2023 has been a year of uncertainties, with inflation, geopolitical and supply chain challenges and the lingering effects from the pandemic impacting the global economy. Despite these challenges, I am pleased to report that Alcon has thrived, thanks to responsible fiscal management and a solid strategic plan. The company has delivered on its commitments of innovation, revenue growth, margin expansion, earnings growth and cash flow production.

Each year, we dialogue with shareholders to discuss and solicit feedback on our corporate governance, sustainability and social impact practices. I personally lead many of these discussions, and I want to thank our investors for the feedback they shared.

The Compensation Report and Corporate Governance sections of this Annual Report, as well as the separate Social Impact and Sustainability Report, reflect the Board’s careful consideration of the feedback we received.

Our place at the intersection of eye care and technology – coupled with our depth of expertise, broad product portfolio, robust pipeline, strong balance sheet, and, most importantly, our visionary purpose, means we are well-positioned to maintain our position as the global eye care technology leader.

Innovation is a people-powered business, and Alcon is an innovation company with noble ambitions. We have achieved success for more than 75 years by holding fast to our purpose of helping the world See Brilliantly. Even with all that we have achieved, there’s still much more to do.

As the eye care industry continues to evolve, Alcon will play an active role in leading that change. Putting patients at the center of everything that we do keeps us facing forward and open to opportunity. I’m confident in our ability to accelerate and sustain our growth profile over the long-term, to grow at or above our markets and, as we do, create consistent value for our shareholders.

For me and the Board, it’s an honor to stand alongside our colleagues and a privilege to be part of such important work. With our purpose as our north star, we’re taking the organization to the next level in service to more patients in more places around the world.

Thank you for your continued support and trust,

F. Michael Ball
Chair

As we look back on a year of significant progress for Alcon, I am particularly proud that we were once again able to deliver meaningful innovation and market-leading growth by steadily executing on our strategic plan. I am also grateful that 2023 brought many opportunities to share this vision for our business, the technological advances, and the solid performance it is producing with investors, community leaders and associates in person.

We kicked off 2023 by hosting a Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts on our Ft. Worth campus. Then, after a COVID-induced delay of several years, we were finally able to welcome Swiss officials, business leaders, physicians and media to the official opening of our global headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Later in the year, we unveiled our state-of-the-art contact lens manufacturing facility in Grosswallstadt, Germany, and held ground-breaking ceremonies for a cutting-edge expansion of our Huntington, West Virginia IOL production plant.

In addition, members of the Executive Leadership Team and I celebrated the 50th anniversary of our business in Japan and Alcon’s 30th anniversary in Korea. We also spent time with our commercial, manufacturing and global services teams in Singapore, Indonesia and India.

What was clear in each of these interactions was the unwavering dedication of our associates to the long-term success of our business and their passion for our purpose of helping people around the world See Brilliantly. Thanks to their efforts, including excellent commercial execution and

increased operational efficiency, we delivered strong financial results, including growth in:

•Surgical and Vision Care sales that consistently outpaced the market,

•core diluted EPS,

•core operating margin, and

•free cash flow.

The fact that they did so despite persistent economic headwinds, including inflation, supply chain challenges and foreign exchange impacts, makes these results particularly noteworthy.

In 2023, we continued to extend our lead in delivering life-changing eye care products and technologies around the world. Alcon is #1 in eye surgery (equipment, implantables and consumables) globally. Today, half of all the ATIOLs implanted around the world are Alcon lenses. Our flagship lenses, VIVITY and PANOPTIX, continued to lead the category. We are also #1 in total vision care, and #2 in branded contact lenses. The past year saw continued customer enthusiasm for our contact lenses, including our fastest growing brand family, PRECISION1, and our toric offerings in PRECISION1, DAILIES TOTAL1 and TOTAL30 for patients with astigmatism.

With more than 25,000 associates, Alcon represents the single greatest concentration of eye care market and technical expertise in the world. In 2023, we continued to rank among the best places to work in markets around the world.

We have created an unrivaled eye care R&D engine, product pipeline, and production footprint. Our commitment to investing 7-9% of sales into R&D annually has put us in the enviable position of having more than 90 active development projects. The solutions resulting from this commitment to innovation are expected to:

•Improve existing technologies and clinical platforms,

•Deliver differentiated solutions in areas of need, and

•Drive practice and clinical efficiency for providers and improve access, outcomes and experiences for patients.

