BAX vs MCK vs WST Stock Comparison

Baxter International, Mckesson and West Pharmaceutical Services Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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BAX Baxter International Inc
$26.42 +9.1% 1M +47.3% 1Y
Market cap
$13.67B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.61B
Div. yield
0.15%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins
MCK Mckesson Corp
$1,068.31 +16.6% 1M +26.9% 1Y
Market cap
$123.34B
P/E
26.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$418.79B
Div. yield
0.32%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mckesson leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Mckesson 5, West Pharmaceutical Services 5, Baxter International 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBAXMCKWSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.67B $123.34B $28.52B MCK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -18.9x 26.4x 45.0x MCK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.3x 22.7x 42.7x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.3% +8.2% +12.6% WST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.2% 1.1% 18.8% WST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.4% 98.7% 19.3% MCK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 9.0x 0.4x -0.3x WST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.15% 0.32% 0.22% MCK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +47.3% +26.9% +42.4% BAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.5%/yr +37.0%/yr +0.2%/yr MCK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 31.3% 31.1% WST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 61/100 70/100 WST

Percentile Scorecard

BAXMCKWST

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

AxisBAXMCKWST
Valuation 86 #32 of 229 60 #11 of 26 51 #113 of 229
Growth 14 #190 of 221 63 #10 of 25 50 #112 of 221
Profitability 65 #73 of 209 67 #9 of 25 94 #14 of 209
Financial Health 18 #197 of 240 48 #14 of 26 80 #50 of 240
Shareholder Returns 35 #96 of 146 69 #6 of 17 77 #34 of 146
Overall 44 61 70
  • BAX ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MCK ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • WST ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBAXMCKWSTSPY
1 month +9.1%+16.6%+8.5% -1.0%
3 months -3.3%+21.7%+16.5% -0.4%
6 months +55.6%+43.7%+30.7% +4.5%
Year to date +38.3%+30.2%+48.5% +12.4%
1 year +47.3%+26.9%+42.4% +13.6%
3 years -22.2%+136.0%+22.0% +76.4%
3 years, per year -8.0%+33.2%+6.9% +20.8%
5 years -66.1%+381.9%+1.2% +63.7%
5 years, per year -19.5%+37.0%+0.2% +10.4%
10 years -43.8%+717.0%+442.0% +267.7%
10 years, per year -5.6%+23.4%+18.4% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureBAXMCKWSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%31.3%31.1% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%27.4%30.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.09-0.190.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.100.861.36 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.3%-27.2%-59.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.8%0.0%-1.7% -1.6%
52-week high $28.35$1,068.31$415.75 $779.14
52-week low $15.80$725.17$230.95 $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.

MultipleBAXMCKWST
P/E now vs peer median -18.9xmedian 28.5x 26.4xmedian 25.7x 45.0xmedian 28.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.9x 0.3xmedian 0.3x 8.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 18.5x 16.9xmedian 13.9x 29.3xmedian 18.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 26.7x 17.4xmedian 16.6x 62.9xmedian 26.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.3x -31.2xmedian 2.6x 9.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.60median 0.93 1.66median 1.56 6.72median 0.93

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 monthsBAXMCKWST
Revenue $11.61B $418.79B $3.40B
Gross profit $3.49B $15.37B $1.28B
Operating income -$221.00M $6.69B $780.20M
Net income -$723.00M $5.43B $638.90M
Free cash flow $1.16B $7.11B $453.40M
R&D $519.00M – $75.60M
EPS (diluted) $-1.39 $40.27 $9.02
Cash & equivalents $1.98B $6.53B $464.10M
Total debt $8.60B $9.21B $202.90M
Shares (diluted) 520.00M 116.70M 70.80M
Enterprise value $5.52B $107.28B $26.31B

