Alcon vs West Pharmaceutical Services
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Alcon and West Pharmaceutical Services side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Alcon is the larger business, with $10.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.1B for West Pharmaceutical Services, about 3.4 times as much.
- West Pharmaceutical Services grew revenue faster (6.3%, against 4.9%).
- West Pharmaceutical Services kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (19.0% operating margin, against 13.1%).
- Alcon turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.6% FCF margin, against 15.3%).
- West Pharmaceutical Services earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (18.7%, against 4.6%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Alcon
ALC
3/10
5-year growthGross marginFCF margin
West Pharmaceutical Services
WST
7/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | ALC FY25 | WST FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $34.7B | $28.1B |
| Revenue | $10.4B | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $1.7B | $469M |
| Net income | $980M | $494M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.9% | 6.3% |
| 5-year growth | 8.8% | 7.4% |
| Share count change | −0.3% | −1.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 55.2% | 35.9% |
| Operating margin | 13.1% | 19.0% |
| Net margin | 9.4% | 16.1% |
| FCF margin | 16.6% | 15.3% |
| Return on capital | 4.6% | 18.7% |
| Return on equity | 4.5% | 16.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $3.2B | −$583M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | −0.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $842M | $195M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 50.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 9 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.