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Alcon

ALC
41
Medical - Specialties · Healthcare
Also trades as: 0A0D.L · ALC.SW
Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
Winston Score
41
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Exceptional
Stability
Strong
Valuation
Good
Dividends
Weak

Winston Score History

The full picture

Alcon makes products that help people see better. Its two main businesses are surgical equipment and supplies used by eye doctors during procedures like cataract and retina surgery, and consumer eye care products like contact lenses and eye drops sold under brands such as Dailies and Systane. Alcon is one of the largest eye care companies in the world, focused entirely on vision — it does not make any other type of medical product.

Alcon earns money by selling surgical devices and consumables to hospitals and clinics, and by selling contact lenses and eye drops directly to consumers through pharmacies and optometrists. The company operates globally, with strong sales in the United States, Europe, and growing markets in Asia. Its focus on a single specialty gives it deep relationships with eye surgeons and a broad product portfolio that competitors find hard to match all at once. The biggest growth driver is the aging global population, which increases demand for cataract surgeries and vision correction products over time.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+8.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-100.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

0.3%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$2.2B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Alcon is growing revenue at 9% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
59.3%
Premium pricing power — 59.3% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
0.4%
Thin — 0.4% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
4.1%
Weak — 4.1% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+7.8%
Steady sales growth (+7.8% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-40.1%
Earnings shrinking (-40.1% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
2/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
356%
Turns 356% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
15.6%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (15.6%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.22
Conservative — low debt load (0.22)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
5.13x
Adequate interest coverage (5.1x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
56.6x
no trend
Expensive — P/E 56.6

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+41.0
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (56.6 → 15.6)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
0.52%
no trend
Small dividend — 0.52% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
N/A
no trend
Data not available

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