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
MetricBAXMCKWST
P/E -18.9x 26.4x 45.0x
P/FCF 11.8x 17.4x 62.9x
P/Operating cash flow 8.2x 16.4x 43.6x
P/S 1.2x 0.3x 8.4x
P/B 2.1x -31.2x 9.6x
P/Tangible book 5.3x -15.6x 9.6x
EV/EBITDA 27.6x 16.9x 29.3x
EV/EBIT -91.8x 18.8x 36.2x
EV/Revenue 1.7x 0.3x 8.3x
EV/FCF 17.5x 17.7x 62.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.2x 16.8x 43.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.60 1.66 6.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBAXMCKWST
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.3% 8.2% 12.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 12.9% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -7.1% 11.8% 18.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -7.7% 7.6% 4.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -136.3% 27.3% 32.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 16.1% 6.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -112.0% 28.5% 29.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -31.6% 14.2% 4.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -109.6% 24.2% 33.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -31.5% 15.9% 6.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 97.4% 9.3% -5.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.6% 15.2% -5.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 243.5% 11.8% 19.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.0% 16.3% 2.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBAXMCKWST
Gross margin 30.1% 3.7% 37.6%
EBITDA margin 6.3% 1.8% 28.4%
Operating margin -1.9% 1.6% 23.0%
Pretax margin -1.6% 1.6% 23.2%
Net margin -6.2% 1.1% 18.8%
FCF margin 10.0% 1.7% 13.3%
Operating cash flow margin 14.3% 1.8% 19.3%
Return on equity -11.4% – 20.9%
Return on assets -3.7% 6.0% 15.3%
Return on invested capital -1.4% 98.7% 19.3%
Return on capital employed -1.4% 42.0% 22.8%
Asset turnover 0.6x 4.6x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.3x 1.4x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% – 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBAXMCKWST
Debt / assets 44.3% 10.0% 5.0%
Debt / equity 1.3x -2.3x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 9.0x 0.4x -0.3x
Debt / FCF 7.4x 1.3x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 66.5% 104.3% 26.9%
Equity / assets 33.5% -4.3% 73.1%
Interest coverage – 21.9x 96.3x
Current ratio 1.8x 0.9x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.5x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.1x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 2.40 5.81 19.14

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBAXMCKWST
Dividend yield 0.2% 0.3% 0.2%
Net buyback yield -0.2% 5.4% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 5.7% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) -14.1% 7.4% 9.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 8.8% 5.6% 13.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) -75.0% 10.5% 3.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -44.1% 9.8% 3.7%

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.

ConsensusBAXMCKWST
Forward P/E 13.3xFY2026 22.7xFY2026 42.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.98FY2026 $47.15FY2026 $9.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.4%FY2026 +20.6%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.5% +11.0% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.05BFY2026 $444.47BFY2026 $3.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.7%FY2026 +10.2%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% +1.5% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBAXMCKWST
Held by institutions 100.0% 89.1% 99.5%
Institutions holding 692 2,014 836
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.2% -0.7% -0.9%
Institutions buying 359 883 451
Institutions selling 194 793 261
Buyers to sellers 1.85 1.11 1.73

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.

BAXMCKWST
BAX 1.00 0.19 0.22
MCK 0.19 1.00 0.04
WST 0.22 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BAX, MCK and WST?

Mckesson (MCK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Baxter International (BAX) $13.67B, Mckesson (MCK) $123.34B, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) $28.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, BAX, MCK and WST?

Mckesson (MCK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Baxter International (BAX) -18.9x, Mckesson (MCK) 26.4x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 45.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Baxter International (BAX) 13.3x, Mckesson (MCK) 22.7x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 42.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Baxter International (BAX) +5.3%, Mckesson (MCK) +8.2%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +12.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has the highest net margin (Baxter International (BAX) -6.2%, Mckesson (MCK) 1.1%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 18.8%). On return on invested capital, Mckesson (MCK) leads (Baxter International (BAX) -1.4%, Mckesson (MCK) 98.7%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 19.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Baxter International (BAX) returned the most: Baxter International (BAX) +47.3%, Mckesson (MCK) +26.9%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +42.4%. Over five years, Mckesson (MCK) compounded fastest (Baxter International (BAX) -19.5%/yr, Mckesson (MCK) +37.0%/yr, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +0.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mckesson (MCK) has the highest dividend yield: Baxter International (BAX) 0.15%, Mckesson (MCK) 0.32%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 0.22%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has been the steadiest (Baxter International (BAX) 42.8%, Mckesson (MCK) 31.3%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 31.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BAX, MCK and WST?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mckesson (MCK) leads on 5. 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.