BAX vs ISRG vs ACU Stock Comparison

Baxter International, Intuitive Surgical and Acme United Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BAX Baxter International Inc
$25.49 +8.5% 1M +11.5% 1Y
Market cap
$12.20B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.55B
Div. yield
0.02%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$444.18 +7.1% 1M -18.6% 1Y
Market cap
$156.90B
P/E
53.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins
ACU Acme United Corp
$66.87 +5.1% 1M +73.3% 1Y
Market cap
$258.61M
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Intuitive Surgical leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Intuitive Surgical 4, Acme United 4, Baxter International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBAXISRGACULeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.20B $156.90B $258.61M ISRG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -11.5x 53.1x 24.8x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.9x 38.7x 24.3x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -49.1% +20.5% — ISRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -19.2% 25.5% — ISRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.5% -18.6% +73.3% ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -20.3%/yr +4.2%/yr +12.6%/yr ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.4% 34.6% 30.7% ACU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 80/100 71/100 ISRG

Percentile Scorecard

BAXISRGACU

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

AxisBAXISRGACU
Valuation 83 #39 of 227 53 #107 of 227 88 #28 of 227
Growth 21 #174 of 219 80 #44 of 219 –
Profitability 73 #56 of 205 98 #6 of 205 –
Financial Health 19 #192 of 237 78 #54 of 237 60 #96 of 237
Shareholder Returns 29 #96 of 135 91 #13 of 135 65 #48 of 135
Overall 45 80 71
  • BAX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ISRG ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ACU 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

PeriodBAXISRGACUSPY
1 month +8.5%+7.1%+5.1% +0.9%
3 months +2.9%+25.8%+12.2% +5.9%
6 months +50.8%-2.1%+62.7% +8.5%
Year to date +33.4%-21.6%+65.9% +13.3%
1 year +11.5%-18.6%+73.3% +12.4%
3 years -20.7%+71.5%+120.0% +88.1%
3 years, per year -7.5%+19.7%+30.1% +23.5%
5 years -67.7%+23.0%+80.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -20.3%+4.2%+12.6% +11.0%
10 years -46.0%+499.8%+216.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year -6.0%+19.6%+12.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureBAXISRGACUSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.4%34.6%30.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.2%37.4%24.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.160.890.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.26-0.542.39 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.3%-49.9%-43.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.1%-25.1%0.0% -0.9%
52-week high $28.35$592.85$66.87 $779.14
52-week low $15.80$332.02$35.50 $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.

MultipleBAXISRGACU
P/E now vs peer median -12.4xmedian 28.8x 52.4xmedian 28.8x 24.8xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 3.0x 13.3xmedian 3.0x 1.2xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.5xmedian 17.4x 36.6xmedian 17.4x —median 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 25.7x 42.8xmedian 25.7x 15.8xmedian 25.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.4x 9.6xmedian 2.4x 2.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -0.43median 1.03 2.04median 1.03 —median 1.03

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 monthsBAXISRGACU
Revenue $5.55B $11.58B –
Gross profit $3.78B $7.78B –
Operating income $532.00M $3.28B –
Net income -$1.06B $2.97B –
Free cash flow $839.00M $3.60B –
R&D $542.00M $1.49B –
EPS (diluted) $-2.05 $8.41 –
Cash & equivalents $2.15B $2.98B $7.94M
Total debt $9.46B – –
Shares (diluted) 518.00M 351.60M 4.14M
Enterprise value $4.33B $137.19B $258.61M

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
MetricBAXISRGACU
P/E -12.4x 52.4x 24.8x
P/FCF 15.7x 42.8x 15.8x
P/Operating cash flow 9.8x 37.6x –
P/S 2.4x 13.3x 1.2x
P/B 2.1x 9.6x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 10.3x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 13.5x 36.6x –
EV/EBIT 38.5x 45.6x –
EV/Revenue 3.7x 12.9x –
EV/FCF 24.4x 41.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow 15.3x 36.7x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.43 2.04 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBAXISRGACU
Revenue growth (1Y) -49.1% 20.5% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -23.5% 19.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.8% 21.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.2% 19.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -50.8% 16.6% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.5% 24.8% –
Net income growth (1Y) -604.0% 7.5% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 24.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) -580.5% 10.8% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.6% 25.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 56.3% 38.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 26.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 153.5% 58.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.5% 42.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBAXISRGACU
Gross margin 68.1% 67.2% –
EBITDA margin 27.3% 35.3% –
Operating margin 9.6% 28.4% –
Pretax margin 5.1% 31.3% –
Net margin -19.2% 25.5% –
FCF margin 15.1% 31.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 24.2% 35.3% –
Return on equity -17.4% 17.3% –
Return on assets -5.4% 14.8% –
Return on invested capital 3.4% – –
Return on capital employed 3.3% 18.7% –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -1.3x 1.4x –
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 7.2% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBAXISRGACU
Debt / assets 47.8% – –
Debt / equity 1.5x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 4.8x – –
Debt / FCF 11.3x – –
Liabilities / assets 68.6% 16.7% 39.9%
Equity / assets 31.4% 83.3% 60.1%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.9x 3.3x 3.9x
Quick ratio 1.1x 2.3x –
Cash ratio 0.6x 1.6x –
Altman Z-score 2.13 30.44 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBAXISRGACU
Dividend yield 0.2% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield -0.2% 2.8% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.8% 1.0%
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.

ConsensusBAXISRGACU
Forward P/E 12.9xFY2026 38.7xFY2026 24.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.98FY2026 $11.47FY2026 $2.75FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.4%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.5% +4.5% +4.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.05BFY2026 $11.60BFY2026 $217.65MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.7%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% +11.3% +0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBAXISRGACU
Held by institutions 100.0% 86.2% 73.5%
Institutions holding 690 2,236 84
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.2% +4.6% +1.3%
Institutions buying 359 1,071 47
Institutions selling 193 877 21
Buyers to sellers 1.86 1.22 2.24

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.

BAXISRGACU
BAX 1.00 0.39 0.18
ISRG 0.39 1.00 0.09
ACU 0.18 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BAX, ISRG and ACU?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Baxter International (BAX) $12.20B, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) $156.90B, Acme United (ACU) $258.61M.

Which stock is cheaper, BAX, ISRG and ACU?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Baxter International (BAX) -11.5x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 53.1x, Acme United (ACU) 24.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Baxter International (BAX) 12.9x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 38.7x, Acme United (ACU) 24.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Baxter International (BAX) -49.1%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +20.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has the highest net margin (Baxter International (BAX) -19.2%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 25.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acme United (ACU) returned the most: Baxter International (BAX) +11.5%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -18.6%, Acme United (ACU) +73.3%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Baxter International (BAX) -20.3%/yr, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +4.2%/yr, Acme United (ACU) +12.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Baxter International (BAX) 0.02%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 0.00%, Acme United (ACU) 0.00%. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Acme United (ACU) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Acme United (ACU) has been the steadiest (Baxter International (BAX) 44.4%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 34.6%, Acme United (ACU) 30.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BAX, ISRG and ACU?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) leads on 4. 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.