Alcon Inc. (ALC)

Alcon reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $2.8 billion on August 10, 2026, up 8 percent from a year earlier 3.

Operating income fell to $11 million from $247 million because Alcon ended the lens programs it bought with PowerVision, Inc. in 2019 and wrote off $505 million 2.

The company said the programs did not produce acceptable patient outcomes, and that the net charge of $402 million before tax cost no cash 3.

Alongside the results, Alcon raised its 2026 outlook for core earnings per share growth, earnings before one-off items, to 12 percent to 15 percent in constant currency 3.

In October Alcon announced that it was buying Neurotech Pharmaceuticals for $550 million, which brings in Encelto, the only FDA-approved treatment for a rare retinal disease called MacTel type 2 45.

Alcon expects the deal to be slightly dilutive to core earnings per share in 2027, with accretion expected thereafter 4.

Alcon began in 1945, when pharmacists Robert Alexander and William Conner opened a small pharmacy under the Alcon name in Fort Worth, Texas 1.

Nestlé bought it in 1977 and floated about 25 percent of the shares on the New York Stock Exchange in 2002 1.

Novartis AG then acquired every share in a series of deals from 2008 through 2011 and spun Alcon off as a stand-alone company on April 9, 2019 1.

Since the spin-off, Alcon says it has focused on launching new products, building more manufacturing lines and moving into neighboring areas such as medicines 1.

In November 2019 it announced a multi-year transformation program that created four shared business centers to free money for reinvestment in growth 1.

Net sales were $9.4 billion in 2023, $9.8 billion in 2024 and $10.3 billion in 2025, up 5 percent in each of the last two years 1.

Growth came from price increases and more eye-surgery procedures on the retina, offset by soft cataract market conditions, and from contact lens innovation 1.

Net income was $980 million in 2025, down from $1,018 million in 2024, while research and development rose to $990 million 1.

Alcon bought the rest of LumiThera on September 2, 2025, adding a device for dry age-related macular degeneration, and also bought 99 percent of Aurion Biotech and all of Cylite 21.

In August 2025 Alcon agreed to buy STAAR Surgical, a maker of implantable lenses, in a $1.5 billion deal 7.

STAAR's stockholders did not give the required approval at a special meeting in January, and Alcon terminated the agreement with no termination fee 7.

In May 2025 the FDA approved Tryptyr, an Alcon eye drop for dry eye disease that works by stimulating the eye's own tear production 8.

Surgical

Surgical is the larger business, with $5.8 billion of the $10.3 billion in 2025 net sales, and Alcon says it ranks first in the global surgical market 1.

It sells implants such as artificial lenses for cataract surgery, single-use supplies for operations and operating-room equipment 1.

In 2025 implants brought in $1.8 billion, consumables $3.0 billion and equipment and other $941 million 1.

In the second quarter of 2026, equipment and other sales rose 26 percent to $279 million, led by recent launches including the Unity platform 2.

Implant sales rose 3 percent that quarter on strong PanOptix Pro lens sales, with Alcon noting competitive pressures and lower sales in surgical glaucoma 2.

Alcon names Carl Zeiss Meditec, Bausch & Lomb, Hoya, Glaukos and Johnson & Johnson as its main surgical rivals 1.

Vision Care

Vision Care brought in $4.6 billion in 2025, from contact lenses at $2.8 billion and eye-health products, such as dry eye and allergy drops, at $1.8 billion 1.

Its brands include Total, Precision, Systane, Pataday and Opti-Free 1.

In the second quarter of 2026, contact lens sales rose 5 percent to $726 million and eye-health sales rose 13 percent to $486 million, led by Tryptyr and Systane 2.

WebMD reported that in two trials, 42.6 percent and 53.2 percent of Tryptyr users improved tear production by day 14, against 8.2 percent and 14.4 percent on placebo 8.

Plants and people

The largest site is Fort Worth, Texas, at 315,200 square meters, making products for both businesses 1.

Alcon is adding three contact lens lines at Grosswallstadt, Germany for an anticipated $162 million and expects to finish by 2027 1.

It counted 25,942 full-time equivalent associates at the end of 2025, with 2,784 in research and development 1.

David Endicott is the chief executive officer 3.

Current problems

Tariffs cost Alcon $39 million in the first half of 2026, recognized in the cost of net sales 2.

Alcon also says the cataract market remains soft, which weighs on surgical consumables 2.

The umbrella, in words

Alcon Inc. is a Swiss company: its headquarters is in Geneva, its registered office in Fribourg and its US operations office in Fort Worth 1.

Alcon owns 100 percent of LumiThera, 99 percent of Aurion Biotech, a consolidated subsidiary, and all of Cylite, each bought outright 21.

As of December 31, 2025, BlackRock reported 5.06 percent under Swiss rules and 6.05 percent under SEC rules, and UBS Group reported 5.29 percent under SEC rules 1.

For 2026 the company expects net sales growth of 5 percent to 7 percent in constant currency 3.

It also expects a core operating margin up 90 to 190 basis points and core earnings per share growth of 12 percent to 15 percent 3.

It expects a full-year tariff cost of $40 million to $90 million after offsets and refunds, including a refund of about $60 million from the US government in the third quarter 3.

WFMZ reported that Alcon expects to reinvest roughly two-thirds of that refund 6.

On May 5, 2026 the board authorized repurchases of up to $1.5 billion of shares over about three years, with about $1.2 billion remaining on June 30, 2026 23.

Its annual report says Alcon will keep investing in next-generation lenses, launch its Unity VCS operating-room system and grow glaucoma sales through the Hydrus microstent and Voyager DSLT 1.

MedCity News reported that Encelto is sold only in the United States today, and that the Neurotech deal puts it with a company able to bring it to more markets 5.