Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for BAX Q3 Earnings

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Baxter International in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $0.59 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.60. Zacks Research has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Baxter International’s current full-year earnings is $2.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Baxter International’s FY2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $0.62 EPS.

BAX has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Baxter International from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $21.40.

Baxter International Stock Performance

BAX opened at $20.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $37.74.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 3.09% and a positive return on equity of 17.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 169.6% during the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently -6.06%.

About Baxter International

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.