ALC vs. BSX: Alcon vs. Boston Scientific Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX) both belong to the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry, though ALC is classified under Health Care Supplies while BSX falls under Health Care Equipment.

Company profile comparison for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Profile Item	ALC	BSX
Name	Alcon Inc.	Boston Scientific Corp.
Country/Region	Switzerland	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Supplies	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	36.23 billion USD	61.96 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 9, 2019	May 19, 1992
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ALC

BSX

GSPC

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
Total Return (1Y)	1.20%	-55.98%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	1.17%	-5.05%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-2.77%	0.57%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ALC

BSX

GSPC

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	29.23%	40.16%
Beta (5Y)	0.84	0.57
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.93%	-61.55%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.74M	19.73M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ALC and BSX are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.11	-1.50
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.15	-1.80

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 2.94% and Boston Scientific (BSX) at 14.12% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.94%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
ALC: 2.94%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.12%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
BSX: 14.12%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Boston Scientific (BSX) at 16.62% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Alcon (ALC) at 5.92%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.92%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
ALC: 5.92%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

16.62%

Max: 29.35%
BSX: 16.62%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 14.63% and Boston Scientific (BSX) at 19.05% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.63%

Max: 35.43%
ALC: 14.63%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

19.05%

Max: 35.43%
BSX: 19.05%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
ROE (TTM)	2.94%	14.12%
ROA (TTM)	2.80%	5.87%
Net Margin (TTM)	5.92%	16.62%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.63%	19.05%
Gross Margin (TTM)	57.22%	67.98%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Alcon (ALC) at 4.94% and Boston Scientific (BSX) at 19.87% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Boston Scientific (BSX) at 55.20% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Alcon (ALC) at -3.41% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for BSX.

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.94%	19.87%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.06%	16.54%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-3.41%	55.20%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	42.80%	62.75%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Alcon (ALC) at 2.09 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Boston Scientific (BSX) at 1.37 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for BSX.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.09

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
ALC: 2.09
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.37

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
BSX: 1.37
Min: 0.30

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 0.25 and Boston Scientific (BSX) at 0.46 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.25

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
ALC: 0.25
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.46

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
BSX: 0.46
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.09	1.37
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.25	0.46
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.60	2.04

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Boston Scientific (BSX) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Alcon (ALC) reports a yield of 0.46%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.46%

ALC: 0.46%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

BSX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Boston Scientific (BSX) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Alcon (ALC) reports a payout of 26.56%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

26.56%

ALC: 26.56%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

BSX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.46%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.56%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Boston Scientific (BSX) at 18.04 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Alcon (ALC) at 56.77 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

56.77

Max: 80.41
ALC: 56.77
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

18.04

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
BSX: 18.04
Min: 4.21

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Alcon (ALC) at 3.34 and Boston Scientific (BSX) at 2.94 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.34

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
ALC: 3.34
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.94

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
BSX: 2.94
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Alcon (ALC) at 1.68 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while Boston Scientific (BSX) at 2.42 is valued near its industry’s middle — ALC is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

ALC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.68

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
ALC: 1.68
Min: -1.31

BSX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.42

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
BSX: 2.42
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Alcon (ALC) vs. Boston Scientific (BSX): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Boston Scientific (BSX)
Metric	ALC	BSX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	56.77	18.04
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.34	2.94
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.68	2.42
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.51%	4.02%