Topic: How To Invest

Power Growth Investor Hotline – Friday, November 18, 2022

Article Excerpt

ALCON INC., $65.70, is a buy. The company (symbol ALC in New York) is the world’s biggest eye-care company. Specifically, it’s the leader in ocular surgical supplies and No. 2 in contact lenses. While Alcon is based in Switzerland, it is headed by an American, reports its results in U.S. dollars, and gets 40% of its sales in that market. It also generates 25% of its overall revenues from emerging markets, one of the highest percentages among industry rivals. In the quarter ended September 30, 2022, Alcon’s revenue rose 1.9%, to $2.12 billion from $2.08 billion. Revenue benefited from continued recovery across international markets, but it was also hurt by negative foreign currency movements due to the high U.S. dollar. That cut the contribution of foreign sales. Without the currency effect, revenue rose 9%. Per-share earnings in the third quarter fell 7.4%, to $0.50 from $0.54, mostly due to negative currency movements—without that, per-share earnings would have risen 14%. Meanwhile, Alcon spends a..