ALC NYSE Earnings call
ALCON Inc. (ALC) · Q1 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $72.46 · 2026-11-11
Results Q1 2026 vs Q4 2025 · previous quarter · published 6 May 2026 and 25 Feb 2026
Net income down 12.2% on the previous quarter. Management sounded restrained, in its script and in answers to analysts.
Only a basic analysis is available for this company at the moment.
1 · Numbers
−12.2%
Net income vs Q4 2025
Outlook given
Net income 150.9M vs 171.9M
Revenue +0.3%
Against the same quarter last year (Q1 2025) it is −51.2%, so it is not just seasonal.
2 · How management spoke
Restrained
Less upbeat than 78% of company calls
Answers to analysts: upbeat, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
Key theme
ALC noted pharmaceutical and OTC markets are growing a little better than cataract right now and remains confident in a 3% to 4% growth range.
Valuation
Is ALCON Inc. undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 6.1% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $69.01 a share — the stock trades 5% above it. Today's price assumes 6.8% growth a year.
Current price
$72.46
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+6.8% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$69.01
Buy below
$51.76
Price vs fair value
Overvalued 5%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued 40%
Management expects
EPS +11.5% · from the Q1 2026 report: “ALC now expects core diluted EPS growth of 10% to 13%, giving investors an updated profit outlook.”
A guidance figure for eps, usually one year ahead, not a 10-year free-cash-flow rate.
Read between the lines
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Guidance
ALC updated revenue guidance because recent product launches meaningfully grew first-quarter sales and their contribution will keep building through the year.
Source quote
“Our recent product launches contributed meaningfully to top line growth in the first quarter, and we expect that contribution to continue to build as the year progresses.”
-
Guidance
ALC now expects core diluted EPS growth of 10% to 13%, giving investors an updated profit outlook.
Source quote
“And lastly, we now expect core diluted EPS growth of between 10% and 13%.”
-
Figure
ALC's first quarter sales rose 6% from the prior year to $2.7 billion.
Source quote
“Our first quarter sales of $2.7 billion were up 6% versus prior year.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q1 2026. Ring: Q4 2025.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“In equipment, we saw another quarter of accelerating growth with sales of $253 million, up 23%, driven by strong momentum from Unity.”
“In summary, while market conditions remain mixed, our strong portfolio of innovation is performing well and continues to deliver solid results.”
“Now finally, in ocular health, we continue to strengthen our leadership in the expanding dry eye category through innovation in both our over-the-counter and pharmaceutical products.”
Full figures
CHF · ROIC.AI fundamentals (NYSE:ALC, period end 2026-03-31)
| Metric | Q1 2026period end 2026-03-31 | Q4 2025period end 2025-12-31 | Change | Q1 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2.16B | 2.15B | +0.3% | 2.19B | −1.2% |
| Gross profit | 1.22B | 1.20B | +1.4% | 1.22B | −0.4% |
| Operating income | 233.1M | 248.0M | −6.0% | 413.6M | −43.6% |
| Net income | 150.9M | 171.9M | −12.2% | 309.3M | −51.2% |
| EPS | 0.31 | 0.35 | −11.9% | 0.62 | −50.4% |
| P/E today 8.8 | — | — | — | — | — |
Topics
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