ALC vs ISRG vs JNJ Stock Comparison

Alcon, Intuitive Surgical and Johnson & Johnson Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALC Alcon Inc
$71.18 +8.8% 1M -3.3% 1Y
Market cap
$35.24B
P/E
54.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
1 win
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$448.76 +8.9% 1M -16.5% 1Y
Market cap
$150.86B
P/E
51.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
3 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$275.17 +2.8% 1M +47.5% 1Y
Market cap
$660.04B
P/E
41.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 6, Intuitive Surgical 3, Alcon 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALCISRGJNJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $35.24B $150.86B $660.04B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 54.8x 51.0x 41.0x JNJ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.1x 39.1x 25.7x ALC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +20.5% +7.8% ISRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 25.5% 16.2% ISRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% — 17.6% JNJ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 0.8x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.3% -16.5% +47.5% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.1%/yr +4.4%/yr +11.1%/yr JNJ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 34.6% 20.9% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 80/100 68/100 ISRG

Percentile Scorecard

ALCISRGJNJ

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

AxisALCISRGJNJ
Valuation 79 #48 of 227 53 #107 of 227 86 #88 of 624
Growth 48 #113 of 218 80 #44 of 218 42 #351 of 601
Profitability 78 #46 of 202 98 #6 of 202 93 #37 of 541
Financial Health 60 #95 of 233 77 #54 of 233 41 #380 of 647
Shareholder Returns 76 #32 of 130 91 #13 of 130 76 #88 of 359
Overall 68 80 68
  • ALC ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ISRG ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • JNJ ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodALCISRGJNJSPY
1 month +8.8%+8.9%+2.8% +0.7%
3 months +2.3%+27.1%+7.5% +3.7%
6 months -4.9%-1.9%+19.7% +7.1%
Year to date -9.7%-20.8%+33.0% +12.8%
1 year -3.3%-16.5%+47.5% +11.9%
3 years +1.1%+73.6%+87.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +0.4%+20.2%+23.3% +22.8%
5 years -14.6%+24.3%+68.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year -3.1%+4.4%+11.1% +10.9%
10 years —+505.9%+138.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+19.7%+9.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureALCISRGJNJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%34.6%20.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.8%37.5%20.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.380.89-0.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.12-0.482.28 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-49.9%-23.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.4%-24.3%-1.2% -1.2%
52-week high $87.18$592.85$278.47 $779.14
52-week low $62.02$332.02$186.00 $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.

MultipleALCISRGJNJ
P/E now vs peer median 54.6xmedian 28.7x 53.0xmedian 28.7x 41.2xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 3.0x 13.4xmedian 3.0x 6.7xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.8x 37.0xmedian 17.8x 20.7xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 26.4x 43.2xmedian 26.4x 32.2xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.4x 9.7xmedian 2.4x 8.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.60median 0.99 2.06median 0.99 -1.92median 0.35

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 monthsALCISRGJNJ
Revenue $10.80B $11.58B $99.34B
Gross profit $6.17B $7.78B $67.11B
Operating income $948.00M $3.28B $25.19B
Net income $643.00M $2.97B $16.10B
Free cash flow $1.74B $3.60B $20.59B
R&D $1.43B $1.49B $16.08B
EPS (diluted) $1.30 $8.41 $6.57
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $2.98B $16.91B
Total debt $4.72B – $44.65B
Shares (diluted) 496.20M 351.60M 2.45B
Enterprise value $26.21B $131.14B $579.90B

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
MetricALCISRGJNJ
P/E 54.6x 53.0x 41.2x
P/FCF 19.9x 43.2x 32.2x
P/Operating cash flow 15.0x 38.0x 25.3x
P/S 3.2x 13.4x 6.7x
P/B 1.6x 9.7x 8.1x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 10.4x 19.0x
EV/EBITDA – 37.0x 20.7x
EV/EBIT 39.3x 46.1x 27.4x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 13.1x 6.9x
EV/FCF 21.4x 42.1x 33.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.1x 37.0x 26.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.60 2.06 -1.92

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALCISRGJNJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 20.5% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 19.1% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 21.9% 7.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 19.5% 5.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% 16.6% 7.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 24.8% 1.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.1% 7.5% -35.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.1% 24.4% -22.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -40.7% 10.8% -36.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 25.7% -21.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% 38.1% 8.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% 26.4% 12.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.5% 58.4% 5.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 48.0% 42.0% 14.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALCISRGJNJ
Gross margin 57.2% 67.2% 67.6%
EBITDA margin – 35.3% 33.5%
Operating margin 8.8% 28.4% 25.4%
Pretax margin 6.9% 31.3% 17.9%
Net margin 6.0% 25.5% 16.2%
FCF margin 16.1% 31.1% 20.7%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 35.3% 26.3%
Return on equity 2.9% 17.3% 19.3%
Return on assets 2.1% 14.8% 8.1%
Return on invested capital 3.6% – 17.6%
Return on capital employed 3.4% 18.7% 17.5%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 7.2% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALCISRGJNJ
Debt / assets 15.2% – 22.6%
Debt / equity 0.2x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 0.8x
Debt / FCF 2.7x – 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 30.6% 16.7% 58.7%
Equity / assets 69.4% 83.3% 41.3%
Interest coverage 9.2x – 25.6x
Current ratio 2.1x 3.3x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.3x 2.3x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.7x 1.6x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 30.73 5.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALCISRGJNJ
Dividend yield 0.4% – 1.9%
Net buyback yield 2.6% 2.7% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 2.7% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 79.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 61.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 1.0%

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.

ConsensusALCISRGJNJ
Forward P/E 22.1xFY2026 39.1xFY2026 25.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.22FY2026 $11.47FY2026 $10.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.7%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +4.5% +5.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.50BFY2026 $11.60BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.3%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.1% +11.3% +7.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALCISRGJNJ
Held by institutions 48.8% 86.2% 74.7%
Institutions holding 630 2,237 4,692
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +4.6% +1.8%
Institutions buying 226 1,072 2,294
Institutions selling 274 877 1,896
Buyers to sellers 0.82 1.22 1.21

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.

ALCISRGJNJ
ALC 1.00 0.39 0.24
ISRG 0.39 1.00 0.10
JNJ 0.24 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALC, ISRG and JNJ?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcon (ALC) $35.24B, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) $150.86B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $660.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALC, ISRG and JNJ?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcon (ALC) 54.8x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 51.0x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 41.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alcon (ALC) is cheapest (Alcon (ALC) 22.1x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 39.1x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +20.5%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has the highest net margin (Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 25.5%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%). On return on invested capital, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) leads (Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Alcon (ALC) -3.3%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -16.5%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +47.5%. Over five years, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) compounded fastest (Alcon (ALC) -3.1%/yr, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +4.4%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +11.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Alcon (ALC) 0.00%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 0.00%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 0.02%. Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 34.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALC, ISRG and JNJ?

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