Alcon Q3 2026 earnings review

Core diluted EPS rose 15% to $0.91 and beat the Yahoo average.

Alcon · Q3 2026 · Published Nov 11, 2026 · By DeepCell AI · Sources

Alcon Q3 2026 earnings review

Quarter ended September 30, 2026

For information only, not investment advice. No rating or price target.

Built with DeepCell / deepcell.net

1 · Alcon (ALC) Q3 2026 earnings review

Core diluted EPS rose 15% to $0.91 and beat the Yahoo average

  1. 1.Core diluted EPS of $0.91 beat the $0.89 Yahoo average; reported diluted EPS was $0.54
  2. 2.Net sales of $2.72B rose 5% as reported and in constant currency, versus the $2.74B Yahoo average
  3. 3.Full-year constant-currency sales growth guidance was tightened to about 6% from 5% to 7%
  4. 4.Nine-month free cash flow was $1.35B; year-to-date returns to shareholders were $748M
  5. 5.The regular-session close and labelled pre-market price are shown in the results table

Note: Yahoo EPS is compared with official core diluted EPS; Yahoo’s year-ago EPS of $0.79 matches the official prior-year core figure. Yahoo sales are shown to two decimal places in billions. Official sales growth rates are the company’s rounded figures. Pre-market prices are not a close.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; Yahoo Finance, Nov 11, 2026; CNBC, Nov 10, 2026; CNBC quote, Nov 11, 2026

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2 · Executive summary

Core diluted EPS beat the Yahoo average by 2.2%

Q3 2026 results vs. Yahoo Finance (analysis page, retrieved Nov 11, 2026)

MetricActualConsensusVarianceResult
Core diluted EPS$0.91$0.89$+0.02 / +2.2%Beat
Net sales$2.72B$2.74B-$23M / -0.8%Miss

Share price, Nov 10 regular close and Nov 11 pre-market last (not a close)

Alcon (NYSE)Nov 9 closeNov 10 close, 4:10 PM ESTNov 11 pre-market, 8:47 AM ESTPre-market vs close
ALC$75.14$74.06$70.94-$3.12 / -4.2%

All three prices are from the CNBC quote page. The 8:47 AM EST figure is a pre-market last, not a close. The Nov 10 regular close was $74.06, down 1.4% from the Nov 9 close of $75.14. CNBC does not state a reason for the move in the quote data.

Note: Yahoo reports a Current Qtr. (Sep 2026) EPS average of $0.89 from 15 analysts and a sales average of $2.74 billion from 16 analysts. The sales average is shown by Yahoo to two decimal places in billions and is entered here as $2,740 million; official net sales were $2,717 million. Year-ago EPS on the Yahoo page is $0.79, matching official core diluted EPS.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; Yahoo Finance analysis, Nov 11, 2026; CNBC quote, Nov 11, 2026

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3 · Q3 results vs. consensus

Constant-currency sales growth guidance was tightened to about 6%

Full-year 2026 outlook, updated Nov 10

MetricPrior lowPrior highNovember
Net sales growth vs prior year (cc)5%7%+6%

Other November outlook items

MetricLowHigh
Core operating margin change vs prior year (cc)1.0%1.5%
Core diluted EPS growth vs prior year (cc)12%14%
Non-operating expense$210M$230M
Core effective tax rate19%20%

Note: cc is constant currency. Prior core operating margin change guidance was +90 to +190 basis points; prior core EPS growth was +12% to +15%. The company also assumes a net tariff impact of about $40 million, a +90 basis-point currency benefit to sales growth, capital expenditures at a mid-single-digit percentage of sales, and about 487 million weighted-average diluted shares. Midpoints used in the model are arithmetic midpoints of the official ranges. No third-party full-year consensus was used on this page.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; analysis of company data

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4 · FY2026 outlook

Net sales rose 5% to $2.72B, and core diluted EPS rose to $0.91

  1. Core operating income roseCore operating income was $591M, with a core operating margin of 21.8%.
  2. Reported operating income also roseOperating income was $381M, and reported diluted EPS was $0.54.
  3. Cash returns continuedShare repurchases in the quarter were $210M; year-to-date returns were $748M.

