ALC vs ABT Stock Comparison

Alcon and Abbott Laboratories Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALC Alcon Inc
$70.18 +7.3% 1M -8.0% 1Y
Market cap
$34.53B
P/E
53.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins
ABT Abbott Laboratories
$103.69 +0.2% 1M -17.9% 1Y
Market cap
$182.26B
P/E
33.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$46.59B
Div. yield
0.02%
Medical Devices Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Abbott Laboratories leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Abbott Laboratories 6, Alcon 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALCABTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.53B $182.26B ABT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.7x 33.6x ABT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.8x 18.2x ABT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +8.1% ALC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 11.6% ABT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 6.2% ABT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.5x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.0% -17.9% ALC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.0%/yr -3.9%/yr ALC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 27.4% ABT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 57/100 ALC

Percentile Scorecard

ALCABT

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisALCABT
Valuation 78 #50 of 228 68 #74 of 228
Growth 47 #118 of 222 27 #162 of 222
Profitability 76 #52 of 210 85 #33 of 210
Financial Health 60 #96 of 241 38 #151 of 241
Shareholder Returns 76 #34 of 138 66 #48 of 138
Overall 67 57
  • ALC ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ABT ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodALCABTSPY
1 month +7.3%+0.2% -1.0%
3 months +3.4%+0.6% +2.9%
6 months -7.4%+13.8% +6.4%
Year to date -11.0%-17.2% +11.4%
1 year -8.0%-17.9% +13.1%
3 years -4.0%+9.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year -1.3%+3.0% +21.5%
5 years -14.3%-18.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.0%-3.9% +10.9%
10 years —+156.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+9.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureALCABTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%27.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.9%27.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.380.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.28-0.66 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-41.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.5%-20.6% -2.5%
52-week high $87.18$130.59 $779.14
52-week low $62.02$82.56 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleALCABT
P/E now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 30.7x 33.3xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 3.0x 3.9xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.7x 19.1xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 23.7x 22.9xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.4x 3.5xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.57median 0.96 18.30median 0.96

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsALCABT
Revenue $10.80B $46.59B
Gross profit $6.17B $26.37B
Operating income $948.00M $7.35B
Net income $643.00M $5.43B
Free cash flow $1.74B $7.82B
R&D $1.43B $3.16B
EPS (diluted) $1.30 $3.11
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $5.10B
Total debt $4.72B $32.61B
Shares (diluted) 496.20M 1.74B
Enterprise value $25.50B $152.69B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricALCABT
P/E 53.8x 33.3x
P/FCF 19.7x 22.9x
P/Operating cash flow 14.8x 18.1x
P/S 3.2x 3.9x
P/B 1.6x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 5.2x
EV/EBITDA – 19.1x
EV/EBIT 38.8x 28.1x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 4.4x
EV/FCF 21.2x 26.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.9x 20.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.57 18.30

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALCABT
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 5.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 9.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 5.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% -2.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 6.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.1% -61.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.1% 1.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -40.7% -61.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 1.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% 9.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% 9.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.5% 15.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 48.0% 12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALCABT
Gross margin 57.2% 56.6%
EBITDA margin – 23.2%
Operating margin 8.8% 15.8%
Pretax margin 6.9% 16.1%
Net margin 6.0% 11.6%
FCF margin 16.1% 16.8%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 21.3%
Return on equity 2.9% 10.4%
Return on assets 2.1% 4.9%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 6.2%
Return on capital employed 3.4% 8.0%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALCABT
Debt / assets 15.2% 29.9%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.5x
Debt / FCF 2.7x 4.2x
Liabilities / assets 30.6% 52.6%
Equity / assets 69.4% 47.4%
Interest coverage 9.2x 9.6x
Current ratio 2.1x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 3.23

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALCABT
Dividend yield 0.4% 2.4%
Net buyback yield 2.7% 0.9%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 78.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 54.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 7.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 7.5%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusALCABT
Forward P/E 21.8xFY2026 18.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.22FY2026 $5.69FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.7%FY2026 +10.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +12.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.51BFY2026 $53.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.4%FY2026 +20.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% -1.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALCABT
Held by institutions 48.8% 79.2%
Institutions holding 629 2,977
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +0.3%
Institutions buying 225 1,258
Institutions selling 274 1,376
Buyers to sellers 0.82 0.91

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ALCABT
ALC 1.00 0.43
ABT 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALC and ABT?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcon (ALC) $34.53B, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $182.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALC and ABT?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcon (ALC) 53.7x, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 33.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is cheapest (Alcon (ALC) 21.8x, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 18.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Alcon (ALC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has the highest net margin (Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 11.6%). On return on invested capital, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) leads (Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 6.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alcon (ALC) returned the most: Alcon (ALC) -8.0%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -17.9%. Over five years, Alcon (ALC) compounded fastest (Alcon (ALC) -3.0%/yr, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Alcon (ALC) 0.00%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 0.02%. Alcon (ALC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has been the steadiest (Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 27.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ALC and ABT move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.43, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ALC and ABT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.