Company Reports

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical.

Narrow-moat Alcon reported fourth-quarter earnings that were better than our expectations. Total sales of $2.4 billion were up 8.3% year over year thanks to a strong performance from the ocular health and equipment business. After ticking up our near-term assumptions and accounting for time value of money impacts, we raised our fair value estimate to $70 per share from $64.

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical.

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical.

Narrow-moat Alcon's third-quarter results were slightly below our expectations. Total sales were up 8.8% year over year thanks to solid visioncare performance driven by a recovering supply chain, pricing actions, and share wins in daily lenses. Demand on the surgical side slipped sequentially, but we view this as a normalization of the market rather than weak performance from Alcon. Management trimmed the upper end of its full-year sales guidance to $9.4 billion from $9.5 billion due to higher-than-expected pressures from foreign exchange. After updating our model, we maintain our $64 fair value estimate.

Narrow-moat Alcon reported second-quarter earnings that were ahead of our expectations. Total sales were up 9.2% year over year as strong performance from both surgical and visioncare units boosted the top line. Management raised guidance for full-year sales and diluted EPS on the backdrop of diminishing inflation and supply chain challenges, as well as healthy and resilient demand. After updating our near-term assumptions and adjusting for the time value of money, we raised our fair value estimate to $64 from $60.

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical.

Narrow-moat Alcon started the year strong and posted first-quarter results that were better than expected. Total sales were up 7.4% year over year driven by robust demand, strong market conditions, and pricing improvements, somewhat offset by an unfavorable foreign exchange. After slightly raising our near-term forecast given an updated management’s guidance as well as baking in a more favorable long-term outlook given positive commentary from the Capital Markets Day that took place during the quarter, we are raising our fair value estimate to $60 per share from $57. Despite the raised valuation, however, we still see shares that are trading roughly 30% above our estimate as overvalued.

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical.

We are raising our fair value estimate for Alcon to $57 per share from $53 to reflect our revised long-term outlook for the company's markets after reviewing our key valuation assumptions. Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world and operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical.

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical.

Narrow-moat Alcon posted steady fourth-quarter results, with solid top-line growth augmented by new products, and fairly robust margins in light of continued supply challenges. We see some room for a rebound through 2023-24, but this depends on procedure volumes and supply cost inflation. We don't expect any major changes to our $53 fair value estimate based on its earnings.

Narrow-moat Alcon posted strong top-line growth in the third quarter along with relatively balanced adjusted margins despite supply constraints. Currency remains a significant headwind in the near term, and there remain further macroeconomic risks that could affect products that are dependent on elective procedure volume. We are maintaining our fair value estimate of $53 per share.

As a global leader in eyecare, Alcon provides products and equipment for various vision conditions such as refractive errors, cataracts, and advanced vitreoretinal problems. The firm is the second-biggest player in contact lenses and has a robust portfolio in liquid eyecare solutions for allergies and dry eye. Despite a strong market position, Alcon remains in turnaround mode following years of underinvestment as a Novartis subsidiary. The company has committed significant capital to the turnaround program with greater sales and marketing spending, and capital expenditures that we expect will total over $1.5 billion over the next three years. Looking past expected lumpiness of near-term results, we think management’s turnaround efforts will largely pay off and we have a positive view of the outlook on the core business.

As a global leader in eyecare, Alcon provides products and equipment for various vision conditions such as refractive errors, cataracts, and advanced vitreoretinal problems. The firm is the second-biggest player in contact lenses and has a robust portfolio in liquid eyecare solutions for allergies and dry eye. Despite a strong market position, Alcon remains in turnaround mode following years of underinvestment as a Novartis subsidiary. The company has committed significant capital to the turnaround program with greater sales and marketing spending, and capital expenditures that we expect will total over $1.5 billion over the next three years. Looking past expected lumpiness of near-term results, we think management’s turnaround efforts will largely pay off and we have a positive view of the outlook on the core business.

Narrow-moat Alcon continued its strong start to the year as the company benefited from portfolio growth in contact lenses (Total1 for astigmatism, Total30) and cataract procedure recovery in international markets. Though top-line numbers were affected by currency headwinds, leading management to slightly lower guidance for the remainder of the year, we are maintaining our fair value estimate at $53, and shares look moderately overvalued in our view.

Alcon had a strong start to the year, and reported results appear mostly unaffected by inflationary and supply chain headwinds. We are increasing our fair value estimate to $53 from $50, and our narrow moat rating remains intact.

As a global leader in eyecare, Alcon provides products and equipment for various vision conditions such as refractive errors, cataracts, and advanced vitreoretinal problems. The firm is the second-biggest player in contact lenses and has a robust portfolio in liquid eyecare solutions for allergies and dry eye. Despite a strong market position, Alcon remains in turnaround mode following years of underinvestment as a Novartis subsidiary. The company has committed significant capital to the turnaround program with greater sales and marketing spending, and capital expenditures that we expect will total over $1.5 billion over the next three years. Looking past expected lumpiness of near-term results, we think management’s turnaround efforts will largely pay off and we have a positive view of the outlook on the core business.

Alcon had a nice finish to the year and slightly exceeded our forecasts; it also achieved its first year of GAAP profits since 2017. We are maintaining our narrow moat rating and $50 fair value estimate. There are few changes to our long-term expectations apart from our view that the U.S. corporate tax rate is likely to remain at 26%. On its own, this had an immaterial impact on our valuation.

Most medical technology and device companies under our coverage have economic moats, but attractive valuations are hard to find, and the sector trades at an average price/fair value estimate of 1.33.