What Makes Alcon (ALC) a Bullish Bet?

What Makes Alcon (ALC) a Bullish Bet?

Wed, August 19, 2026 at 2:58 PM GMT+3 3 min read

Pershing Square Holdings, an investment holding company, released its second quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Pershing Square is an alternative asset manager that primarily manages capital in publicly traded investment vehicles, with 98% of its capital structure dedicated to such assets, including Howard Hughes Holdings. This capital permanency allows for long-term investments, fostering sustainable competitive advantages and yielding substantial market returns since 2018. The investment strategy focuses on acquiring high-quality companies at safe price points, anticipating significant annual EPS growth of 15% or more in the coming years. Additionally, reviewing the Fund's top five holdings could help identify its best picks for 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Pershing Square Holdings highlighted Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) as a new position. Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) is a Swiss-based healthcare and medical technology company focused on eye care products. On August 18, 2026, Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) closed at $73.55 per share. The one-month return of Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) was 9.21% and its shares lost 9.24% over the past 52 weeks. Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) has a market capitalization of $37.14 billion.

Pershing Square Holdings stated the following regarding Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) is the world's leading ophthalmology company, with a dominant position in surgical vision, strong positions in vision care and contact lenses, and a small but promising pharmaceuticals business. It benefits from attractive long-term, mid-single-digit market growth supported by aging population demographics, rising global incomes, and improved access to healthcare.

Alcon is the premier franchise in this industry, benefiting from a massive global installed base, strong brand affinity, and unrivaled commercial capabilities. The core of Alcon's business is its dominant surgical vision franchise, supported by a 30,000-unit capital equipment installed base. This installed base anchors a highly attractive stream of high-margin recurring consumables revenue — a classic "razor / razor blade" model — which in turn funds Alcon's ability to field the industry's largest sales, commercial, and research organizations, powering its innovation flywheel..." (Click here to read the full text)

Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 44 hedge fund portfolios held Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) at the end of the first quarter which was 46 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) and shared a list of best innovative healthcare stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.