Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.850-2.050 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.280. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.0 billion-$3.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.3 billion.

Baxter International Price Performance

BAX stock opened at $18.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.32. The company has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $37.74.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Baxter International had a negative net margin of 3.09% and a positive return on equity of 17.38%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. Research analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -6.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on BAX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Baxter International from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Baxter International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

Key Headlines Impacting Baxter International

Here are the key news stories impacting Baxter International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baxter delivered revenue growth (Q4 sales +8% year‑over‑year) and topped revenue estimates, showing underlying demand across its businesses. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The board declared a very small quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share (ex‑dividend 2/27), which is immaterial to income investors given the ~0.2% yield.
• Neutral Sentiment: Baxter hosted an earnings call and provided supporting materials; management emphasized a new operating model and ongoing initiatives to restore margins. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed expectations: $0.44 vs. consensus ~$0.53, reflecting margin pressure despite revenue upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance was cut to $1.85–$2.05 EPS versus a ~$2.28 street consensus, a primary driver of the selloff. Management cited persistent effects from a hurricane‑related outage at a key plant. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators highlighted margin contraction, elevated leverage concerns and downgraded views on near‑term recovery, contributing to heavy relative underperformance in the S&P. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAX. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,436 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Baxter International by 2.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 649,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $19,666,000 after purchasing an additional 18,439 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $231,304,000 after purchasing an additional 97,687 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 21.4% in the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 24,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 5.5% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,813 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.