BAX vs. ISRG: Baxter vs. Intuitive Surgical Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Baxter (BAX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Profile Item	BAX	ISRG
Name	Baxter International Inc.	Intuitive Surgical 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	159.96 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	October 27, 1981	June 16, 2000
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BAX

ISRG

GSPC

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
Total Return (1Y)	45.72%	-17.61%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-5.53%	19.20%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-17.96%	4.85%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BAX

ISRG

GSPC

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has an aggressive beta of 1.41, 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.31%	35.53%
Beta (5Y)	0.62	1.41
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-80.61%	-49.88%
Avg. Volume (3M)	6.53M	2.43M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BAX and ISRG 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.98	-0.62
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.42	-0.83

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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports 17.93%, 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.93%

Max: 47.61%
ISRG: 17.93%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports 25.54%, 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.54%

Max: 29.35%
ISRG: 25.54%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 33.29% 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

33.29%

Max: 35.43%
ISRG: 33.29%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
ROE (TTM)	-9.04%	17.93%
ROA (TTM)	2.71%	11.86%
Net Margin (TTM)	-6.23%	25.54%
Operating Margin (TTM)	9.88%	33.29%
Gross Margin (TTM)	33.37%	66.64%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 20.51% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Baxter (BAX) at 5.72% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ISRG.

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

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

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.72%	20.51%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.79%	17.39%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	22.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	29.19%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Baxter (BAX) at 1.79 and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 3.33 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.33

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
ISRG: 3.33
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Baxter (BAX) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36 against its industry range, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports no figure this period.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00
ISRG: --

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): ISRG does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; BAX is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.79	3.33
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.36	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.73	-0.90

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

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

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): 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; Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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%

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

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

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
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: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) trades at 54.75 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: --

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

54.75

Max: 80.41
ISRG: 54.75
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): BAX does not report P/E ratio, so it has no value marker; ISRG 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 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 13.82 clears its benchmark range — ISRG 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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

13.82

ISRG: 13.82
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Baxter (BAX) vs. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): 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 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) at 9.82 carries an above-peer premium to book — ISRG is pricier on assets.

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

ISRG

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.82

Max: 11.68
ISRG: 9.82
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Baxter (BAX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Metric	BAX	ISRG
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	54.75
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.15	13.82
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.05	9.82
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	9.16%	2.15%