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Side-by-side financial comparison of ALCON INC (ALC) and CF Industries (CF). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

ALCON INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($2.6B vs $1.9B, roughly 1.4× CF Industries). CF Industries runs the higher net margin — 26.4% vs 6.8%, a 19.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CF Industries posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (22.8% vs 4.0%).

Alcon Inc. is a Swiss-American pharmaceutical and medical device company specializing in eye care products. Alcon is incorporated in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, and its global headquarters are located in Geneva, but its main operational base is in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, where it employs about 4,500 people.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, including ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate products. The company is based in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and was founded in 1946 as the Central Farmers Fertilizer Company. For its first 56 years, it was a federation of regional agricultural supply cooperatives. CF then demutualized, and became a publicly traded company.

ALC vs CF — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ALC
ALC
1.4× larger
ALC
$2.6B
$1.9B
CF
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CF
CF
+18.8% gap
CF
22.8%
4.0%
ALC
Higher net margin
CF
CF
19.7% more per $
CF
26.4%
6.8%
ALC

Income Statement — Q2 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Revenue
$2.6B
$1.9B
Net Profit
$176.0M
$495.0M
Gross Margin
53.5%
40.9%
Operating Margin
9.5%
33.0%
Net Margin
6.8%
26.4%
Revenue YoY
4.0%
22.8%
Net Profit YoY
-21.1%
26.3%
EPS (diluted)
$0.35
$2.56

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$1.9B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$1.7B
Q4 24
$1.5B
Q3 24
$1.4B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$1.6B
Q1 24
$1.5B
Net Profit
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$495.0M
Q3 25
$460.0M
Q2 25
$176.0M
$492.0M
Q1 25
$351.0M
Q4 24
$392.0M
Q3 24
$341.0M
Q2 24
$223.0M
$506.0M
Q1 24
$238.0M
Gross Margin
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
40.9%
Q3 25
38.1%
Q2 25
53.5%
39.9%
Q1 25
34.4%
Q4 24
34.4%
Q3 24
32.4%
Q2 24
55.0%
43.2%
Q1 24
27.8%
Operating Margin
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
33.0%
Q3 25
35.0%
Q2 25
9.5%
34.3%
Q1 25
27.4%
Q4 24
28.9%
Q3 24
26.6%
Q2 24
12.7%
40.6%
Q1 24
20.6%
Net Margin
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
26.4%
Q3 25
27.7%
Q2 25
6.8%
26.0%
Q1 25
21.1%
Q4 24
25.7%
Q3 24
24.9%
Q2 24
8.9%
32.2%
Q1 24
16.2%
EPS (diluted)
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$2.56
Q3 25
$2.19
Q2 25
$0.35
$2.37
Q1 25
$1.85
Q4 24
$1.86
Q3 24
$1.55
Q2 24
$0.45
$2.30
Q1 24
$1.03

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$1.4B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$3.2B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$22.1B
$4.8B
Total Assets
$31.4B
$14.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.66×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
$1.4B
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
$1.4B
Q1 24
Total Debt
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$3.2B
Q3 25
$3.0B
Q2 25
$3.0B
Q1 25
$3.0B
Q4 24
$3.0B
Q3 24
$3.0B
Q2 24
$3.0B
Q1 24
$3.0B
Stockholders' Equity
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$4.8B
Q3 25
$4.8B
Q2 25
$22.1B
$5.0B
Q1 25
$4.8B
Q4 24
$5.0B
Q3 24
$5.2B
Q2 24
$20.9B
$5.5B
Q1 24
$5.4B
Total Assets
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$14.1B
Q3 25
$14.2B
Q2 25
$31.4B
$13.8B
Q1 25
$13.3B
Q4 24
$13.5B
Q3 24
$13.8B
Q2 24
$29.7B
$13.8B
Q1 24
$13.9B
Debt / Equity
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
0.66×
Q3 25
0.61×
Q2 25
0.60×
Q1 25
0.62×
Q4 24
0.60×
Q3 24
0.57×
Q2 24
0.54×
Q1 24
0.55×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$539.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$313.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
16.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
12.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.09×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.8B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$539.0M
Q3 25
$1.1B
Q2 25
$563.0M
Q1 25
$586.0M
Q4 24
$420.0M
Q3 24
$931.0M
Q2 24
$475.0M
Q1 24
$445.0M
Free Cash Flow
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
$313.0M
Q3 25
$717.0M
Q2 25
$318.0M
Q1 25
$454.0M
Q4 24
$223.0M
Q3 24
$792.0M
Q2 24
$391.0M
Q1 24
$347.0M
FCF Margin
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
16.7%
Q3 25
43.2%
Q2 25
16.8%
Q1 25
27.3%
Q4 24
14.6%
Q3 24
57.8%
Q2 24
24.9%
Q1 24
23.6%
Capex Intensity
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
12.1%
Q3 25
20.9%
Q2 25
13.0%
Q1 25
7.9%
Q4 24
12.9%
Q3 24
10.1%
Q2 24
5.3%
Q1 24
6.7%
Cash Conversion
ALC
ALC
CF
CF
Q4 25
1.09×
Q3 25
2.31×
Q2 25
1.14×
Q1 25
1.67×
Q4 24
1.07×
Q3 24
2.73×
Q2 24
0.94×
Q1 24
1.87×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ALC
ALC

Segment breakdown not available.

CF
CF

Ammonia$591.0M32%
UAN$493.0M26%
Urea$372.0M20%
Other$244.0M13%
Other Products$147.0M8%
Ammonium Nitrate Segment$25.0M1%

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