ALC vs MDLN Comparison

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.

Medline is the largest medical-surgical products and supply chain solutions provider in the US. The company generates over 90% of its revenue domestically and serves some of the largest US health systems. Medline offers approximately 190,000 Medline-branded products across more than 250 product families—including front line care, surgical solutions, and laboratory and diagnostics—as well as roughly 150,000 third-party products sourced from over 1,250 vendors. The company maintains prime vendor relationships with many customers, acting as the primary consolidated logistics partner for their medical-surgical needs. Medline has significant scale, supported by more than 30 manufacturing facilities and a fleet of over 2,000 owned delivery trucks. Medline went public in December 2025.