ALCON (ALC) Company Report

Alcon has amended its merger agreement to acquire Staar Surgical Company for $30.75 per share in cash, increasing the total equity value of the deal to approximately $1.6 billion.
The revised offer represents a significant premium of 74% over Staar's 90-day volume weighted average price and 66% over its August 4, 2025 closing price.
The "go-shop" period ended without any alternative proposals, and the acquisition is expected to close in early 2026.
Alcon plans to finance the transaction through new credit facilities and anticipates a positive impact on earnings starting in the second year post-merger.
Alcon possesses strong financial health, including a current ratio of 2.6 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, supporting its ability to finance the acquisition.

2 days ago

Morningstar

Alcon Reports Q3 2025 Results, Reaffirms Full-Year Guidance

ALC

Earnings

Guidance Update

Product Launch

Alcon reported Q3 2025 sales of $2.6 billion, an increase of 5% year over year, and core diluted earnings per share of $0.79. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting sales between $10.3 billion and $10.4 billion and core diluted EPS in the range of $3.05 to $3.15.
Growth was primarily driven by the surgical equipment franchise, with sales increasing 13% due to the launch of Unity VCS, and ocular health, which grew 6% led by the SUSTAIN family and initial sales of Tripteer.
Core gross margin decreased 50 basis points to 62.9%, mainly due to incremental tariffs, which are anticipated to impact cost of sales by approximately $100 million for the full year.

Nov 12, 2025, 1:00 PM

Transcript

Alcon Reports Solid Third-Quarter 2025 Results and Announces Strategic Acquisitions

ALC

Earnings

M&A

Guidance Update

Alcon reported third-quarter 2025 sales of $2.6 billion, an increase of 6% on a reported basis, and diluted earnings per share of $0.48. For the first nine months of 2025, net sales were $7.6 billion, up 4%.
The company maintained its full-year 2025 guidance and generated $1.6 billion in cash from operations and $1.2 billion in free cash flow during the first nine months of 2025.
Alcon entered into a definitive agreement to acquire STAAR Surgical Company for approximately $1.5 billion and executed a $1.9 billion bridge loan agreement to fund this and other potential acquisitions, which remained undrawn as of September 30, 2025. Additionally, Alcon closed on the acquisition of a majority interest in Aurion Biotech, Inc. for approximately $522 million and LumiThera, Inc. for $125 million in cash paid at closing.
Additional tariffs incurred in the third quarter of 2025 amounted to $30 million, with an estimated gross impact to increase 2025 Cost of net sales by approximately $100 million, which the company expects to offset.

Nov 12, 2025, 11:18 AM

6-K

Alcon Reports Solid Third-Quarter 2025 Results and Maintains Full-Year Guidance

ALC

Earnings

Guidance Update

Share Buyback

Alcon reported third-quarter 2025 sales of $2.6 billion, an increase of 6% on a reported basis, and diluted earnings per share of $0.48.
For the first nine months of 2025, the company generated $1.6 billion cash from operations and $1.2 billion free cash flow, returning $550 million to shareholders through repurchases and dividends.
The company maintained its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting net sales between $10.3 billion and $10.4 billion and core diluted EPS between $3.05 and $3.15.
Third-quarter growth was driven by accelerated performance in Equipment and Ocular Health, with momentum from products like Unity VCS and PanOptix Pro.

Nov 11, 2025, 9:30 PM

Press Release

Lifecore Biomedical Reports Q3 2025 Financial Results and Fiscal Year End Change

ALC

Earnings

Guidance Update

Accounting Changes

Lifecore Biomedical reported revenue of $31.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025, representing a 26% increase from the comparable prior period.
The company's net loss improved to $10.0 million (or $0.29 per diluted share) for the three months ended September 30, 2025, compared to a net loss of $16.2 million (or $0.53 per diluted share) in the comparable prior period.
Adjusted EBITDA significantly increased to $3.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025, up from a negative $1.8 million in the comparable prior period.
Lifecore is moving its fiscal year end to align with the calendar year, effective December 31, 2025.
For the approximately seven-month transition period from May 26 to December 31, 2025, the company forecasts revenue between $74 million and $76 million and Adjusted EBITDA between $12 million and $14 million.

