Alcon shares fall as tighter eye-care market outlook raises growth concerns

By Kira Britten and Jesus Calero

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Shares in Swiss eye-care company Alcon fell around 6% on Wednesday as a weaker market outlook clouded its earlier profit upgrades, with analysts pointing to disappointing sales of implantable products such as intraocular lenses used to treat cataracts.

New surgical equipment and eye treatments had helped Alcon raise its earnings forecasts twice this year, but a sluggish US cataract market and continued competition are now testing whether those products can sustain growth.

Alcon CEO David Endicott said in August that US cataract surgery volumes were being held back by retiring surgeons and younger replacements performing fewer operations despite continued demand from patients.

Alcon expects the markets it serves to grow about 3% in 2026, down from between 3% and 4% previously. It also lowered the top end of its annual earnings growth forecast by 1 percentage point to between 12% and 14%.

"All in, we acknowledge Q3 is unlikely to settle the debate around the forward growth path for the company," Citi said in a note to investors.

Third-quarter sales rose 5% to $2.72 billion, but slightly missed market expectations, as sales of implantables fell 2%.

The strength of Alcon's profits also came into question. JPMorgan analysts calculated that its operating profit would have missed expectations by around 9% without a $58 million tariff refund, rather than the slight beat it posted.

The shares were on track for their worst trading day in six months as of 1005 GMT.

(Reporting by Kira Britten and Jesus Calero in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)