Significant commercial launches in 2023 include TOTAL30 Multifocal for patients with presbyopia and SMARTCataract, which links data systems and diagnostic devices in the clinic with equipment in the operating room. This pace is anticipated to continue in the current year across both franchises, while the integration of the Aerie pharmaceutical R&D team, completed in 2023, opens possibilities for first- or best-in-class treatments for dry eye and retinal disorders in the future.

We also accelerated innovation through the entire value chain, improving manufacturing efficiency and capacity through automation and data management.

We envision a world in which eye care is accessible to all and preventable vision loss is eliminated. In our Social Impact and Sustainability Report, we provide details on the progress we have made against our Brilliant Lives, Brilliant Innovation and Brilliant Planet pillars. Those achievements were expanded in 2023, including the opening of our Children's Vision Center in Ft. Worth, recognition as Industry of the Year for our environmental stewardship in Ft. Worth and the expansion of our Phaco Development program to Africa.

Our commitments to innovation and corporate responsibility continued to be supported by our efforts to build a diverse workforce, foster an inclusive culture and create opportunities for associates to unleash their full potential.

I believe Alcon is in the best position it has been in many years. At the start of 2023, we asked our associates to make a Brilliant Impact. You will see, in the pages that follow, confirmation that they did just that.

Sincerely,

Vision is essential to our everyday lives—it allows us to experience the world around us and connect with our surroundings. Approximately 80% of what we learn is obtained through visual processing of information, yet a large gap in vision knowledge and care exists across the world.

Approximately 90% of vision impairments are curable and many times they are preventable. With greater education and proper eye care, it is estimated that $100 billion could be saved in health care system costs alone, in addition to the immense economic burden patients with these impairments face.

At Alcon, we understand the importance of vision care. Alcon sees a significant opportunity to make a difference in people's lives, allowing them to preserve their sight and ultimately improve their quality of life with the products and solutions we provide. We see a world where treatable, preventable eye care conditions receive the attention they need, regardless of someone’s geography, gender, age or socioeconomic status. We believe that when people See Brilliantly, they live brilliantly.

To solve for these unmet needs, we must first address three underlying trends that continue to elevate the need for greater emphasis on eye health.

The aging population will further drive the demand for eye care solutions, with more than two billion people reaching the age of 60+ by 2050 worldwide.6 There is also an epidemic of myopia, or near-sightedness, which in part can be attributed to higher screen time on phones and tablets. Half of the world’s population will be myopic by 2050.7 Finally, significant ocular comorbidities—such as diabetes and hypertension—are on the rise, contributing to an increase in retinal disease.8

The good news? Alcon's innovation continues to meet the many needs that exist today, while considering the visual needs of tomorrow across the surgical and vision care markets.

The surgical market in which we operate is an estimated $13 billion today—and is projected to grow mid-single digits per year from 2023 to 2028. This market includes sales of equipment, consumables that support a safe surgical procedure, and implantables. Overall, we estimate that this market is growing at approximately 6% annually.

Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss globally with more than 30 million cataract surgeries performed globally in 2022. By 2025, approximately 5.4 million cataract surgeries will be performed in the U.S. and by 2050, that number is expected to double. Globally, the number of surgeries is anticipated to reach over 60 million by 2045, underscoring the need for speed and innovation in the space.

Alcon’s market-leading Centurion phacoemulsification system brings advanced technology to the operating room with near-to-physiological intraocular pressure and enhanced chamber stability. In the vitreoretinal space, Alcon's Constellation platform is designed for surgeon control, stability and efficiency and remains the gold standard in the category.

In addition to our market-leading equipment, Alcon surgical sales include our best-in-class equipment ecosystem connecting the clinic to the operating room, our robust services offering and cloud-based planning.

In implantables, Alcon's intraocular lenses ("IOLs") include monofocal and advanced technology intraocular lenses (“ATIOLs”), which have been implanted in more than 125 million eyes globally. ATIOLs can provide cataract patients with additional refractive correction—often reducing the need for glasses after cataract surgery.

The implantables category also includes Hydrus Microstent, a minimally invasive glaucoma surgery ("MIGS") device designed to lower eye pressure for open-angle glaucoma patients in connection with cataract surgery.

The vision care market in which we operate is estimated at $21 billion—and projected to grow mid-single digits per year from 2023 to 2028. Sales include contact lenses, which are growing mid-single digits, mainly due to a shift in increased daily wearers and growth in specialty lenses.

Across the globe, a significant portion of the population experiences astigmatism, an imperfection in the curvature of the eye’s cornea or lens, and 1.8 billion people have presbyopia, the gradual loss of the ability to see things clearly up close, furthering the need for specialty lens innovation. Alcon lenses include toric lenses to address astigmatism and multifocality to address presbyopia.

