Alcon Inc. (ALC)

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical. Visioncare comprises contact lenses, lenscare solutions, and a suite of ocular health products. With brands like Dailies, Total1, and Air Optix, Alcon controls about one fourth of the US contact lens market. Surgical comprises intraocular lenses, ophthalmic surgical equipment, and consumables used during surgeries. Its main products include Centurion, a phacoemulsification device used during cataract surgeries, and a portfolio of IOLs including PanOptix and Vivity. Alcon has one of the largest installed bases of eye surgical equipment in the world.

Earnings season is almost over, with about 97% of S&P 500 companies having reported as of Friday. Many knocked it out of the park, delivering earnings and revenue numbers that were well ahead of expectations. We always look at trends and, as usual, there are companies increasing guidance. Raising guidance is one of our Investing Themes for the second half of 2026. We view management's ability to raise guidance consistently as a catalyst for possible market-beating returns in the quarters ahead. It's even harder for companies to lift guidance during uncertain economic times, as vision is murky. This is true now, as the war in the Middle East drags on. As well, Wall Street has a new chairman of the Federal Reserve, one with a different view about forward-looking guidance (or in this case, a lack thereof). As many companies increased guidance during this earnings cycle, we put out two lists. The first was back on August 3 -- and now we offer up our second list, made up of companies in Argus' fundamental Universe of Coverage. Many of the names in this latest list are in the consumer space, as these companies tend to report at the end of earnings season.

Nvidia reports this week and more key inflation data is pending. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve travels to Jackson Hole and Chairman Warsh will speak. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.4%, and the Nasdaq lost 2%. Year to date, all three indices are in positive territory, with the DJIA up 11%, the S&P 500 up 12%, and the Nasdaq up 13%. On the earnings calendar, headliners this week include Intuit, Zoom Communications, and Dick's Sporting Goods on Tuesday; Nvidia, CrowdStrike, Salesforce, and Williams-Sonoma on Wednesday; and Marvell Technology on Thursday. Some 93% of S&P 500 companies have reported as of Friday. Earnings so far are up about 30% from last quarter, excluding one-time gains from Alphabet and Amazon. Energy and Communication Services are leading the performance derby, with Healthcare at the back of the pack. On the economic calendar, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, or PCE, an inflation indicator, is due out on Wednesday, as is the second estimate of GDP. Federal Reserve officials will gather in Jackson Hole for their annual Economic Policy Symposium. Chairman Warsh speaks on Friday. The war in Iran continues to impact economic forecasts. Gas prices ticked up last week, gaining four cents to an average of $4.05 per gallon for regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecast calls for GDP growth of 4.0% in the third quarter compared to 4.3% last week. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast forecast is at 3.4% for August, unchanged from last week. Mortgage rates dropped two basis points last week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.65%, according to FreddieMac. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMS) rate decision comes on September 16. Odds are at 38% for a rate hike at that meeting. That follows the recent weak jobs report and mild inflation data for July. Taking a deeper dive into performance so far in 2026, a leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EFA, is up 12% year to date, while the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) is up 22%. U.S. growth stocks are up 2% year to date when looking at ETF IWF, while value stocks (IWD) are up 21%. Crude oil prices continue to be volatile. On Friday, oil closed at $87 per barrel and is up 50% for the year. In other asset classes for the year to date, AGG bonds are down 3%, gold is up 7%, and Bitcoin is down 12%. The U.S. dollar is up 1%, tracking DXY. The VIX Volatility Index was at 15 on Friday, below its historical average of 20. Turning to sector performance, the list from first to worst so far in 2026 is Energy (+43%), Information Technology (+27%), Industrials (+16%), Materials (+16%), Real Estate (+12%), Healthcare (+11%), Consumer Staples (+10%), Financials (+4%), Utilities (+3%), Consumer Discretionary (-2%), and Communication Services (-6%).

Alcon Inc. is a global provider of ophthalmic surgery and vision care products. Founded in 1945 and based in Switzerland, Alcon previously operated as a subsidiary of Novartis AG. It became an independent company on April 9, 2019. The company has roughly 25,900 employees.