BAX vs. IDXX: Baxter vs. IDEXX Laboratories Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) are both classified in the Health Care Equipment sub-industry within the broader Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Profile Item	BAX	IDXX
Name	Baxter International Inc.	IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
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 Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	13.34 billion USD	53.26 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	October 27, 1981	June 21, 1991
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BAX

IDXX

GSPC

Baxter (BAX) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), 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

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Trailing total returns for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
Total Return (1Y)	45.72%	-1.84%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-5.53%	18.42%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-17.96%	2.02%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BAX

IDXX

GSPC

Baxter (BAX) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), 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

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

Risk Metrics

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) has an aggressive beta of 1.44, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Baxter (BAX) is defensive at 0.62 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.31%	37.02%
Beta (5Y)	0.62	1.44
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-80.61%	-50.91%
Avg. Volume (3M)	6.53M	564.80K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BAX and IDXX 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.98	-0.17
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.42	-0.28

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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) reports 68.93%, 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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

68.93%

IDXX: 68.93%
Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Baxter (BAX) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) reports 25.36%, 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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.36%

Max: 29.35%
IDXX: 25.36%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 33.14% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Baxter (BAX) at 9.88%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

33.14%

Max: 35.43%
IDXX: 33.14%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
ROE (TTM)	-9.04%	68.93%
ROA (TTM)	2.71%	26.70%
Net Margin (TTM)	-6.23%	25.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	9.88%	33.14%
Gross Margin (TTM)	33.37%	62.72%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Baxter (BAX) at 5.72% and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 10.42% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Baxter (BAX) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) reports EPS growth of 22.59%, ranked against its industry; Baxter (BAX) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Baxter (BAX) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.72%	10.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.79%	8.52%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	22.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	17.66%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Baxter (BAX) at 1.79 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 1.19 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for IDXX.

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.19

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
IDXX: 1.19
Min: 0.30

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 0.52 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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.52

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
IDXX: 0.52
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Baxter (BAX) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.79	1.19
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.36	0.52
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.73	0.46

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Baxter (BAX) reports a yield of 0.16%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

IDXX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Baxter (BAX) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): 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; IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%).

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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

IDXX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.16%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	154.67%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) trades at 45.56 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: --

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

45.56

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
IDXX: 45.56
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Baxter (BAX) at 1.15 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 11.42 clears its benchmark range — IDXX looks notably rich on sales.

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.42

IDXX: 11.42
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Baxter (BAX) at 2.05 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 28.50 prices above its benchmark range — IDXX looks rich relative to book.

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

28.50

IDXX: 28.50
Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Baxter (BAX) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	BAX	IDXX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	45.56
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.15	11.42
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.05	28.50
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	9.16%	2.00%