Baxter International Inc. (BAX)

FairStock Score: 45/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I approach Baxter as a Graham-style turnaround, not a compounder. It sells sterile IV solutions, infusion systems, nutrition therapies and generic injectables—necessary hospital products with regulatory and reliability barriers, but I cannot call the moat wide when the FairStock calculations show return on capital of only 2.85% and return on equity of -14.37%. The filed record is uneven: fiscal year 2023 earned $2.7B, fiscal year 2024 lost $649M, and fiscal year 2025 lost $957M on $11.2B of revenue. Latest evidence is better: in fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-06-30, revenue was $3.0B and net income was $126M, or EPS $0.24, after a fiscal Q1 2026 loss of $15M. The Piotroski F-score of 7/9 and trailing twelve-month free cash flow of $812M suggest stabilization. Still, debt to equity of 1.56 and an Altman Z-score of 1.95 leave little room for disappointment. At the $25.29 close on 2026-10-26, the negative P/E is not useful; FairStock's P/B is 2.11 and EV/EBITDA is 27.03, which is not cheap for a low-return business. The 6.2% FCF yield is the main valuation support, while the 0.18% dividend is negligible. FairStock's 45/100 score and the Lynch TURNAROUND label—loss in the latest year after earlier profits—fit. Growth is improving off a low base, but I need durable margins and lower leverage before calling this bargain.

In plain English: Baxter makes medical products such as sterile IV solutions, infusion systems, and generic injectables for hospitals. The business looks weak on annual profits, with losses in fiscal year 2025, but the latest quarter was profitable and it generates positive cash. At $25.29, the price looks fair to expensive compared with its weak earnings and returns, though cash generation gives some support.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-26 close · note generated 2026-10-28 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer