Alcon Inc key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, Alcon Inc had return on equity of 4.5%, an operating margin of 13.1%, debt equal to 21.5% of equity and a current ratio of 2.12. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Alcon Inc: financial ratios, annual
Fiscal year	2017Dec 2017	2018Dec 2018	2019Dec 2019	2020Dec 2020	2021Dec 2021	2022Dec 2022	2023Dec 2023	2024Dec 2024	2025Dec 2025
Gross margin	47.2%	44.6%	48.8%	43.0%	56.1%	54.5%	55.5%	55.6%	55.2%
Operating margin	−1.1%	−3.5%	−2.5%	−7.1%	7.0%	7.7%	11.0%	14.3%	13.1%
Net margin	3.8%	−3.2%	−8.7%	−7.8%	4.5%	3.8%	10.3%	10.3%	9.4%
Free-cash-flow margin	11.8%	8.6%	4.9%	5.0%	7.8%	6.7%	7.7%	16.2%	16.6%
Return on equity	1.1%	−1.0%	−3.1%	−2.8%	2.0%	1.7%	4.8%	4.8%	4.5%
Return on assets	—	−0.8%	−2.4%	−1.9%	1.4%	1.2%	3.3%	3.4%	3.2%
Asset turnover	—	0.26	0.27	0.25	0.30	0.30	0.32	0.33	0.34
Current ratio	—	1.80	1.84	2.21	2.18	1.90	2.35	2.77	2.12
Debt to equity	0.0%	0.2%	18.0%	21.9%	21.2%	23.6%	23.0%	21.5%	21.5%
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)	n/m	n/m	n/m	n/m	4.8x	5.0x	5.5x	7.4x	6.7x
Effective tax rate	—	—	—	—	10.0%	27.6%	−17.1%	18.9%	15.5%
R&D as % of revenue	8.6%	8.2%	8.7%	9.8%	10.2%	8.1%	8.8%	8.8%	9.5%
Capital spending as % of revenue	6.1%	7.3%	7.4%	7.0%	8.4%	7.3%	7.0%	4.8%	5.2%
Free cash flow ÷ net income	313.7%	—	—	—	171.5%	173.4%	74.9%	157.6%	176.3%
Dividends ÷ net income	—	—	—	—	14.4%	29.9%	11.9%	12.8%	16.9%
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow	—	—	0.0%	0.0%	8.4%	17.2%	15.9%	8.1%	48.7%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

5 of 7 checks passed · December 31, 2025

What it owns · $31.6bn

Short-term assets $6.4bnLonger-term assets $25.1bn

What it owes, and who funded it · $31.6bn

Short-term liabilities $3.0bnLonger-term liabilities $6.5bnShareholders' equity $22.0bn

Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $6.4bn of assets due within a year against $3.0bn of liabilities due within a year.
Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $6.4bn short-term assets against $6.5bn of longer-dated liabilities.
More cash than debt $1.5bn of cash against $4.2bn of debt.
Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 19% of equity.
Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 21% to 19% over five years.
A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $2.3bn of operating cash flow against $4.2bn of debt.
Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Operating income of $1.4bn against $204m of interest.

From Alcon Inc's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

Not assessed: fewer than five years of comparable figures in the filings. AI disruption exposure for this industry: Low.

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

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Figures from Alcon Inc's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved November 2, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Alcon Inc.