One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$22.96 our estimate vs market $23.71
Wall Street consensus: $28.73 (25.1% higher than our fair-value estimate)
3% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Baxter International Inc.
BAX · NYQ · Healthcare · Medical Instruments & Supplies
Current price
$23.71
52-week range
$15.73 - $30.00
Market cap
$12.26B
Balance sheet
Distressed
0.61x Concerning
Net debt $7.52B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
1 Risk
3 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 2.0% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
- Reward Dividend yield is 0.2% with 45-year payout history.
- Risk Return on equity was -14.4% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
What this company does
Baxter International Inc.
Baxter International provides hospitals and clinics with essential medical supplies, from the IV bags and pumps used to deliver fluids to advanced surgical equipment. Because these products are used daily and are critical for patient care around the world, the company benefits from a steady demand for its products. This creates a consistent business as healthcare providers continuously need to restock these fundamental items.
How the company got here
Founded in 1931 by Dr. Donald Baxter, the company started as a maker of intravenous (IV) solutions, which are fluids given to patients to prevent dehydration. Over many decades, it grew by developing new products like the first artificial kidney and by acquiring other companies to expand its offerings for hospitals. A major recent change was buying a company called Hillrom in 2021, which added 'smart' hospital beds and patient monitoring tools to its business. To focus more on its core hospital products, Baxter has been simplifying its business, including selling its biopharma solutions unit and separating its kidney care division.
What it actually does
Baxter makes a wide range of essential products that are used in hospitals, clinics, and even in patients' homes. Think of them as providing the fundamental infrastructure for patient care. Their products include things like IV bags and the pumps that deliver fluids and medicines, nutritional therapies, and equipment for surgery. They also make smart hospital beds that can monitor a patient's vital signs and specialty drugs that are ready to be injected.
Medical Products & Therapies
This is Baxter's largest business area, making up about a third of its sales. It includes many of the fundamental products you'd see in a hospital, such as sterile IV solutions for hydration and nutrition, and the infusion pumps and tubing needed to deliver them to a patient. This segment also provides advanced products for surgeons, like sealants to help stop bleeding during operations. Hospitals and clinics are the main customers, buying these products for everyday patient care.
Healthcare Systems & Technologies
This part of the company focuses on high-tech equipment and connected devices for hospitals, largely thanks to the acquisition of Hillrom. A key product is 'smart' hospital beds that have sensors to monitor a patient's heart rate and breathing without being hooked up to wires. It also includes patient monitoring systems, diagnostic tools to help doctors assess patients, and other advanced equipment used in operating rooms. The goal is to connect different devices to help caregivers get a better real-time picture of a patient's health.
Pharmaceuticals
This segment produces specialty injectable drugs, anesthetics used for surgery, and drug compounding services (the process of combining or altering drugs to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient). Many of these products are sold in ready-to-use formats, which helps reduce the risk of errors in busy hospital settings. The customers are typically hospital pharmacies and other healthcare providers who need these specific medications for patient treatment.
What management is betting on now
The company's leadership is focused on simplifying its business to concentrate on its core hospital products and connected care technologies. A major priority is paying down the debt that was taken on to buy Hillrom, which has led them to sell off parts of the company not central to this new focus. They are also working on making their supply chain (the entire process of making and delivering a product) more resilient to avoid shortages. The overall goal is to improve operational efficiency and drive long-term growth by innovating in areas like 'smart' IV pumps and other digitally connected healthcare tools.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q4
$42.00M
FY2025 Q4
$71.00M
Revenue
$2.96B
Net income
$126.00M
Diluted EPS
0.24
Operating cash flow
$285.00M
Free cash flow
—
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Sources
Revenue
$2.70B
Net income
$-15.00M
Diluted EPS
-0.03
Operating cash flow
$213.00M
Free cash flow
—
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Sources
Revenue
$2.97B
Net income
$-1.13B
Diluted EPS
-2.21
Operating cash flow
$584.00M
Free cash flow
$71.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$2.83B
Net income
$-46.00M
Diluted EPS
-0.09
Operating cash flow
$237.00M
Free cash flow
—
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Sources
Revenue
$2.81B
Net income
$91.00M
Diluted EPS
0.18
Operating cash flow
$217.00M
Free cash flow
—
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Sources
Revenue
$2.62B
Net income
$126.00M
Diluted EPS
0.25
Operating cash flow
$-193.00M
Free cash flow
—
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Sources
Revenue
$2.75B
Net income
$-512.00M
Diluted EPS
-1.00
Operating cash flow
$488.00M
Free cash flow
$42.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$2.70B
Net income
$140.00M
Diluted EPS
0.27
Operating cash flow
$253.00M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $22.96 vs current price $23.71
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $28.73 (25.1% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $22.96 a share — about 3.2% away from today's price of $23.71, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $7.5B. Interest coverage 0.6x.
Net debt
$7.52B
Interest coverage
0.61x
Baxter International Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 0.6 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
BAX
BASELINE
Baxter International Inc.
Total debt $9.67B Interest coverage 0.61x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $12.67B Interest coverage 4.75x +679% vs BAX Carries about 7.8x more debt cushion than BAX.
Total debt $16.81B Interest coverage 4.87x +698% vs BAX Carries about 8.0x more debt cushion than BAX.
Total debt $28.15B Interest coverage 9.55x +1,465% vs BAX Carries about 15.6x more debt cushion than BAX.
Total debt $7.60B Interest coverage 4.63x +659% vs BAX Carries about 7.6x more debt cushion than BAX.
Total debt $10.00B Interest coverage 9.12x +1,394% vs BAX Carries about 14.9x more debt cushion than BAX.
What you should know
The case for and against BAX
3 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 2.0% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
-
Dividend yield is 0.2% with 45-year payout history.
Risks
-
Return on equity was -14.4% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
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Forward P/E
11.64x
P/B
1.98x
P/S
1.07x
EV/EBITDA
10.48x
PEG ratio
36.68x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
34.1%
Operating margin
14.4%
Net margin
-9.3%
ROE
-14.4%
ROA
2.9%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
1.56x
Current ratio
1.95x
Quick ratio
1.13x
Total debt
$9.67B
Total cash
$2.15B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$11.47B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-1.9%
EPS TTM
-1.87
EPS 5Y CAGR
—
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.32B
Free CF TTM
$332.00M
FCF margin
2.9%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.2%
Payout ratio
307.7%
Last ex-div date
2026-08-28