Start here if you're new
what it is
Baxter sells the hospital gear and therapies that keep IVs flowing, beds connected, and surgeries stocked.
how it gets paid
Last year Bax made $11.2B in revenue. sterile iv solutions and infusion systems was the main engine at $3.6B, or 32% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 5.7% last year. The number that matters is 33.9% gross margin because margin repair.
what just happened
Revenue hit $8.3B, but investors are still stuck on execution misses and weak guidance.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
85/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
8.2x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
0.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
10.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 45/100 — below average
What they do
Baxter sells the hospital gear and therapies that keep IVs flowing, beds connected, and surgeries stocked.
Hospitals do not swap out infusion pumps, beds, and monitoring systems for fun. Retraining staff and changing workflows is expensive and slow. Baxter sells into that friction, and 38,000 employees give it the scale to keep those products inside your hospital once they are in.
How they make money
$11.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +5.7% last year
sterile iv solutions and infusion systems
$3.6B
+3.0%
patient support systems and monitoring
$2.8B
+8.0%
injectable pharmaceuticals and inhaled anesthesia
$2.0B
+4.0%
parenteral nutrition therapies
$1.5B
+2.0%
advanced surgery and respiratory health
$1.3B
1.0%
The products that matter
core franchise
hospital medtech base
$11.2B annual revenue
the free snapshot does not break out every segment, so the headline number is the point: this is still a large medical products business with real scale.
scale still matters
problem area
novum iq pumps
mid-2025 shipment hold
a safety-related hold in mid-2025 turned a product issue into an earnings issue. In medtech, product quality problems do not stay in one lane.
execution risk
balance sheet constraint
debt load
$8.7B · 46% of capital
this is the quiet part loud. Baxter has room to fix itself, but not endless room. If recovery drags, leverage matters more than the headline P/E.
limits room for error
Key numbers
7.9x
2027 eps est.
EPS → profit per share → so what: at $19.65, you are paying about 7.9 times the 2027 profit target of $2.50.
$25
18-month target
Target price → where the shares may trade in 18 months → so what: that points to about 27% upside from $19.65 if the turnaround finally lands.
2.7%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: Baxter is still losing money on operations while most mature medtech companies run positive margins.
$8.7B
long-term debt
Debt → money the company owes → so what: $8.7B equals 46% of capital, which makes every turnaround mistake more expensive.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 60 / 100
- long-term debt $8.7B (46% of capital)
- net profit margin 12.4% — keeps 12 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 20% — $0.20 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in BAX 3 years ago → it's now worth $4,590.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Revenue hit $8.3B, but investors are still stuck on execution misses and weak guidance.
Revenue rose 192% vs. prior year and gross margin was 33.9%. But the last reported earnings result of -$2.16 versus a $0.55 estimate wrecked confidence in the recovery script.
$8.3B
revenue
$0.33
eps
33.9%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that matters is 33.9% gross margin because margin repair, not sales growth, is what has to turn this stock from cheap to working.
-
baxter will likely continue to face headwinds in 2026.
-
recent earnings comparisons have been difficult due to a combination of operational challenges.at the top of the list is hurricane helene, which caused significant damage to the company’s north carolina manufacturing plant in late 2024 and continues to have lingering adverse impacts on the business. a shipment hold on baxter’s novum iq pumps due to safety concerns in mid-2025, coupled with macro-related softness across several core segments, also represented key drags last year. on a positive note, baxter entered 2026 with a new management team, and we are optimistic that recent strategy shifts focused on margin improvement and simplifying the portfolio will fuel recovery and increased stabilization over the course of this year.
-
however, we anticipate these initiatives will likely take some time to gain traction.
-
our presentation calls for another earnings decline in 2026, followed by a recovery in 2027.
-
the dividend was cut...again.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
Baxter's top risk is execution failure in manufacturing and infusion systems. A late-2024 plant disruption and a mid-2025 pump shipment hold already showed how quickly operating problems can leak into earnings.
med
manufacturing disruptions linger longer than expected
The North Carolina plant damage from late 2024 is not just old news if recovery costs and supply issues keep showing up in 2026. A company with $11.2B in revenue still feels these bottlenecks when core hospital products are involved.
The North Carolina plant damage from late 2024 is not just old news if recovery costs and supply issues keep showing up in 2026. A company with $11.2B in revenue still feels these bottlenecks when core hospital products are involved.
med
product quality or regulatory issues around Novum IQ widen
The mid-2025 shipment hold is the obvious proof point. In medtech, a safety-related restriction can pressure revenue, margins, and customer trust at the same time.
The mid-2025 shipment hold is the obvious proof point. In medtech, a safety-related restriction can pressure revenue, margins, and customer trust at the same time.
med
margin repair takes longer than management hopes
An 11.1% net margin gives Baxter room to improve, but not infinite room to disappoint. If margin recovery stalls while earnings keep falling, the stock can stay optically cheap for a long time.
An 11.1% net margin gives Baxter room to improve, but not infinite room to disappoint. If margin recovery stalls while earnings keep falling, the stock can stay optically cheap for a long time.
med
legal overhang and capital return credibility stay weak
Ongoing class action litigation is already in the risk conversation. Add a dividend yield of 0.2% after another cut, and investors have less reason to stay patient while the cleanup drags.
Ongoing class action litigation is already in the risk conversation. Add a dividend yield of 0.2% after another cut, and investors have less reason to stay patient while the cleanup drags.
The stock is cheap because the business still has to prove it can turn -2.7% operating margin back into normal healthcare economics.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
next report
did the cleanup finally show up in the numbers
Watch the next quarterly report for evidence that the recovery plan is moving the $11.2B revenue base in the right direction, not just generating better language on conference calls.
product risk
Novum IQ shipment restrictions
You want clean progress here. Another setback would tell you the problem was not isolated and would keep pressure on both revenue and credibility.
margin
whether 11.1% net margin starts moving higher
This is the simplest scoreboard for management. If margins do not improve, the turnaround story is just a story.
ownership trend
the three-quarter institutional selling streak
If that reverses, it tells you bigger money is starting to believe the repair trade. If it continues, the market is still voting no.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
bottom 5%
in human-speak, analysts think this stock is likely to lag badly over the next 6–12 months.
safety
average
stability score 3 — this sits near the middle of the pack on risk, not in the bunker category.
technical
average
technical score 3 — no strong trend signal. The chart is not doing the turnaround work for you.
earnings predictability
85 / 100
guidance has been relatively dependable. That helps you model the pain, even if it does not make the stock perform.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 3 consecutive quarters — 323 buyers vs. 368 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.5B shares. net selling for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$15
$35
$20
current price
$25
target midpoint · +27% from current · 3-5yr high: $40 (+105% · 19% ann'l return)
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