Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for BAX Earnings

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Baxter International in a research note issued on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $0.31 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.35. Zacks Research has a “Hold” 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 Q2 2026 earnings at $0.43 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.53 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.61 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.88 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.36 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.61 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.17 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BAX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Evercore cut their target price on Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.80.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of BAX stock opened at $17.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $15.73 and a twelve month high of $32.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.64.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.95% and a negative net margin of 8.51%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently -2.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Baxter International

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q4 2026 EPS view to $0.61 (from $0.59), a modest upside for the late‑year quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also nudged its FY2028 EPS estimate higher to $2.17 (from $2.12), signaling slightly improved longer‑term expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Baxter scheduled its Q1 2026 earnings call for Apr 30 — a key event for fresh revenue and margin details. Conference Call Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut multiple near‑term quarterly EPS estimates (Q1–Q3 2026 and Q1–Q3 2027) and lowered FY2026 to $1.88 (from $1.93) and FY2027 to $2.02 (from $2.08); the firm retains a “Hold” rating — pressure on near‑term growth expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore trimmed its price target on BAX to $22. Evercore Price Target Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Baxter’s FY2026 EPS guidance of $1.85–$2.05 sits slightly below the consensus midpoint (~$1.93); revenue guidance ~$11.2B–$11.4B is roughly in line but the lower EPS range reinforces investor caution.

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.