ALC vs. ISRG: Alcon vs. Intuitive Surgical Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) both belong to the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry, though ALC is classified under Health Care Supplies while ISRG falls under Health Care Equipment.

Company profile comparison for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Profile Item	ALC	ISRG
Name	Alcon Inc.	Intuitive Surgical Inc.
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	159.96 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	April 9, 2019	June 16, 2000
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ALC

ISRG

GSPC

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
Total Return (1Y)	1.20%	-17.61%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	1.17%	19.20%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-2.77%	4.85%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ALC

ISRG

GSPC

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	29.23%	35.53%
Beta (5Y)	0.84	1.41
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.93%	-49.88%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.74M	2.43M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ALC and ISRG 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.11	-0.62
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.15	-0.83

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 17.93% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Alcon (ALC) at 2.94% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ISRG.

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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.93%

Max: 47.61%
ISRG: 17.93%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 25.54% 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.54%

Max: 29.35%
ISRG: 25.54%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 33.29% 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

33.29%

Max: 35.43%
ISRG: 33.29%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
ROE (TTM)	2.94%	17.93%
ROA (TTM)	2.80%	11.86%
Net Margin (TTM)	5.92%	25.54%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.63%	33.29%
Gross Margin (TTM)	57.22%	66.64%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 20.51% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Alcon (ALC) at 4.94% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ISRG.

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Alcon (ALC) at -3.41% and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 22.59% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.94%	20.51%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.06%	17.39%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-3.41%	22.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	42.80%	29.19%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 2.09 and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 3.33 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.33

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
ISRG: 3.33
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Alcon (ALC) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25 against its industry range, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports no figure this period.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00
ISRG: --

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): ISRG does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; ALC is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.09	3.33
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.25	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.60	-0.90

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

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

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

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

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.46%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.56%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Alcon (ALC) at 56.77 and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 54.75 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

54.75

Max: 80.41
ISRG: 54.75
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Alcon (ALC) at 3.34 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 13.82 clears its benchmark range — ISRG looks notably rich on sales.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

13.82

ISRG: 13.82
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Alcon (ALC) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): 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 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 9.82 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.82

Max: 11.68
ISRG: 9.82
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Alcon (ALC) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	ALC	ISRG
P/E Ratio (TTM)	56.77	54.75
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.34	13.82
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.68	9.82
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.51%	2.15%