Alcon Buy Rating Reaffirmed, Despite Failed STAAR Merger, As Eyecare Portfolio Leads

Albert Anthony1.68K FollowersFollow5ShareSavePlay(16min)CommentsSummaryAlcon is reaffirmed as a buy, supported by robust macro demand in eyecare and a strong product pipeline despite abandoning the STAAR Surgical acquisition.ALC demonstrates potential resilience versus market shocks, with favorable balance sheet risk and positive EPS forecasts for FY26.While ALC lags peers in some profitability metrics and offers only an annual 0.43% dividend, its low payout ratio and dividend growth provide some support to the dividend case.My price forecast anticipates +48% upside by FY26, with Wall St. consensus also bullish, though execution risk and cost inflation remain key risks.The risk of price shocks in petroleum was also considered as a risk factor, considering the role of petroleum-derived products. yacobchuk/iStock via Getty Images The start of March has certainly been interesting for markets, so it brings light onto something I've been writing about for a while, and that is not whether market shocks will occur or when, since I already expectThis article was written byAlbert Anthony1.68K FollowersFollowAlbert Anthony is the pen name of a Croatian-American business author who is a contributing analyst on investor platform & financial media site Seeking Alpha, where he has over +1,000 followers, & also has written for platforms like Investing dot com. He is the author of a new book on Amazon called Investing in REITs: A Fundamental & Technical Analysis (2026 Edition).The author's career focus as a business & information systems analyst also included the IT department at top 10 financial firm Charles Schwab, where he supported several enterprise applications and the trading platform StreetSmart Edge. His data-driven, process-oriented background has served him well in launching his own boutique equities research firm, Albert Anthony & Company, a Texas-registered business which he manages 100% remotely on his own, and paved the way for his becoming a regular contributor to Seeking Alpha, publishing actionable insights for investors worldwide.Having grown up in the New York City area to a 1st generation Croatian family in the US, he also called home the Austin Texas area, as well as Croatia where he participated in dozens of business & innovation conferences, trade shows, and panel discussions, and hosted an informational program for Online Live TV Croatia, covering business & innovation conferences and destinations as a media personality.The author completed his B.A. in Political Science degree from Drew University in the US, is certified in Microsoft Fundamentals, CompTIA Project+, and also earned the Risk Management specialization from the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI), following trends in compliance, regulatory frameworks, and market risk. Besides appearing in financial media platforms, he is growing the Albert Anthony channel on YouTube (@author.albertanthony), where he talks about REITs, since he himself is an active investor in his own portfolio of REIT stocks.For any business email please use his official mail address: contact@albertanthony.usPlease note: The author does not write about non-publicly traded companies, small cap stocks, or startup CEOs, so any such mail received and pitches from PR agencies will be deleted.*Disclaimer: Albert Anthony and Albert Anthony & Co, as a US-based sole proprietorship registered as a trade name in Austin, Texas, are not registered financial advisors and do not provide personalized financial advisory services to clients nor manage client funds but provide general markets commentary and research as well as actionable insights based on publicly-available data and our own analysis. We do not sell or market financial products and services, nor are compensated by any company for rating them. The author does not hold any material position in any stock he rates at the time of writing, unless otherwise disclosed. All investment is assumed to be at risk and readers are expected to do their due diligence beyond the scope of this author's commentary, agreeing to indemnify the author of any liability for potential investment losses.Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 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