ALC vs. FMS: Alcon vs. Fresenius Medical Care Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) 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 Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but ALC is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies while FMS is classified in Health Care Providers & Services.

Alcon (ALC) trades as ordinary local shares, while Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Profile Item	ALC	FMS
Name	Alcon Inc.	Fresenius Medical Care AG - Depositary Receipt
Country/Region	Switzerland	Germany
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 Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Supplies	Health Care Services
Market Capitalization	36.23 billion USD	12.15 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 9, 2019	September 17, 1996
Security Type	Common Stock	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ALC

FMS

GSPC

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS), 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 Fresenius Medical Care (FMS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
Total Return (1Y)	1.20%	-0.71%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	1.17%	13.88%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-2.77%	-4.69%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ALC

FMS

GSPC

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS), 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 Fresenius Medical Care (FMS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	29.23%	30.61%
Beta (5Y)	0.84	0.77
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.93%	-62.33%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.74M	954.21K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ALC and FMS 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 Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.11	-0.16
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.15	-0.21

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 2.94% and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 7.84% 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%

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

7.84%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
FMS: 7.84%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 5.92% and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 4.22% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

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%

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.22%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
FMS: 4.22%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Alcon (ALC) at 14.63% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 9.63%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.63%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
FMS: 9.63%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
ROE (TTM)	2.94%	7.84%
ROA (TTM)	2.80%	3.94%
Net Margin (TTM)	5.92%	4.22%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.63%	9.63%
Gross Margin (TTM)	57.22%	26.46%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Alcon (ALC) at 4.94% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 1.51% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 83.61% 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 FMS.

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.94%	1.51%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.06%	0.39%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-3.41%	83.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	42.80%	13.47%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Alcon (ALC) at 2.09 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 0.99 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for FMS.

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

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.99

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
FMS: 0.99
Min: 0.30

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): 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 Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 0.79 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

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.79

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
FMS: 0.79
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): 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 Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.09	0.99
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.25	0.79
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.60	3.63

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 0.46% and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 6.30% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

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%

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.30%

FMS: 6.30%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 26.56% and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 50.14% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

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%

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

50.14%

FMS: 50.14%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Fresenius Medical Care (FMS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.46%	6.30%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.56%	50.14%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 13.53 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

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

13.53

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
FMS: 13.53
Min: 4.21

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 0.62 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Alcon (ALC) at 3.34 prices around its industry’s middle — FMS costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

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

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.62

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
FMS: 0.62
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Relative to net asset value, both Alcon (ALC) at 1.68 and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) at 0.85 look inexpensive, sitting in the lower P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

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

FMS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.85

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
FMS: 0.85
Min: -1.31

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Fresenius Medical Care (FMS)
Metric	ALC	FMS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	56.77	13.53
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.34	0.62
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.68	0.85
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.51%	12.29%