Alcon Inc. reported third‑quarter 2025 revenue of $2.59 billion, a 6% year‑over‑year increase and 5% in constant currency, driven by growth in its surgical and vision‑care segments. Surgical sales rose to $1.40 billion, up 6% reported, while vision‑care revenue reached $1.20 billion, up 7% reported. The Unity VCS platform continued to gain traction, and early uptake of the PanOptix Pro intra‑ocular lens and Tryptyr eye‑drop contributed to the segment gains.
The company’s core diluted earnings per share were $0.79, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 (or $0.7634) by $0.02, a 2.6% surprise. The reported diluted EPS of $0.48 was compared to an estimate of $0.46, but the beat that matters is the core EPS, which reflects the company’s operating performance after excluding non‑core items. The EPS beat was driven by disciplined cost management, a favorable product mix that favored higher‑margin surgical implants, and incremental pricing power in the vision‑care segment.
Operating margin fell to 12.8% from 13.6% in the prior year, while core operating margin eased to 20.2% from 20.6%. The compression is largely attributable to incremental tariffs on imported components, increased spending on research and development for new product launches, and higher sales and marketing costs to support the Unity VCS rollout. These investments are expected to generate long‑term revenue growth but have short‑term margin pressure.
Alcon reaffirmed its 2025 full‑year guidance, projecting revenue of $10.3 billion to $10.4 billion, core operating margin of 19.5% to 20.5%, and core diluted EPS of $3.05 to $3.15. The guidance remains unchanged from the prior quarter, signaling management’s confidence that the current momentum in equipment sales and the expanding order book for Unity VCS will sustain growth throughout the year.
CEO David J. Endicott highlighted the “encouraging topline growth” driven by accelerated equipment sales and the strong response to PanOptix Pro, noting that early uptake of Tryptyr is “showing promise.” CFO Tim Stonesipher added that surgical franchise revenue was up 5% year‑over‑year to $1.40 billion and that implantable sales grew 2% to $432 million, underscoring the company’s focus on high‑margin product lines.
Investors responded favorably to the earnings beat and the reaffirmed guidance, with analysts noting that the EPS surprise and the continued momentum in the equipment segment reinforce confidence in Alcon’s strategic execution and future growth prospects.
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