illustrate that companies focusing on developing new products or services are most likely to see high top-bottom line growth. There's a caveat to this, however. Not all growth is created equally, and all growth comes at a cost. As an investor, there's also an accounting reality, and an economic one. A firm creates economic value when it generates a return on its investments above the cost of capital, other words, an economic profit ("EP"). There's a major difference between accounting profit [that in which is presented on the periodic financial statements] and a firm's EP. As investors, we're interested in EP over the former, as a cleaner measure of value. Why? It comes down the mechanics that drive value in the first place: a high return on invested capital ("ROIC"), that exceeds the cost of capital [positive EP], is the quintessential ingredient in the valuation recipe. It means a firm needs to reinvest lower portion of post-tax earnings to grow. It also illustrates it is investing well. Net-net, this means more residual cash [free cash flow, or FCF] is left for equity holders ("FCFE") - the cornerstone of corporate valuation. Charlie Munger, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, say's it well: "There are two kinds of businesses: The first earns 12%, and you can take it out at the end of the year. The second earns 12%, but all the excess cash must be reinvested - there's never any cash. It reminds me of the guy who looks at all of his equipment and says, 'There's all of my profit.' We hate that kind of business." The key thematic of this analysis: if ROIC is less than the cost of capital, then growth is actually destructive to value. Remember this for later. Alas, accounting profit does a poor job in capturing the hidden cost to equity holders - i.e., the reinvestment of post-tax earnings required to achieve a stated growth rate. Moreover, typical calculations of FCF miss the actual free cash flows that are distributable to equity holders. As a result, 'equity earnings' are often misrepresentative, and FCF is often overstated. It's also worth noting that companies with growth rates less than their ROIC can payout cash [either hypothetical, or in dividends/buybacks] to shareholders without jeopardizing growth. The market values Economic Profit, so it should The above preamble in mind, you'll be able to see in the following charts why we continue to see ALC as a hold. Don't get us wrong here - it's great company, with products in the same steed. Plus, it's growing operating income and earnings at an attractive rate. It's the questions of value and fair price that has us on the sidelines. Here's the premise of the value component: (1). First off, ALC is profitable and is steadily growing with decent operating margins above the sector median. Since listing, its stock has caught a decent bid as well. Looking at rolling TTM periods from Q1 FY20-Q3 FY22', ALC generated a cumulative $3.6Bn in net operating profit after tax ("NOPAT") and ~$2.4Bn in earnings [Exhibit 2]. This corresponded with an additional growth of $793mm and $388mm, respectively. Exhibit 2. ALC NOPAT and Earnings growth, FY20-FY22' [rolling TTM basis]. Note: Rolling TTM basis is used to provide an 11 period lookback, where each period is 12 months. (Data: Author, using data from ALC SEC Filings) (2). The returns on these numbers are impressive, as well. To achieve the above growth rates, it only had to invest an additional $492mm in capital, otherwise, 13.4% and 20.7% of NOPAT and earnings respectively. Consequently, it grew 21.5% over the testing period [33.35% of earnings]. As such, the return on incremental invested capital is high at >161%. The market values this kind of growth, hence, unsurprisingly, its stock price compounded at ~17% over time as well. As such, 79% of earnings has been distributable to equity holders. Exhibit 3. Substantial ROIIC from 13.4% reinvestment rate Data: Author, using data from ALC SEC Filings (3). As mentioned earlier, if a company sports a high ROIC, it can create value for shareholders. But remember, this only applies if the EP spread is positive, otherwise, the growth erodes the value to equity holders. You'll see in Exhibit 4 that, since Q3 FY21 at least, ALC has generated a ROIC less than the hurdle rate. Consequently, whilst it's been able to grow at a high rate, because its periodic ROIC [shown in Exhibit 2] haven't been accretive to its corporate or equity value. In fact, we postulate it's been value-destructive. This is in contrast with the incremental ROIC stated in Exhibit 3. Since Q3 FY21', ALC stock has re-rated heavily to the downside as a reflection of this [Exhibit 5]. Exhibit 4. Negative EP since FY21' Data: Author, using data from ALC SEC Filings Exhibit 5. Data: Updata (4). It's also worth noting that, when a firm grows faster than its ROIC, it must access external capital to fill the gap - either debt or equity (Mauboussin 2014; 2022). Because this is the case for ALC, we'd note that ALC priced a $1.3Bn debt offering last November. The issue, set in two tranches, will pay $600mm at a 5.375% coupon and $600mm at 5.750%, due in 2052. Per the release: "Net proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes and to repay all or part of the outstanding indebtedness under its term loan facility."

