What’s Happening With Baxter International Stock

August 26th, 2025 by Trefis Team
BAX: Baxter International logo
BAX
Baxter International

Baxter stock (NYSE: BAX), a healthcare company, has seen its stock drop by 14% over the past month. This decline follows a downbeat earnings report where the company also lowered its full-year guidance, partly due to the impact of Hurricane Helene on one of its manufacturing plants. This raises the question: is Baxter stock an attractive buy at its current price of around $25?

While the company undeniably faces challenges, our analysis suggests that the stock’s current valuation already reflects these negatives. We arrived at this conclusion by comparing Baxter’s current valuation to its recent operating performance and historical financial health. Our analysis, which evaluates the company on key parameters such as Growth, Profitability, Financial Stability, and Downturn Resilience, indicates a weak operating performance and financial condition. However, as noted, the market seems to have accounted for these issues.

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How Does Baxter International’s Valuation Look vs. The S&P 500?

Going by what you pay per dollar of sales or profit, BAX stock looks cheap compared to the broader market.

  • Baxter International has a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 1.2 vs. a figure of 3.3 for the S&P 500

How Have Baxter International’s Revenues Grown Over Recent Years?

Baxter International’s Revenues have fallen over recent years.

  • Baxter International has seen its top line decline at an average rate of 5.7% over the last 3 years (vs. increase of 5.3% for S&P 500)
  • Its revenues have grown 3.6% from $11 Bil to $11 Bil in the last 12 months (vs. growth of 5.2% for S&P 500)
  • Also, its quarterly revenues grew 4.3% to $2.8 Bil in the most recent quarter from $2.7 Bil a year ago (vs. 6.1% improvement for S&P 500)

How Profitable Is Baxter International?

Baxter International’s profit margins are considerably worse than most companies in the Trefis coverage universe.

Does Baxter International Look Financially Stable?

Baxter International’s balance sheet looks fine.

  • Baxter International’s Debt figure was $9.7 Bil at the end of the most recent quarter, while its market capitalization is $13 Bil (as of 8/25/2025). This implies a moderate Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 77.2%(vs. 20.2% for S&P 500). [Note: A low Debt-to-Equity Ratio is desirable]
  • Cash (including cash equivalents) makes up $1.7 Bil of the $21 Bil in Total Assets for Baxter International.  This yields a moderate Cash-to-Assets Ratio of 8.0% (vs. 7.0% for S&P 500)

How Resilient Is BAX Stock During A Downturn?

BAX stock has seen an impact that was slightly better than the benchmark S&P 500 index during some of the recent downturns. Worried about the impact of a market crash on BAX stock? Our dashboard – BAX Down 15% In A Month. How Confident Are You In The Stock? – has a detailed analysis of how the stock performed during and after previous market crashes.

Inflation Shock (2022)

  • BAX stock fell 64.6% from a high of $89.45 on 9 February 2022 to $31.71 on 12 October 2023, vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 25.4% for the S&P 500
  • The stock is yet to recover to its pre-Crisis high
  • The highest the stock has reached since then is 43.77 on 10 March 2024 and currently trades at around $25

COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)

  • BAX stock fell 23.3% from a high of $93.30 on 6 February 2020 to $71.57 on 16 March 2020, vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 33.9% for the S&P 500
  • The stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 20 April 2020

Global Financial Crisis (2008)

  • BAX stock fell 34.8% from a high of $38.69 on 8 August 2008 to $25.24 on 10 June 2009, vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 56.8% for the S&P 500
  • The stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 26 March 2013

Putting All The Pieces Together: What It Means For BAX Stock

In summary, Baxter International’s performance across the parameters detailed above are as follows:

  • Growth: Inconsistent
  • Profitability: Very Weak
  • Financial Stability: Moderate
  • Downturn Resilience: Moderate
  • Overall: Weak

While Baxter’s performance on the metrics discussed has been weak, its valuation appears to reflect these challenges. The stock currently trades at 1.3 times its trailing revenue, significantly lower than its five-year average of 2.6 times. This suggests it may be attractive from a valuation perspective, but its inconsistent revenue growth and poor profit margins are a concern.

Analysts have an average price target of $30 for Baxter, which implies a potential upside of around 20% from current levels. Despite this, we believe there are more compelling investment opportunities available. For example, consider our analysis of UNH Stock To $600, and 50% Upside For LLY Stock, as well as – Should You Buy Abbott Stock – within the medical devices sector.

You could also explore the Trefis Reinforced Value (RV) Portfolio, which has outperformed its all-cap stocks benchmark (combination of the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 benchmark indices) to produce strong returns for investors. Why is that? The quarterly rebalanced mix of large-, mid- and small-cap RV Portfolio stocks provided a responsive way to make the most of upbeat market conditions while limiting losses when markets head south, as detailed in RV Portfolio performance metrics.

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