ALC vs ALGN vs SOLV Stock Comparison

Alcon, Align Technology and Solventum 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
5 wins
SOLV Solventum Corp
$85.40 -3.4% 1M +18.2% 1Y
Market cap
$14.84B
P/E
10.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.31B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Alcon leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Alcon 5, Solventum 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALCALGNSOLVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.53B $10.89B $14.84B ALC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.7x 26.3x 10.3x SOLV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.8x 14.1x 12.5x SOLV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +4.4% -0.9% ALC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 10.0% 17.3% SOLV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% — 17.6% SOLV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 1.8x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.0% +13.6% +18.2% SOLV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.0%/yr -23.5%/yr — ALC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 39.1% 29.9% ALC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 66/100 65/100 ALC

Percentile Scorecard

ALCALGNSOLV

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

AxisALCALGNSOLV
Valuation 78 #50 of 228 88 #28 of 228 78 #51 of 228
Growth 47 #118 of 222 21 #176 of 222 53 #105 of 222
Profitability 76 #52 of 210 87 #28 of 210 84 #34 of 210
Financial Health 60 #96 of 241 44 #136 of 241 20 #194 of 241
Shareholder Returns 76 #34 of 138 90 #15 of 138 91 #14 of 138
Overall 67 66 65
  • ALC ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALGN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • SOLV 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

PeriodALCALGNSOLVSPY
1 month +7.3%+4.3%-3.4% -1.0%
3 months +3.4%-7.5%+9.5% +2.9%
6 months -7.4%-18.5%+24.6% +6.4%
Year to date -11.0%-1.1%+7.8% +11.4%
1 year -8.0%+13.6%+18.2% +13.1%
3 years -4.0%-41.8%— +79.4%
3 years, per year -1.3%-16.5%— +21.5%
5 years -14.3%-73.8%— +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.0%-23.5%— +10.9%
10 years —+72.6%— +255.2%
10 years, per year —+5.6%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureALCALGNSOLVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%39.1%29.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.9%37.0%28.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.381.290.57 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.280.350.61 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-82.4%-40.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.5%-21.8%-7.6% -2.5%
52-week high $87.18$197.51$92.45 $779.14
52-week low $62.02$131.91$62.49 $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.

MultipleALCALGNSOLV
P/E now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 30.7x 26.7xmedian 30.7x 10.3xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 3.0x 2.7xmedian 3.0x 1.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.7x 12.4xmedian 17.7x 7.4xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 23.7x 17.4xmedian 23.7x -123.1xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.4x 2.6xmedian 2.4x 3.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.57median 0.96 2.19median 0.96 —median 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 monthsALCALGNSOLV
Revenue $10.80B $4.14B $8.31B
Gross profit $6.17B $2.82B $4.55B
Operating income $948.00M $547.59M $2.08B
Net income $643.00M $413.58M $1.43B
Free cash flow $1.74B $633.57M -$118.00M
R&D $1.43B $377.00M $725.00M
EPS (diluted) $1.30 $5.78 $8.27
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $1.10B $403.00M
Total debt $4.72B – $5.08B
Shares (diluted) 496.20M 71.52M 173.30M
Enterprise value $25.50B $6.63B $11.36B

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
MetricALCALGNSOLV
P/E 53.8x 26.7x 10.3x
P/FCF 19.7x 17.4x -123.1x
P/Operating cash flow 14.8x 14.6x 69.5x
P/S 3.2x 2.7x 1.7x
P/B 1.6x 2.6x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 2.7x 6.1x
EV/EBITDA – 12.4x 7.4x
EV/EBIT 38.8x 18.1x 9.3x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 2.4x 2.3x
EV/FCF 21.2x 15.6x -162.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.9x 13.1x 91.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.57 2.19 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALCALGNSOLV
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 4.4% -0.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 3.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 1.8% -0.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 2.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% -8.8% 167.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% -0.8% –
Net income growth (1Y) -40.1% -5.5% 277.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.1% 9.6% –
EPS growth (1Y) -40.7% -4.1% 281.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 12.2% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% 3.4% -64.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% -4.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.5% 0.3% -180.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 48.0% 1.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALCALGNSOLV
Gross margin 57.2% 68.0% 54.7%
EBITDA margin – 19.4% 31.1%
Operating margin 8.8% 13.2% 25.0%
Pretax margin 6.9% 13.7% 20.4%
Net margin 6.0% 10.0% 17.3%
FCF margin 16.1% 15.3% -1.4%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 18.3% 2.5%
Return on equity 2.9% 9.9% 29.4%
Return on assets 2.1% 6.5% 10.1%
Return on invested capital 3.6% – 17.6%
Return on capital employed 3.4% 12.3% 19.8%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.8x 0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 4.3% 2.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALCALGNSOLV
Debt / assets 15.2% – 35.7%
Debt / equity 0.2x – 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 1.8x
Debt / FCF 2.7x – -43.0x
Liabilities / assets 30.6% 34.0% 66.3%
Equity / assets 69.4% 66.0% 33.7%
Interest coverage 9.2x – –
Current ratio 2.1x 1.4x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.3x 1.2x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.6x 0.1x
Altman Z-score – 4.66 2.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALCALGNSOLV
Dividend yield 0.4% – –
Net buyback yield 2.7% 2.2% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 2.2% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusALCALGNSOLV
Forward P/E 21.8xFY2026 14.1xFY2026 12.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.22FY2026 $10.99FY2026 $6.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.7%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026 +11.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +16.4% +12.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.51BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026 $7.70BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.4%FY2026 -4.2%FY2026 -7.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +4.0% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALCALGNSOLV
Held by institutions 48.8% 100.0% 73.9%
Institutions holding 629 675 878
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +4.2% -0.8%
Institutions buying 225 292 369
Institutions selling 274 268 284
Buyers to sellers 0.82 1.09 1.30

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.

ALCALGNSOLV
ALC 1.00 0.34 0.40
ALGN 0.34 1.00 0.48
SOLV 0.40 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALC, ALGN and SOLV?

Alcon (ALC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcon (ALC) $34.53B, Align Technology (ALGN) $10.89B, Solventum (SOLV) $14.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALC, ALGN and SOLV?

Solventum (SOLV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcon (ALC) 53.7x, Align Technology (ALGN) 26.3x, Solventum (SOLV) 10.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Solventum (SOLV) is cheapest (Alcon (ALC) 21.8x, Align Technology (ALGN) 14.1x, Solventum (SOLV) 12.5x). 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%, Align Technology (ALGN) +4.4%, Solventum (SOLV) -0.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Solventum (SOLV) has the highest net margin (Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Align Technology (ALGN) 10.0%, Solventum (SOLV) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Solventum (SOLV) leads (Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Solventum (SOLV) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Solventum (SOLV) returned the most: Alcon (ALC) -8.0%, Align Technology (ALGN) +13.6%, Solventum (SOLV) +18.2%. Over five years, Alcon (ALC) compounded fastest (Alcon (ALC) -3.0%/yr, Align Technology (ALGN) -23.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alcon (ALC) has been the steadiest (Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Align Technology (ALGN) 39.1%, Solventum (SOLV) 29.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALC, ALGN and SOLV?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Alcon (ALC) leads on 5. 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.