ALC vs LMAT vs SYK Stock Comparison

Alcon, Lemaitre Vascular and Stryker Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALC Alcon Inc
$69.81 +7.0% 1M -6.7% 1Y
Market cap
$34.03B
P/E
53.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
0.40%
Medical Devices Healthcare
2 wins
LMAT Lemaitre Vascular Inc
$82.87 +0.6% 1M -7.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.89B
P/E
28.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$262.43M
Div. yield
1.15%
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins
SYK Stryker Corp
$304.34 +10.5% 1M -19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$116.74B
P/E
31.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.84B
Div. yield
1.16%
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lemaitre Vascular leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Lemaitre Vascular 5, Stryker 4, Alcon 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALCLMATSYKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.03B $1.89B $116.74B SYK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.5x 28.8x 31.3x LMAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.7x 28.1x 19.1x SYK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +11.8% +8.5% LMAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 25.0% 14.4% LMAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% — 10.5% SYK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 1.7x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.40% 1.15% 1.16% SYK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.7% -7.4% -19.0% ALC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.5%/yr +9.8%/yr +2.7%/yr LMAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 46.1% 30.6% ALC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 82/100 70/100 LMAT

Percentile Scorecard

ALCLMATSYK

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

AxisALCLMATSYK
Valuation 79 #48 of 227 75 #58 of 227 67 #76 of 227
Growth 48 #114 of 219 89 #26 of 219 67 #74 of 219
Profitability 78 #47 of 205 95 #11 of 205 90 #22 of 205
Financial Health 60 #95 of 237 89 #26 of 237 49 #121 of 237
Shareholder Returns 75 #35 of 135 63 #50 of 135 77 #32 of 135
Overall 68 82 70
  • ALC ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • LMAT ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • SYK 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

PeriodALCLMATSYKSPY
1 month +7.0%+0.6%+10.5% +0.9%
3 months +0.2%-20.0%-13.6% +5.9%
6 months -4.1%-22.7%-3.4% +8.5%
Year to date -11.4%+2.2%-13.4% +13.3%
1 year -6.7%-7.4%-19.0% +12.4%
3 years -0.3%+74.8%+16.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year -0.1%+20.5%+5.1% +23.5%
5 years -16.3%+59.3%+14.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year -3.5%+9.8%+2.7% +11.0%
10 years —+284.0%+166.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+14.4%+10.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureALCLMATSYKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%46.1%30.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.8%53.0%31.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.380.430.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.23-0.16-0.62 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-33.5%-33.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.9%-29.4%-21.5% -0.9%
52-week high $87.18$117.39$387.46 $779.14
52-week low $62.02$78.80$269.88 $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.

MultipleALCLMATSYK
P/E now vs peer median 53.5xmedian 28.8x 28.8xmedian 28.8x 31.3xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 3.0x 7.2xmedian 3.0x 4.5xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.4x 17.1xmedian 17.4x 19.0xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 25.7x 25.7xmedian 25.7x 24.8xmedian 25.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.4x 4.5xmedian 2.4x 4.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.55median 1.03 0.86median 1.03 2.84median 1.03

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 monthsALCLMATSYK
Revenue $10.80B $262.43M $25.84B
Gross profit $6.17B $191.31M $16.79B
Operating income $948.00M $77.32M $5.53B
Net income $643.00M $65.67M $3.73B
Free cash flow $1.74B $73.83M $4.70B
R&D $1.43B $15.41M $1.66B
EPS (diluted) $1.30 $2.68 $9.66
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $26.63M $3.39B
Total debt $4.72B – $14.94B
Shares (diluted) 496.20M 24.53M 386.00M
Enterprise value $24.99B $449.17M $102.85B

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
MetricALCLMATSYK
P/E 53.5x 28.8x 31.3x
P/FCF 19.6x 25.7x 24.8x
P/Operating cash flow 14.7x 22.8x 21.1x
P/S 3.2x 7.2x 4.5x
P/B 1.6x 4.5x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 4.9x 6.4x
EV/EBITDA – 17.1x 19.0x
EV/EBIT 38.6x 19.6x 23.2x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 5.8x 5.0x
EV/FCF 21.0x 20.6x 27.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.9x 18.3x 23.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.55 0.86 2.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALCLMATSYK
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 11.8% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 14.0% 9.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 18.0% 9.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 18.8% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% 41.2% 53.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 36.4% 18.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.1% 39.4% 27.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.1% 37.6% 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -40.7% 30.1% 27.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 33.6% 11.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% 41.2% 15.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% 48.0% 22.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.5% 41.1% 16.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 48.0% 57.4% 24.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALCLMATSYK
Gross margin 57.2% 72.9% 65.0%
EBITDA margin – 33.8% 26.1%
Operating margin 8.8% 29.5% 21.4%
Pretax margin 6.9% 32.3% 19.9%
Net margin 6.0% 25.0% 14.4%
FCF margin 16.1% 28.1% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 31.6% 21.4%
Return on equity 2.9% 15.9% -3.9%
Return on assets 2.1% 10.3% -1.9%
Return on invested capital 3.6% – 10.5%
Return on capital employed 3.4% 12.8% 13.7%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.3x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 3.0% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALCLMATSYK
Debt / assets 15.2% – 31.2%
Debt / equity 0.2x – 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 1.7x
Debt / FCF 2.7x – 3.2x
Liabilities / assets 30.6% 34.4% 50.0%
Equity / assets 69.4% 65.6% 50.0%
Interest coverage 9.2x 14.9x 9.5x
Current ratio 2.1x 16.3x 2.2x
Quick ratio 1.3x 13.8x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.7x 12.6x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 7.28 4.68

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALCLMATSYK
Dividend yield 0.4% 1.1% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 2.7% -0.3% –
Shareholder yield 3.1% 0.8% 1.2%
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.

ConsensusALCLMATSYK
Forward P/E 21.7xFY2026 28.1xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.22FY2026 $2.95FY2026 $15.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.7%FY2026 +17.1%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +12.9% +2.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.50BFY2026 $266.90MFY2026 $26.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.3%FY2026 +6.9%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.1% +19.4% +18.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALCLMATSYK
Held by institutions 48.8% 99.3% 80.3%
Institutions holding 629 327 2,264
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +2.8% +3.2%
Institutions buying 225 172 1,102
Institutions selling 274 98 852
Buyers to sellers 0.82 1.76 1.29

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.

ALCLMATSYK
ALC 1.00 0.26 0.49
LMAT 0.26 1.00 0.25
SYK 0.49 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALC, LMAT and SYK?

Stryker (SYK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcon (ALC) $34.03B, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) $1.89B, Stryker (SYK) $116.74B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALC, LMAT and SYK?

Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcon (ALC) 53.5x, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 28.8x, Stryker (SYK) 31.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stryker (SYK) is cheapest (Alcon (ALC) 21.7x, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 28.1x, Stryker (SYK) 19.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) +11.8%, Stryker (SYK) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) has the highest net margin (Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 25.0%, Stryker (SYK) 14.4%). On return on invested capital, Stryker (SYK) leads (Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Stryker (SYK) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alcon (ALC) returned the most: Alcon (ALC) -6.7%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) -7.4%, Stryker (SYK) -19.0%. Over five years, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) compounded fastest (Alcon (ALC) -3.5%/yr, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) +9.8%/yr, Stryker (SYK) +2.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Stryker (SYK) has the highest dividend yield: Alcon (ALC) 0.40%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 1.15%, Stryker (SYK) 1.16%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alcon (ALC) has been the steadiest (Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Lemaitre Vascular (LMAT) 46.1%, Stryker (SYK) 30.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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