BAX vs WST vs MDLN Stock Comparison

Baxter International, West Pharmaceutical Services and Medline Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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BAX Baxter International Inc
$25.63 +5.3% 1M +42.8% 1Y
Market cap
$13.26B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.61B
Div. yield
0.16%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins
MDLN Medline Inc.
$39.76 +11.8% 1M
Market cap
$52.32B
P/E
60.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.68B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

West Pharmaceutical Services leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (West Pharmaceutical Services 9, Baxter International 2, Medline 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBAXWSTMDLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.26B $27.37B $52.32B MDLN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -18.3x 43.2x 60.4x WST
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.6x 38.9x 27.6x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.3% +12.6% — WST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.2% 18.8% 1.9% WST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.4% 19.3% 4.3% WST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 9.0x -0.3x 3.2x WST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.16% 0.22% — WST
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +42.8% +38.3% — BAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -20.0%/yr -0.6%/yr — WST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.9% 31.4% 47.8% WST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 69/100 52/100 WST

Percentile Scorecard

BAXWSTMDLN

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

AxisBAXWSTMDLN
Valuation 86 #32 of 229 50 #116 of 229 79 #49 of 229
Growth 14 #191 of 221 47 #117 of 221 –
Profitability 64 #77 of 210 93 #15 of 210 73 #58 of 210
Financial Health 17 #199 of 240 80 #48 of 240 43 #137 of 240
Shareholder Returns 34 #98 of 147 75 #37 of 147 14 #126 of 147
Overall 43 69 52
  • BAX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • WST ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDLN 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

PeriodBAXWSTMDLNSPY
1 month +5.3%+5.3%+11.8% -5.9%
3 months -5.1%+12.6%+15.2% -4.6%
6 months +46.5%+21.8%-5.0% +0.2%
Year to date +34.1%+42.5%-5.3% +7.5%
1 year +42.8%+38.3%— +8.2%
3 years -25.7%+17.8%— +68.3%
3 years, per year -9.4%+5.6%— +19.0%
5 years -67.2%-2.9%— +56.5%
5 years, per year -20.0%-0.6%— +9.4%
10 years -45.5%+420.2%— +251.5%
10 years, per year -5.9%+17.9%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureBAXWSTMDLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.9%31.4%47.8% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%31.2%48.1% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.050.660.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.001.22— 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.3%-59.6%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.6%-5.7%-20.5% -5.9%
52-week high $28.35$415.75$49.99 $779.14
52-week low $15.80$230.95$31.64 $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.

MultipleBAXWSTMDLN
P/E now vs peer median -18.3xmedian 26.9x 43.2xmedian 26.9x 60.4xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 2.9x 8.1xmedian 2.9x 1.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 17.5x 28.1xmedian 17.5x 21.7xmedian 17.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.4xmedian 26.4x 60.4xmedian 26.4x 27.6xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.3x 9.2xmedian 2.3x 2.7xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.58median 0.88 6.45median 0.88 —median 0.88

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 monthsBAXWSTMDLN
Revenue $11.61B $3.40B $30.68B
Gross profit $3.49B $1.28B $7.90B
Operating income -$221.00M $780.20M $1.74B
Net income -$723.00M $638.90M $889.00M
Free cash flow $1.16B $453.40M $1.90B
R&D $519.00M $75.60M –
EPS (diluted) $-1.39 $9.02 $0.44
Cash & equivalents $1.98B $464.10M $2.32B
Total debt $8.60B $202.90M $12.58B
Shares (diluted) 520.00M 70.80M 1.32B
Enterprise value $5.11B $25.16B $49.45B

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
MetricBAXWSTMDLN
P/E -18.3x 43.2x 60.4x
P/FCF 11.4x 60.4x 27.6x
P/Operating cash flow 8.0x 41.8x 22.0x
P/S 1.1x 8.1x 1.7x
P/B 2.0x 9.2x 2.7x
P/Tangible book 5.1x 9.2x 8.7x
EV/EBITDA 27.1x 28.1x 21.7x
EV/EBIT -90.0x 34.8x 35.2x
EV/Revenue 1.7x 8.0x 2.0x
EV/FCF 17.1x 59.8x 32.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.9x 41.4x 25.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.58 6.45 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBAXWSTMDLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.3% 12.6% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 5.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -7.1% 18.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -7.7% 4.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -136.3% 32.7% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 6.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) -112.0% 29.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -31.6% 4.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) -109.6% 33.2% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -31.5% 6.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 97.4% -5.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.6% -5.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 243.5% 19.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.0% 2.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBAXWSTMDLN
Gross margin 30.1% 37.6% 25.7%
EBITDA margin 6.3% 28.4% 9.2%
Operating margin -1.9% 23.0% 5.7%
Pretax margin -1.6% 23.2% 3.6%
Net margin -6.2% 18.8% 1.9%
FCF margin 10.0% 13.3% 6.2%
Operating cash flow margin 14.3% 19.3% 7.8%
Return on equity -11.4% 20.9% 4.6%
Return on assets -3.7% 15.3% 2.2%
Return on invested capital -1.4% 19.3% 4.3%
Return on capital employed -1.4% 22.8% 4.8%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.3x 1.0x 2.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.8% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBAXWSTMDLN
Debt / assets 44.3% 5.0% 31.3%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.1x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 9.0x -0.3x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 7.4x 0.4x 6.6x
Liabilities / assets 66.5% 26.9% 51.7%
Equity / assets 33.5% 73.1% 48.3%
Interest coverage – 96.3x –
Current ratio 1.8x 2.8x 4.0x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.9x 2.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 2.38 18.51 2.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBAXWSTMDLN
Dividend yield 0.2% 0.2% –
Net buyback yield -0.2% 2.4% -13.5%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.6% -13.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) -14.1% 9.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 8.8% 13.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -75.0% 3.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -44.1% 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.

ConsensusBAXWSTMDLN
Forward P/E 12.6xFY2026 38.9xFY2026 27.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.03FY2026 $10.07FY2026 $1.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -8.1%FY2026 +38.1%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -5.9% +8.4% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.14BFY2026 $3.28BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.9%FY2026 +6.9%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.6% +16.7% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBAXWSTMDLN
Held by institutions 100.0% 99.5% 57.1%
Institutions holding 692 836 409
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.2% -0.9% +17.9%
Institutions buying 358 450 322
Institutions selling 194 261 69
Buyers to sellers 1.85 1.72 4.67

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.

BAXWSTMDLN
BAX 1.00 0.23 0.32
WST 0.23 1.00 0.08
MDLN 0.32 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BAX, WST and MDLN?

Medline (MDLN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Baxter International (BAX) $13.26B, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) $27.37B, Medline (MDLN) $52.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, BAX, WST and MDLN?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Baxter International (BAX) -18.3x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 43.2x, Medline (MDLN) 60.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Baxter International (BAX) 12.6x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 38.9x, Medline (MDLN) 27.6x). 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%, 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%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 18.8%, Medline (MDLN) 1.9%). On return on invested capital, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) leads (Baxter International (BAX) -1.4%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 19.3%, Medline (MDLN) 4.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Baxter International (BAX) returned the most: Baxter International (BAX) +42.8%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +38.3%. Over five years, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) compounded fastest (Baxter International (BAX) -20.0%/yr, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) -0.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has the highest dividend yield: Baxter International (BAX) 0.16%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 0.22%. Medline (MDLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has been the steadiest (Baxter International (BAX) 42.9%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 31.4%, Medline (MDLN) 47.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) leads on 9. 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.