Vision care sales also include our ocular health category, which includes prescription and over-the-counter ("OTC") eye drops. Alcon's OTC products include Systane artificial tears, to address dry eye, and Pataday for ocular allergies. In the pharmaceutical category, our latest products include the eye drops Rocklatan and Rhopressa for glaucoma.

Based on the identified market trends and overflow of unmet needs, Alcon has a significant opportunity, and responsibility, to bring forth an era of innovation that is focused on speed and patient outcomes to address the current state of eye care. At Alcon, we will never stop pursuing new products and solutions that will help even more people See Brilliantly.

In 2023, net sales to third parties increased 8%, or 10% on a constant currency basis.* This growth was driven by strong performance in international markets in the Surgical franchise, and by strength across the portfolio in the Vision Care franchise, including contribution from pricing and acquired products.

Surgical sales of $5.3 billion increased 5%, or 8% in constant currency.* Implantables included a negative 3% related to an insurance change in South Korea that took effect April 1, 2022. Implantables constant currency growth was driven by intraocular lenses in other international markets. Consumables sales reflected favorable market conditions across geographies and price increases. Sales in equipment/other were driven by strong demand for cataract and vitreoretinal equipment in international markets and higher service revenues.

Vision Care sales of $4.1 billion increased 12%, including 4% from products acquired in 2022. Vision Care sales increased 14% in constant currency.* Contact lens sales were driven by product innovation, including sphere and toric product launches and price increases, partially offset by declines in legacy lenses. In Ocular Health, sales growth was primarily driven by the portfolio of eye drops, including acquired ophthalmic pharmaceutical products, price increases and recovery from supply chain challenges in contact lens care.

Both franchises were negatively impacted by foreign currency.

Operating margin increased 3.3 percentage points and 4.7 percentage points on a constant currency basis.* Core operating margin* expanded by 1.5 basis points over 2022, and 2.8 percentage points on a constant currency basis.*

We generated $1.4 billion in net cash from operating activities and $730 million in free cash flow*, while continuing to expand our contact lens manufacturing capacity.

*    A non-IFRS measure. Please refer to Item 5 of this Annual Report for additional information and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable measure presented in accordance with IFRS.

Innovation is at the heart of Alcon’s mission to help people See Brilliantly and aspire to lead the world in eye care innovation.

Long-standing customer partnership and insights are where it all starts. We glean insights from patient behaviors, challenges and successes—oftentimes shared by Eye Care Professionals ("ECPs") and what they’re seeing in their practices. Whether an ECP is helping their patient decide on a contact lens, treating their dry eye or addressing their cataracts through surgery, our goal is to shadow our customers to deliver meaningful solutions that meet those needs.

This approach coupled with our technical expertise is the secret sauce to our innovative new products and solutions.

Our commitment to continued innovation can be seen in our level of investment, which remains unsurpassed in the eye care industry. Each year, we invest between 7 and 9 percent of sales into R&D, and as a result, our innovation engine is driving one of the most active, productive periods in the history of Alcon. Today, we have more than 90 active projects in our pipeline supported by more than 1,800 R&D associates.

The Surgical R&D team continues to strengthen our market-leading ATIOLs, PanOptix and Vivity, with the industry’s most advanced IOL material—Clareon. The

team is spearheading an ophthalmic digital revolution with the introduction of more workflow connectivity for our surgical equipment ecosystem. Now, surgeons can seamlessly integrate the ARGOS Biometer with Image Guidance and NGENUITY 1.5, which features unsurpassed visualization enhancements. With these integration capabilities, surgeons can drive efficiencies by reducing tedious manual data entry for staff, ultimately increasing confidence in surgical accuracy.

In 2023, we launched TOTAL30 for Astigmatism and TOTAL30 Multifocal monthly contact lenses as we look to offer more complete contact lens portfolios, including new technology for reusable contact lenses. We continue to bring more patients into our latest portfolio of ocular health products, including ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, Rocklatan, Rhopressa, Simbrinza, Eysuvis and Inveltys.

Beyond product innovations, we are revolutionizing our manufacturing with a new platform we call DSM Flex. DSM Flex will support our contact lens business to drive more efficiencies and create meaningful cost savings. In addition, the platform will create a more seamless experience for our customers and patients when using Alcon products.

Alcon remains united by our commitment to helping people See Brilliantly across the world. It’s the DNA of our company and it resonates with our colleagues across all markets.