ALC
Alcon Inc.
ALC's fundamentals are mixed: it turned 16% of its revenue into free cash flow, but its operating margin fell 5 points to 9.9%. At 55x earnings, it's trading above its usual 49x. Analysts expect strong earnings growth.
ALC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
ALC's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
ALC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $71.83 | — |
| Cheap | 39x | $50.05 | -30% |
| Fair | 48x | $62.50 | -13% |
| Current | 55x | $71.83 | — |
| Expensive | 108x | $140 | +95% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ALC's PE is in its fair range at 55x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
ALC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ALC, with profitability improving.
ALC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.85 | +196% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.30 | -40% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.65 | -27% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.97 | -3.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.10 | -11% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.15 | -3.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.25 | +6.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.05 | +4.1% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.35 | +161% |
ALC's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.30 over the past year, against $2.35 in late 2024.
ALC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $2.8B | +8.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.7B | +7.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.7B | +8.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.6B | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +4% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.5B | +0.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.5B | +6.4% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.5B | +5.4% |
ALC's revenue has grown year over year for 23 quarters in a row: $2.8B last quarter, up 8.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.4% | -9.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 15% | -3.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -4.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | -0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.5% | -3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 19% | +4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 16% | +6.9 points |
| Q3 2024 | 14% | +0.9 points |
ALC's operating margin was 0.4% last quarter, down 9.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ALC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $414M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $273.6M | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $457M | +46% |
| Q3 2025 | $538.7M | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $372M | -9.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $244M | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $313.2M | +186% |
| Q3 2024 | $613.2M | +69% |
ALC generated $1.7B in free cash flow over the past year, up 9.1% from the year before.
ALC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -1.5M shares |
| 1 year | -1.8% | -9.2M shares |
| 3 years | -1.4% | -7M shares |
| 5 years | -0.9% | -4.5M shares |
| Available history | +0.1% | +500K shares |
ALC has 489M diluted shares, down 1.8% from a year ago, with $921M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $289M |
| Q1 2026 | $73.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $308M |
| Q3 2025 | $250.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $126M |
| Q1 2025 | $33M |
| Q4 2024 | $2M |
| Q3 2024 | $3M |
ALC spent $921M buying back its own shares over the past year, about six times what it spent the year before.
ALC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
ALC's net debt is about 1.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
ALC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 69.9 | Neutral |
ALC's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 70 (neutral).
ALC PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | ALC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 55x | 26x | 114% above |
| PE % | 51 | 29 | 22 pts above |
ALC is trading at 55x earnings, a 114% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
ALC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $68.4 | 5.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $69.2 | 3.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $72.9 | 1.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $79.1 | 9.2% below |
| 200 week MA | $80.6 | 11% below |
ALC has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 11% below its 200-week average.
ALC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $57.4 | $64.9 | +13% |
| 2021 | $64.9 | $86.6 | +34% |
| 2022 | $86.6 | $67.8 | -22% |
| 2023 | $67.8 | $78.1 | +15% |
| 2024 | $78.1 | $85.7 | +9.6% |
| 2025 | $85.7 | $80.4 | -6.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $80.4 | $71.8 | -11% |
ALC has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 11% so far in 2026.