BAX vs. CI: Baxter vs. Cigna Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but BAX is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies while CI is classified in Health Care Providers & Services.

Company profile comparison for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Profile Item	BAX	CI
Name	Baxter International Inc.	The Cigna Group
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Health Care Services
Market Capitalization	13.34 billion USD	77.36 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	October 27, 1981	March 31, 1982
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BAX

GSPC

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
Total Return (1Y)	45.72%	13.95%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-5.53%	2.65%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-17.96%	8.40%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BAX

GSPC

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.31%	26.82%
Beta (5Y)	0.62	0.24
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-80.61%	-32.10%
Avg. Volume (3M)	6.53M	1.55M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BAX and CI are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.98	0.36
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.42	0.54

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Baxter (BAX) reports a negative ROE of -9.04%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile Cigna (CI) reports 15.65%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-9.04%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
BAX: -9.04%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.65%

Max: 47.61%
CI: 15.65%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Baxter (BAX) reports a negative net margin of -6.23%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile Cigna (CI) reports 2.09%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-6.23%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
BAX: -6.23%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.09%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
CI: 2.09%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Baxter (BAX) at 9.88% and Cigna (CI) at 3.48% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.88%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
BAX: 9.88%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.48%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CI: 3.48%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
ROE (TTM)	-9.04%	15.65%
ROA (TTM)	2.71%	4.29%
Net Margin (TTM)	-6.23%	2.09%
Operating Margin (TTM)	9.88%	3.48%
Gross Margin (TTM)	33.37%	9.09%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Baxter (BAX) at 5.72% and Cigna (CI) at 11.26% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Cigna (CI) reports EPS growth of 83.00%, ranked against its industry; Baxter (BAX) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.72%	11.26%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.79%	15.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	83.00%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	1.36%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Baxter (BAX) at 1.79 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Cigna (CI) at 0.84 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CI.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.79

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
BAX: 1.79
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.84

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CI: 0.84
Min: 0.30

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Cigna (CI) at 0.71 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Baxter (BAX) at 1.36 uses more debt funding than most peers.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.36

Max: 1.88
BAX: 1.36
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.71

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
CI: 0.71
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.79	0.84
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.36	0.71
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.73	1.87

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Baxter (BAX) at 0.16% and Cigna (CI) at 2.05% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.16%

BAX: 0.16%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.05%

CI: 2.05%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Baxter (BAX) reports payout ratio above 100% at 154.67%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Cigna (CI) reports 27.29%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

154.67%

BAX: 154.67%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

27.29%

CI: 27.29%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.16%	2.05%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	154.67%	27.29%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: Cigna (CI) trades at 12.94 times trailing earnings, ranked against its peers, while Baxter (BAX) has no P/E ratio this period.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21
BAX: --

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

12.94

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
CI: 12.94
Min: 4.21

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): BAX does not report P/E ratio, so it has no value marker; CI is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Cigna (CI) at 0.27 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Baxter (BAX) at 1.15 prices around its industry’s middle — CI costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.15

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
BAX: 1.15
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.27

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CI: 0.27
Min: 0.03

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Baxter (BAX) at 2.05 and Cigna (CI) at 1.79 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

BAX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.05

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
BAX: 2.05
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

CI

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.79

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
CI: 1.79
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Baxter (BAX) vs. Cigna (CI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Cigna (CI)
Metric	BAX	CI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	12.94
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.15	0.27
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.05	1.79
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	9.16%	10.59%