Shareholder Returns

	ALC	US Medical Equipment	US Market
7D	-2.2%	-3.5%	1.6%
1Y	-22.2%	-21.8%	28.2%

Return vs Industry: ALC matched the US Medical Equipment industry which returned -21.8% over the past year.

Return vs Market: ALC underperformed the US Market which returned 28.2% over the past year.

Price Volatility

Is ALC's price volatile compared to industry and market?
ALC volatility
ALC Average Weekly Movement	4.9%
Medical Equipment Industry Average Movement	8.4%
Market Average Movement	7.2%
10% most volatile stocks in US Market	16.8%
10% least volatile stocks in US Market	3.0%

Stable Share Price: ALC has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months compared to the US market.

Volatility Over Time: ALC's weekly volatility (5%) has been stable over the past year.

About the Company

Founded	Employees	CEO	Website
1945	25,000	David Endicott	www.alcon.com

Alcon Inc. researches, develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells eye care products worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Surgical and Vision Care. It offers equipment, instrumentation and diagnostics, intraocular lenses (IOLs), and other implantables; and consumables, including viscoelastics, surgical solutions, incisional instruments, surgical custom packs, and other products for surgical procedures.

Alcon Inc. Fundamentals Summary

How do Alcon's earnings and revenue compare to its market cap?
ALC fundamental statistics
Market cap	US$32.56b
Earnings (TTM)	US$819.00m
Revenue (TTM)	US$10.63b

39.8x

P/E Ratio

3.1x

P/S Ratio

Is ALC overvalued?

See Fair Value and valuation analysis

Earnings & Revenue

Key profitability statistics from the latest earnings report (TTM)
ALC income statement (TTM)
Revenue	US$10.63b
Cost of Revenue	US$4.70b
Gross Profit	US$5.93b
Other Expenses	US$5.11b
Earnings	US$819.00m

Last Reported Earnings

Mar 31, 2026

Next Earnings Date

Aug 11, 2026

Earnings per share (EPS)	1.68
Gross Margin	55.78%
Net Profit Margin	7.70%
Debt/Equity Ratio	21.4%

How did ALC perform over the long term?

See historical performance and comparison

Dividends

0.5%

Current Dividend Yield

21%

Payout Ratio

Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

Data	Last Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis	2026/06/01 21:21
End of Day Share Price	2026/05/29 00:00
Earnings	2026/03/31
Annual Earnings	2025/12/31

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

Package	Data	Timeframe	Example US Source ^*
Company Financials	10 years	Income statement Cash flow statement Balance sheet	SEC Form 10-K SEC Form 10-Q
Analyst Consensus Estimates	+3 years	Forecast financials Analyst price targets	Analyst Research Reports Blue Matrix
Market Prices	30 years	Stock prices Dividends, Splits and Actions	ICE Market Data SEC Form S-1
Ownership	10 years	Top shareholders Insider trading	SEC Form 4 SEC Form 13D
Management	10 years	Leadership team Board of directors	SEC Form 10-K SEC Form DEF 14A
Key Developments	10 years	Company announcements	SEC Form 8-K

^* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.

Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.

Analyst Sources

Alcon Inc. is covered by 58 analysts. 23 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

Analyst	Institution
null null	Argus Research Company
null null	Baird
Jeffrey Johnson	Baird

Alcon (ALC) Stock Overview

Rewards

Risk Analysis

Alcon Inc. Competitors

Medline

Align Technology

Solventum

Cooper Companies

Price History & Performance

Recent News & Updates

Alcon: Product Cycle Reset Creates An Attractive Entry Point (Initiating Buy)

Alcon Inc. (SWX:ALC) announces an Equity Buyback for $1,500 million worth of its shares.

New minor risk - Profit margin trend

First quarter 2026 earnings: EPS misses analyst expectations

Alcon Inc. Elects R. Scott Herren as New Independent Member of the Board

Upcoming dividend of CHF0.18 per share

Recent updates

Alcon: Product Cycle Reset Creates An Attractive Entry Point (Initiating Buy)

Alcon Inc. (SWX:ALC) announces an Equity Buyback for $1,500 million worth of its shares.