Key figures

$M unless notedQ3 2025Q3 2026YoY
Net sales$2,589M$2,717M5%
Operating income$332M$381M15%
Diluted EPS ($)$0.48$0.5413%
Core operating income$523M$591M13%
Core diluted EPS ($)$0.79$0.9115%
Core operating margin20.2%21.8%—

Note: Year-on-year percentages in this table are the company’s official rounded rates: sales +5%, operating income +15%, diluted EPS +13%, core operating income +13%, and core diluted EPS +15%. Core results are non-IFRS measures; the reconciliations are in Exhibit 99.1.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; analysis of company data

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5 · Q3 key financials

Surgical sales were $1.48B and Vision Care sales were $1.24B

  1. Vision Care grew faster than SurgicalVision Care sales rose 6%; Surgical sales rose 4%.
  2. Implantables were the soft lineImplantables net sales were $422M, down from $432M.
  3. Segment contribution roseSurgical contribution was $381M and Vision Care contribution was $319M.

Net sales by segment

$MQ3 2025Q3 2026YoY
Surgical$1,420M$1,480M4%
Vision Care$1,169M$1,237M6%
Net sales$2,589M$2,717M5%

Note: Year-on-year percentages are the company’s official rounded rates: Surgical +4%, Vision Care +6%, and group sales +5%, as reported and in constant currency. Product-line detail is in the appendix. Segment contribution is the company’s segment measure.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; analysis of company data

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6 · Segment sales

7 · Sales bridge

8 · Segment sales

Core operating margin was 21.8%, compared with 20.2% a year earlier

Margins

Q3 2025 vs Q3 2026

Operating margin · Q3 2025: 12.8%Operating margin · Q3 2026: 14.0%Core operating margin · Q3 2025: 20.2%Core operating margin · Q3 2026: 21.8%Q3 2025Q3 20260%5%10%15%20%25%12.8%14.0%20.2%21.8%
GAAP operating margin was 14.0%

Note: Official margins are the company’s rounded figures. Core operating income adds the company’s stated core adjustments to IFRS operating income.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; analysis of company data

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9 · Margin analysis

10 · Core operating income

Nine-month free cash flow was $1.35B, and net debt fell to $2.94B

  1. Operating cash flow roseNine-month operating cash flow was $1.69B, compared with $1.61B a year earlier.
  2. Shareholders received cash returnsQ3 repurchases were $210M; about $1.00B remained under the authorization at Sep 30.
  3. Net debt declined from year-endNet debt was $2.94B, compared with $3.13B at Dec 31, 2025.

Cash flow, nine months

$M9M 20259M 2026
Operating cash flow$1,613M$1,689M
Purchases of property, plant and equipment$374M$344M
Free cash flow$1,244M$1,345M

Note: Quarterly operating cash flow is not presented in the release; the cash figures above are for the nine months ended September 30. Prior-year purchases of property, plant and equipment are from the official free cash flow reconciliation.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; analysis of company data

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11 · Cash flow and returns

Net debt was $2.94B at Sep 30, 2026, and cash was $1.71B

  1. Financial debt was little changedTotal financial debt was $4.77B, compared with $4.74B at year-end.
  2. Total assets were slightly lowerTotal assets were $31.37B, compared with $31.56B at Dec 31, 2025.
  3. Equity also edged downTotal equity was $21.73B, compared with $22.04B.

Balance sheet

$MDec 31, 2025Sep 30, 2026
Cash and cash equivalents$1,527M$1,705M
Total assets$31,555M$31,368M
Total financial debt$4,737M$4,767M
Net debt$3,125M$2,940M
Total equity$22,035M$21,734M

Note: Net debt is the company’s non-IFRS measure: total financial debt less cash, time deposits with original maturity greater than three months, and derivative financial instruments. Total assets and total equity are from the interim financial report.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; Interim financial report, total assets and equity

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12 · Balance sheet

A tighter sales-growth range, a small sales miss and a weaker pre-market print are the main watch items

  1. 1.Constant-currency sales growth guidance is now about 6%, tightened from 5% to 7%
  2. 2.Net sales of $2.72B were just below the $2.74B Yahoo average
  3. 3.Implantables net sales declined to $422M from $432M
  4. 4.In pre-market the shares last traded at $70.94, -4.2% versus the Nov 10 close, not a close