Nov 6, 2025, 9:05 PM

Press Release

Alcon Releases Investor Discussion Materials Regarding STAAR Merger Proposal

ALC

M&A

Takeover Bid

Proxy Vote Outcomes

Alcon has filed an investor presentation with the SEC to support its proposed acquisition of STAAR Surgical Company.
Alcon's proposed merger offers a premium significantly exceeding the median of comparable MedTech transactions and provides certain value to STAAR stockholders.
Alcon views the Broadwood Partners-led opposition campaign as an attempt at a "silent takeover" of STAAR Surgical, which it believes risks disenfranchising stockholders and undermining the value-maximizing opportunity.
Alcon urges the STAAR Board of Directors to accept an amendment to the merger agreement for an unencumbered go-shop period, to further assure that the Alcon merger is the best path forward for STAAR stockholders.
STAAR filed its definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A on September 16, 2025, in connection with the proposed transaction.

Nov 4, 2025, 6:00 AM

Press Release

Yunqi Capital Calls for Termination of Alcon-STAAR Surgical Merger

ALC

M&A

Proxy Vote Outcomes

Executive Compensation

Yunqi Capital, a 5.1% shareholder of STAAR Surgical, has issued a letter to STAAR's Board of Directors calling for the termination of the proposed merger with Alcon, which was announced on August 5, 2025.
Ahead of the special meeting originally scheduled for October 23, 2025, approximately 72% of STAAR's outstanding shares had voted against the merger, and 81% had voted against the $55 million compensation package for STAAR's executives.
All three leading proxy advisory firms, including ISS, Glass Lewis, and Egan-Jones, have recommended voting against the merger.
The special meeting has been postponed to December 3, 2025, and as of October 24, 2025, Alcon has provided no commitment to increasing the consideration offered to shareholders.

Oct 31, 2025, 4:00 PM

Press Release

Yunqi Capital Issues Letter Opposing Alcon's Proposed Acquisition of STAAR Surgical

ALC

M&A

Proxy Vote Outcomes

Revenue Acceleration/Inflection

Yunqi Capital, a 5.1% shareholder of STAAR Surgical, has issued a letter opposing the proposed sale of STAAR to Alcon Inc. and has voted its shares against the merger.
The investment firm urges STAAR's Board to proceed with the special meeting on October 23, 2025, as planned, to vote on the transaction.
Yunqi Capital criticizes the merger process as deficient and questions the stated 59% premium to STAAR's 90-day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP), arguing it lacks long-term context.
Preliminary Q3 2025 net sales results for STAAR, including an estimated $54.4 million in China revenue for the quarter and $142.6 million for the first three quarters of 2025, are cited as evidence of a positive trajectory supporting their opposition to the merger.

Oct 20, 2025, 9:32 PM

Press Release

Aurion Biotech Announces Positive AURN001 Phase 1/2 CLARA Trial Results

ALC

New Projects/Investments

Aurion Biotech's AURN001 Phase 1/2 CLARA trial successfully achieved all primary, secondary, and exploratory endpoints at 12 months.
The high-dose AURN001 group demonstrated significant efficacy, with 65% of subjects achieving a ≥15-letter best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) gain at 12 months, and a mean BCVA change of 12.5 letters from baseline.
AURN001 was found to be safe and well-tolerated across all treatment groups, with no cases of graft rejections or treatment-related serious adverse events.
Aurion Biotech plans to advance AURN001 to a pivotal Phase 3 trial in the first half of 2026.
AURN001 has received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) and Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) in the U.S., and each qualified donor line may yield up to 1,000 therapeutic doses.

Oct 18, 2025, 6:30 PM

Press Release

Glass Lewis Recommends STAAR Shareholders Vote Against Alcon Acquisition

ALC

M&A

Proxy Vote Outcomes

Takeover Bid

Glass Lewis, a leading independent proxy advisory firm, has recommended that shareholders of STAAR Surgical Company vote against the proposed acquisition by Alcon Inc..
The recommendation is based on concerns regarding the sale process, timing, and price of the deal, with Glass Lewis concluding that STAAR shareholders would be better served by rejecting the proposed merger.
Glass Lewis noted that STAAR's CEO and Chair did not disclose pertinent information about inbound interest to acquire the company to the rest of the board.
The deal's implied next-twelve-month (NTM) revenue multiple of approximately 4.56x is considered to be below both the median (5.1x) and mean (6.2x) NTM revenue multiples of precedent healthcare equipment and supplies transactions.