ALC vs EW vs LMAT Stock Comparison

Alcon, Edwards Lifesciences and Lemaitre Vascular Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALC Alcon Inc
$69.42 +7.7% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$33.84B
P/E
53.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
0.40%
Medical Devices Healthcare
1 win
EW Edwards Lifesciences Corp
$90.81 +5.2% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$52.36B
P/E
52.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.51B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins
LMAT Lemaitre Vascular Inc
$83.79 +2.8% 1M -7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.92B
P/E
29.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$262.43M
Div. yield
1.13%
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Edwards Lifesciences leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Edwards Lifesciences 5, Lemaitre Vascular 5, Alcon 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALCEWLMATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $33.84B $52.36B $1.92B EW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.2x 52.1x 29.2x LMAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.6x 32.1x 28.4x ALC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +14.6% +11.8% EW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 15.4% 25.0% LMAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 9.0% — EW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -2.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.40% — 1.13% LMAT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.8% +12.4% -7.0% EW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.5%/yr -4.9%/yr +8.3%/yr LMAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 24.7% 46.1% EW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 78/100 83/100 LMAT

Percentile Scorecard

ALCEWLMAT

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

AxisALCEWLMAT
Valuation 79 #48 of 227 64 #83 of 227 74 #59 of 227
Growth 48 #114 of 219 55 #100 of 219 89 #25 of 219
Profitability 76 #50 of 206 95 #12 of 206 96 #9 of 206
Financial Health 60 #96 of 238 87 #31 of 238 90 #25 of 238
Shareholder Returns 74 #35 of 134 88 #17 of 134 64 #49 of 134
Overall 68 78 83
  • ALC ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • EW ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • LMAT ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodALCEWLMATSPY
1 month +7.7%+5.2%+2.8% -0.2%
3 months +0.4%+8.5%-18.1% +3.9%
6 months -7.9%+10.4%-25.5% +8.2%
Year to date -11.9%+6.5%+3.3% +12.9%
1 year -8.8%+12.4%-7.0% +12.3%
3 years -0.9%+47.2%+76.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year -0.3%+13.8%+20.9% +23.3%
5 years -16.1%-22.1%+49.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.5%-4.9%+8.3% +10.9%
10 years —+195.5%+296.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+11.4%+14.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureALCEWLMATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%24.7%46.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.8%24.5%52.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.380.580.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.310.50-0.15 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-54.3%-33.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.4%-4.6%-28.6% -1.2%
52-week high $87.18$95.17$117.39 $779.14
52-week low $62.02$75.87$78.80 $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.

MultipleALCEWLMAT
P/E now vs peer median 53.2xmedian 29.6x 52.1xmedian 29.6x 29.2xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.9x 8.0xmedian 2.9x 7.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.4x 30.2xmedian 17.4x 17.4xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 22.3x 36.5xmedian 22.3x 26.0xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.3x 4.9xmedian 2.3x 4.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.54median 1.04 -6.07median 1.04 0.87median 1.04

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 monthsALCEWLMAT
Revenue $10.80B $6.51B $262.43M
Gross profit $6.17B $5.07B $191.31M
Operating income $948.00M $1.45B $77.32M
Net income $643.00M $1.00B $65.67M
Free cash flow $1.74B $1.43B $73.83M
R&D $1.43B $1.09B $15.41M
EPS (diluted) $1.30 $1.74 $2.68
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $2.91B $26.63M
Total debt $4.72B $598.70M –
Shares (diluted) 496.20M 577.60M 24.53M
Enterprise value $24.80B $36.48B $470.20M

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
MetricALCEWLMAT
P/E 53.2x 52.1x 29.2x
P/FCF 19.4x 36.5x 26.0x
P/Operating cash flow 14.6x 30.4x 23.1x
P/S 3.1x 8.0x 7.3x
P/B 1.6x 4.9x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 5.6x 4.9x
EV/EBITDA – 30.2x 17.4x
EV/EBIT 38.4x 33.6x 19.9x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 7.5x 5.9x
EV/FCF 20.9x 34.0x 20.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.8x 28.3x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.54 -6.07 0.87

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALCEWLMAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 14.6% 11.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.3% 14.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 13.0% 18.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 11.9% 18.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% -1.4% 41.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 5.0% 36.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.1% -75.8% 39.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.1% -10.2% 37.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -40.7% -75.3% 30.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 21.0% -8.6% 33.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% 116.4% 41.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% 22.3% 48.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.5% 143.9% 41.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 48.0% 26.9% 57.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALCEWLMAT
Gross margin 57.2% 77.8% 72.9%
EBITDA margin – 24.8% 33.8%
Operating margin 8.8% 22.3% 29.5%
Pretax margin 6.9% 21.8% 32.3%
Net margin 6.0% 15.4% 25.0%
FCF margin 16.1% 22.0% 28.1%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 26.4% 31.6%
Return on equity 2.9% 9.5% 15.9%
Return on assets 2.1% 7.4% 10.3%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 9.0% –
Return on capital employed 3.4% 12.0% 12.8%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.7x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 2.6% 3.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALCEWLMAT
Debt / assets 15.2% 4.3% –
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -2.3x –
Debt / FCF 2.7x 0.4x –
Liabilities / assets 30.6% 22.7% 34.4%
Equity / assets 69.4% 77.3% 65.6%
Interest coverage 9.2x – 14.9x
Current ratio 2.1x 4.5x 16.3x
Quick ratio 1.3x 3.5x 13.8x
Cash ratio 0.7x 2.8x 12.6x
Altman Z-score – 12.77 7.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALCEWLMAT
Dividend yield 0.4% – 1.1%
Net buyback yield 2.7% 1.9% -0.3%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 1.9% 0.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 31.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 27.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 26.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 20.5%

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.

ConsensusALCEWLMAT
Forward P/E 21.6xFY2026 32.1xFY2026 28.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.22FY2026 $2.83FY2026 $2.95FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.7%FY2026 +10.5%FY2026 +17.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +12.7% +12.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.50BFY2026 $7.24BFY2026 $266.90MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.3%FY2026 +19.2%FY2026 +6.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.1% -2.6% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALCEWLMAT
Held by institutions 48.8% 90.6% 99.3%
Institutions holding 629 1,323 327
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +20.4% +2.8%
Institutions buying 225 641 172
Institutions selling 274 453 98
Buyers to sellers 0.82 1.42 1.76

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.

ALCEWLMAT
ALC 1.00 0.33 0.26
EW 0.33 1.00 0.29
LMAT 0.26 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALC, EW and LMAT?

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcon (ALC) $33.84B, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) $52.36B, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) $1.92B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALC, EW and LMAT?

Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcon (ALC) 53.2x, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 52.1x, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 29.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alcon (ALC) is cheapest (Alcon (ALC) 21.6x, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 32.1x, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 28.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) +14.6%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) +11.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) has the highest net margin (Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 15.4%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 25.0%). On return on invested capital, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) leads (Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 9.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Edwards Lifesciences (EW) returned the most: Alcon (ALC) -8.8%, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) +12.4%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) -7.0%. Over five years, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) compounded fastest (Alcon (ALC) -3.5%/yr, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) -4.9%/yr, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) +8.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) has the highest dividend yield: Alcon (ALC) 0.40%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 1.13%. Edwards Lifesciences (EW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) has been the steadiest (Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 24.7%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 46.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALC, EW and LMAT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 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.