BAX vs ALC vs SKYA Stock Comparison

Baxter International, Alcon and SkyAI Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BAX Baxter International Inc
$24.92 +6.6% 1M +7.6% 1Y
Market cap
$12.88B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.55B
Div. yield
0.16%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win
ALC Alcon Inc
$69.42 +7.7% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$33.84B
P/E
53.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
0.40%
Medical Devices Healthcare
7 wins
SKYA SkyAI, Inc.
$2.91 +54.8% 1M -46.2% 1Y
Market cap
$209.79M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$194.22K
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Alcon leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Alcon 7, SkyAI 2, Baxter International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBAXALCSKYALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.88B $33.84B $209.79M ALC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -12.1x 53.2x -0.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.6x 21.6x 0.0x SKYA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -49.1% +8.5% +108.9% SKYA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -19.2% 6.0% -158,431.4% ALC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.4% 3.6% — ALC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.16% 0.40% — ALC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.6% -8.8% -46.2% BAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -20.5%/yr -3.5%/yr — ALC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.3% 28.6% 106.0% ALC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 68/100 26/100 ALC

Percentile Scorecard

BAXALCSKYA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisBAXALCSKYA
Valuation 83 #40 of 227 79 #48 of 227 2 #222 of 227
Growth 19 #177 of 219 48 #114 of 219 6 #205 of 219
Profitability 72 #58 of 206 76 #50 of 206 1 #204 of 206
Financial Health 19 #193 of 238 60 #96 of 238 95 #14 of 238
Shareholder Returns 26 #99 of 134 74 #35 of 134 –
Overall 44 68 26
  • BAX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • SKYA ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodBAXALCSKYASPY
1 month +6.6%+7.7%+54.8% -0.2%
3 months +2.3%+0.4%+107.9% +3.9%
6 months +38.9%-7.9%+62.6% +8.2%
Year to date +30.4%-11.9%+43.3% +12.9%
1 year +7.6%-8.8%-46.2% +12.3%
3 years -22.5%-0.9%-99.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year -8.2%-0.3%-90.1% +23.3%
5 years -68.3%-16.1%— +67.9%
5 years, per year -20.5%-3.5%— +10.9%
10 years -46.8%—— +261.1%
10 years, per year -6.1%—— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBAXALCSKYASPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.3%28.6%106.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.0%28.8%104.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.160.382.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.17-0.31-0.44 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.3%-38.4%-100.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.1%-20.4%-46.2% -1.2%
52-week high $28.35$87.18$5.41 $779.14
52-week low $15.80$62.02$0.95 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleBAXALCSKYA
P/E now vs peer median -12.1xmedian 29.6x 53.2xmedian 29.6x -0.7xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.9x 1,080xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.4xmedian 17.4x —median 17.4x —median 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 22.3x 19.4xmedian 22.3x —median 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.3x 1.6xmedian 2.3x 1.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -0.42median 1.04 2.54median 1.04 0.01median 1.04

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsBAXALCSKYA
Revenue $5.55B $10.80B $194.22K
Gross profit $3.78B $6.17B $321.93K
Operating income $532.00M $948.00M -$289.52M
Net income -$1.06B $643.00M -$307.71M
Free cash flow $839.00M $1.74B –
R&D $542.00M $1.43B $399.91K
EPS (diluted) $-2.05 $1.30 $-4.27
Cash & equivalents $2.15B $1.36B $12.07M
Total debt $9.46B $4.72B –
Shares (diluted) 518.00M 496.20M 72.09M
Enterprise value $4.99B $24.80B $168.49M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricBAXALCSKYA
P/E -12.1x 53.2x -0.7x
P/FCF 15.4x 19.4x –
P/Operating cash flow 9.6x 14.6x –
P/S 2.3x 3.1x 1,080x
P/B 2.1x 1.6x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 6.0x 2.5x 16.1x
EV/EBITDA 13.4x – –
EV/EBIT 38.0x 38.4x -0.7x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 3.4x 1,018x
EV/FCF 24.1x 20.9x –
EV/Operating cash flow 15.0x 15.8x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.42 2.54 0.01

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBAXALCSKYA
Revenue growth (1Y) -49.1% 8.5% 108.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -23.5% 5.9% 23.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.8% 11.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.2% 7.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -50.8% -34.3% -5,525%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.5% 7.5% -212.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -604.0% -40.1% -42,440%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 21.1% -238.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -580.5% -40.7% -487.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.6% 21.0% -84.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 56.3% 10.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 25.9% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 153.5% 7.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.5% 48.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBAXALCSKYA
Gross margin 68.1% 57.2% 165.8%
EBITDA margin 27.3% – –
Operating margin 9.6% 8.8% -149,065%
Pretax margin 5.1% 6.9% -151,352%
Net margin -19.2% 6.0% -158,431%
FCF margin 15.1% 16.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 24.2% 21.4% –
Return on equity -17.4% 2.9% -140.2%
Return on assets -5.4% 2.1% -137.6%
Return on invested capital 3.4% 3.6% –
Return on capital employed 3.3% 3.4% -136.7%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.3x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -1.3x 3.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 1.6% 48,037%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBAXALCSKYA
Debt / assets 47.8% 15.2% –
Debt / equity 1.5x 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 4.8x – –
Debt / FCF 11.3x 2.7x –
Liabilities / assets 68.6% 30.6% 1.9%
Equity / assets 31.4% 69.4% 98.1%
Interest coverage – 9.2x –
Current ratio 1.9x 2.1x 5.3x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.3x 4.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.7x 4.2x
Altman Z-score 2.12 – 31.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBAXALCSKYA
Dividend yield 0.2% 0.4% –
Net buyback yield -0.2% 2.7% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 3.1% –
Payout ratio (earnings) -17.3% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 21.9% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -60.8% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -32.0% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusBAXALCSKYA
Forward P/E 12.6xFY2026 21.6xFY2026 0.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.98FY2026 $3.22FY2026 $2,362.06FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.4%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -3.5% +15.5% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.05BFY2026 $10.50BFY2026 $70.01MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.7%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026 +34,200.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% +8.1% +17.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBAXALCSKYA
Held by institutions 100.0% 48.8% –
Institutions holding 690 629 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.2% +5.3% –
Institutions buying 359 225 –
Institutions selling 193 274 –
Buyers to sellers 1.86 0.82 –

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

BAXALCSKYA
BAX 1.00 0.38 0.11
ALC 0.38 1.00 0.09
SKYA 0.11 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BAX, ALC and SKYA?

Alcon (ALC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Baxter International (BAX) $12.88B, Alcon (ALC) $33.84B, SkyAI (SKYA) $209.79M.

Which company is growing faster?

SkyAI (SKYA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Baxter International (BAX) -49.1%, Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, SkyAI (SKYA) +108.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alcon (ALC) has the highest net margin (Baxter International (BAX) -19.2%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, SkyAI (SKYA) -158,431.4%). On return on invested capital, Alcon (ALC) leads (Baxter International (BAX) 3.4%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Baxter International (BAX) returned the most: Baxter International (BAX) +7.6%, Alcon (ALC) -8.8%, SkyAI (SKYA) -46.2%. Over five years, Alcon (ALC) compounded fastest (Baxter International (BAX) -20.5%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Alcon (ALC) has the highest dividend yield: Baxter International (BAX) 0.16%, Alcon (ALC) 0.40%. SkyAI (SKYA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alcon (ALC) has been the steadiest (Baxter International (BAX) 44.3%, Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, SkyAI (SKYA) 106.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BAX, ALC and SKYA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Alcon (ALC) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.