Alcon shares pop 10% on better-than-feared Q1 print

Shares in Alcon (NYSE:) popped more than 10% in premarket trading Tuesday after the eye care products maker reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and hiked 2024 guidance.

The company posted first-quarter core diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.78, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.73.

Total Vision Care net sales were $1.11 billion.

Core operating margin for the quarter rose to 22.0%, up from 20.6% in the year-ago period.

Revenue came in at $2.44 billion, representing a 4.8% year-over-year increase, though slightly short of the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion.

Looking ahead, Alcon expects net sales for 2024 to grow by 7% to 9%, up from the previous forecast of 6% to 8%. It also projects core diluted EPS to expand by 13% to 16% year-over-year in 2024, compared to the prior range of 15% to 18%

“While admittedly smaller than at Q4, we think the underlying Q1 print is comparatively better than what we saw at Q4 and so would’ve expected a small squeeze up,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note.

“Overall we remain somewhat more cautious on ALC, seeing better opportunities in the rest of our coverage universe, with some caution on estimated AT-IOL growth, though do think the Q1 results are stronger than expected and deserve credit,” they wrote.

Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets analysts said they expect ALC’s results to be well-received by investors, however, they caution about a potential risk concerning “margin phasing through the year due to the timing of discretionary spend.”