Note: These items are taken from the official statements, Yahoo Finance and the CNBC quote; they are not a rating or a target price.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; Yahoo Finance; CNBC

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13 · Watch items

Appendix: August 2026 outlook ranges

ClaimEvidenceCalculation
cc net sales growth, August5% to 7%Tightened to about 6%
Core OM change (cc), August0.9% to 1.9%Tightened to +100 to +150 bps
Core EPS growth (cc), August12% to 15%Tightened to +12% to +14%

cc is constant currency. Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; analysis of company data

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14 · Appendix: Prior outlook

15 · Appendix: Nine-month figures

16 · Appendix: Product lines

Appendix: income statement detail

Sales and costs

$M unless notedQ3 2025Q3 2026YoY
Net sales$2,589M$2,717M5%
Gross profit$1,458M$1,622M11.2%
Selling, general and administration$865M$929M—
Research and development$250M$261M—
Operating income$332M$381M15%

Earnings

$M unless notedQ3 2025Q3 2026YoY
Net income attributable to shareholders$237M$260M9.7%
Diluted EPS ($)$0.48$0.5413%
Core operating income$523M$591M13.0%
Core diluted EPS ($)$0.79$0.9115%

Note: Core results are non-IFRS measures. Year-on-year percentages are omitted where they are not shown on this page.Source: Alcon Q3 2026 press release, Form 6-K Ex. 99.1; analysis of company data

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17 · Appendix: Income statement

Appendix: sources

  • Filing: Alcon Form 6-K, Nov 10, 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1167379/000116737926000033/0001167379-26-000033-index.html
  • Results release, Q3 2026 (Ex. 99.1) — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1167379/000116737926000033/q32026pressrelease.htm
  • Interim financial report, Q3 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1167379/000116737926000033/q32026interimfinancialrepo.htm
  • Investor relations earnings materials, Nov 10, 2026 — https://investor.alcon.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations/event-details/2026/Alcons-Third-Quarter-2026-Earnings-Call-2026-UvhalddrSp/default.aspx
  • Q3 consensus: Yahoo Finance ALC analysis, Current Qtr. (Sep 2026), retrieved Nov 11, 2026 — https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ALC/analysis/
  • Share price: CNBC ALC quote, Nov 9 close, Nov 10 regular close at 4:10 PM EST, and Nov 11 pre-market last at 8:47 AM EST — https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ALC
  • Company figures are in U.S. dollars, in millions except per-share amounts and share counts. Core results, constant-currency growth, EBITDA, free cash flow and net debt follow the company’s definitions and reconciliations. Official growth rates labelled as such are the company’s rounded figures. The Yahoo sales average is entered as $2,740 million from a $2.74 billion two-decimal figure.
  • Chart and table values link to the model in the spreadsheet tabs of this file.

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18 · Sources

Important disclosures and disclaimer

For information only. This presentation is provided for information only. It is not investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, and it is not an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any security.

No recommendation. It carries no rating, price target or buy, sell or hold view, and it was prepared without regard to any reader's investment objectives, financial situation or needs.

Sources and accuracy. Company figures come from Alcon Inc.’s Form 6-K of November 10, 2026 (Exhibit 99.1 and the interim financial report). Consensus estimates (Yahoo Finance) and share prices (CNBC) are third-party data, credited on the sources page. We have not independently verified third-party data.

Basis of presentation. Figures are IFRS unless labelled as core, constant currency or another non-IFRS measure, in U.S. dollars, for the three months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025, and as-of dates as labelled.

Forward-looking statements. Company guidance, consensus estimates and the watch items in this deck are forward-looking. They rest on assumptions that may prove wrong, and actual results may differ materially.

No liability. No liability is accepted for any direct or indirect loss arising from the use of this presentation or its contents.

No affiliation. This presentation is not affiliated with, reviewed or endorsed by Alcon Inc. Company and brand names belong to their owners.

How it was made. The deck was built with DeepCell, with figures linked to a model in the file. Readers should check the figures against the original filings.

Date of analysis. The share prices are the CNBC Nov 9, 2026 regular close, the Nov 10, 2026 regular close at 4:10 PM EST, and the Nov 11 pre-market last at 8:47 AM EST (not a close).

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19 · Disclosures

Sources

Not investment advice; no rating or price target.

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