ALC vs ISRG: Alcon AG and Intuitive Surgical compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- Intuitive Surgical is the larger company, worth $153.4B, about 4.9 times Alcon AG.
- Intuitive Surgical grew revenue faster over the last year (+18.5% vs +4.9%).
- Intuitive Surgical keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (31.3% vs 13.1%).
- On earnings, Alcon AG is the cheaper stock (32.4x vs 52.8x).
- Intuitive Surgical's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 20% a year, against 5% for Alcon AG (reverse DCF).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | ALC | ISRG |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $31.4B | $153.4B |
| Share price | $64.11 | $423.96 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $10.4B | $10.1B |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $1.6B | $2.5B |
| Revenue growth, last year | +4.9% | +18.5% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | +5.8% | +15.2% |
| Operating margin | 13.1% | 31.3% |
| Net margin | 9.4% | 28.4% |
| Return on equity | 4.4% | 17.3% |
| P/E (trailing) | 32.4x | 52.8x |
| Price / free cash flow | 18.1x | 61.6x |
| EV / EBITDA | 13.5x | 32.5x |
| FCF growth the price implies | 4.7% | 19.8% |
| Dividend yield | 0.55% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.42x | 0.14x |
| Fundamental grade | C | B |
| Superinvestors holding it | 5 | 7 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 0 | 8 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
Alcon AG
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $8.3B | $165M | 7.0% |
| 2022 | $8.7B | $472M | 7.7% |
| 2023 | $9.5B | $537M | 11.0% |
| 2024 | $9.9B | $1.4B | 14.3% |
| 2025 | $10.4B | $1.6B | 13.1% |
Intuitive Surgical
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $5.7B | $1.7B | 31.9% |
| 2022 | $6.2B | $958M | 25.3% |
| 2023 | $7.1B | $750M | 24.8% |
| 2024 | $8.4B | $1.3B | 28.1% |
| 2025 | $10.1B | $2.5B | 29.3% |
Where the revenue comes from
Alcon AG · by segments, 2025
Surgical$5.8B56%
Vision Care$4.6B44%
Intuitive Surgical · by products, 2025
Instruments and accessories$6.0B60%
Systems$2.5B25%
Service$1.6B16%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open ALC in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, Alcon AG or Intuitive Surgical?
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), at $153.4B against $31.4B.
Is ALC or ISRG cheaper?
By trailing P/E, Alcon AG (32.4x) is cheaper than Intuitive Surgical (52.8x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.
Which grows faster, ALC or ISRG?
Intuitive Surgical: revenue grew +18.5% over the last year, against +4.9%.
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.