New minor risk - Profit margin trend

First quarter 2026 earnings: EPS misses analyst expectations

Alcon Inc. Elects R. Scott Herren as New Independent Member of the Board

Upcoming dividend of CHF0.18 per share

Alcon Inc Launches Clareon Truplus Enhanced Design Monofocal And Toric IOLs

Dividend of CHF0.18 announced

Alcon Inc. announces Annual dividend, payable on May 07, 2026

Sight Sciences Inc Secures Order on Post-Trial Motions That Preserves the Jury’s Verdict and Awards Monetary Damages Against Alcon Inc

Full year 2025 earnings: EPS misses analyst expectations

Alcon Inc., Annual General Meeting, Apr 30, 2026

Alcon Launches Total30 Multifocal for Astigmatism, the Monthly Multifocal Toric Contact Lens with Water Gradient Technology

Alcon Debuts PRECISION7 in Canada, A One-Week Replacement Contact Lens to Start and End Every Week Fresh

Third quarter 2025 earnings: EPS misses analyst expectations

Alcon Inc. Announces Impairments of Property, Plant & Equipment and Intangible Assets for Ended September 30, 2025

Alcon Announces New Time and Motion Study Results Supporting Superior Efficiency for Cataract and Vitreoretinal Surgery with UNITY VCS

Alcon Launches Innovations and Highlights New Study Findings At ESCRS 2025

Alcon Inc. (SWX:ALC) acquired LumiThera, Inc.

Price target decreased by 7.2% to US$97.60

Second quarter 2025 earnings released: EPS: US$0.35 (vs US$0.45 in 2Q 2024)

Alcon Inc. Updates Earnings Guidance for the Year 2025

Alcon Underscores Benefits of Its IOLs and Cataract Surgical Equipment At APACRS

Alcon Inc. to Report Q2, 2025 Results on Aug 06, 2025

Alcon's Latest Breakthrough Surgical Technology, Unity VCS, Receives Health Canada Approval

Alcon Inc. (SWX:ALC) announced its intention to acquire LumiThera, Inc.

Alcon Introduces Clareon PanOptix Pro in Canada, Delivering Low Light Scatter of Any Trifocal IOL

Alcon Announces FDA Approval of TRYPTYR (acoltremon Ophthalmic Solution) 0.003% for the Treatment of the Signs and Symptoms of Dry Eye Disease

First quarter 2025 earnings: EPS exceeds analyst expectations while revenues lag behind

Alcon Inc. Revises Earnings Guidance for the Year 2025

Upcoming dividend of CHF0.18 per share

Alcon Inc. Elects Deborah Di Sanzo to the Board, Effective as of September 1, 2025

Alcon Elevates Vitreoretinal and Cataract Surgery for Superior Efficiency with UNITY VCS and UNITY CS

Dividend of CHF0.18 announced

Alcon Inc., Annual General Meeting, May 06, 2025

Alcon Inc. Announces That Raquel C. Bono Is Not to Stand for Re-Election to the Board

Alcon Expands Leadership in IoL Innovation with Clareon Panoptix Pro, Delivering Best-In-Class Light Utilization and Less Light Scatter

Alcon Inc. (SWX:ALC) acquired an unknown majority stake in Aurion Biotech, Inc.

Alcon Canada Strengthens its Commitment to Astigmatic Patients with TOTAL30 for Astigmatism Expanded Parameters

Alcon Inc. (SWX:ALC) announces an Equity Buyback for $750 million worth of its shares.

Full year 2024 earnings: EPS exceeds analyst expectations

Alcon Inc. Proposes Dividend for the Year 2024

Alcon Announces U.S. Launch of New SYSTANE PRO Preservative-Free, Revolutionizing Dry Eye Relief With Its Longest Lasting Formula Yet

Alcon Announces U.S. Launch of Voyager DSLT, First-Of-Its-Kind Treatment for Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension

Alcon: An Eyecare Leader With Strong Profit Margins, But Overheated Valuation

Now 20% undervalued after recent price drop

Now 21% undervalued after recent price drop

Third quarter 2024 earnings: EPS exceeds analyst expectations

Alcon Inc. Revises Earnings Guidance for the Year 2024

Alcon Announces the U.S. Launch of PRECISION®, the Only One-Week Replacement Contact Lens

Alcon Q2: Positive News From Unity VCS/CS And AR-15512

Second quarter 2024 earnings: EPS and revenues miss analyst expectations

Alcon Inc. Maintains Earnings Guidance for the Year 2024

Now 21% undervalued

Alcon: Trading At An Undeserved Premium Valuation

Alcon's Latest Equipment Breakthrough Technologies, Unity VCS and Unity CS, Receive U.S. FDA 510(k) Clearance

First quarter 2024 earnings: EPS exceeds analyst expectations

Alcon Q1: Robust Product Pipeline Drives Future Growth (Rating Upgrade)

Upcoming dividend of CHF0.16 per share

Alcon Inc. Approves Gross Dividend

Sight Sciences Announces Successful $34 Million Patent Infringement Verdict Against Alcon and Its Hydrus Microstent for Microinvasive Glaucoma Surgery

Alcon Announces Management Changes

Alcon Inc. Launches Clareon Presbyopia Correcting IOLs in India