MDLN vs BAX vs WST Stock Comparison

Medline, Baxter International and West Pharmaceutical Services Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MDLN Medline Inc.
$34.09 -4.3% 1M
Market cap
$34.69B
P/E
41.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins
BAX Baxter International Inc
$25.49 +8.5% 1M +40.0% 1Y
Market cap
$13.67B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.61B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

West Pharmaceutical Services leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (West Pharmaceutical Services 8, Medline 2, Baxter International 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMDLNBAXWSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.69B $13.67B $28.69B MDLN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.4x -18.9x 44.9x MDLN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.7x 12.9x 42.6x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +5.3% +12.6% WST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.9% -6.2% 18.8% WST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% -1.4% 19.3% WST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 9.0x -0.3x WST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% BAX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months — +40.0% +45.5% WST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -20.1%/yr -1.2%/yr WST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.4% 42.7% 31.2% WST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 43/100 69/100 WST

Percentile Scorecard

MDLNBAXWST

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

AxisMDLNBAXWST
Valuation 81 #45 of 229 86 #34 of 229 49 #117 of 229
Growth – 14 #191 of 221 49 #113 of 221
Profitability 72 #59 of 209 65 #73 of 209 93 #15 of 209
Financial Health 42 #139 of 240 18 #197 of 240 80 #49 of 240
Shareholder Returns 73 #40 of 147 34 #97 of 147 75 #37 of 147
Overall 67 43 69
  • MDLN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BAX ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • 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

PeriodMDLNBAXWSTSPY
1 month -4.3%+8.5%+11.6% -2.0%
3 months -18.9%-10.1%+16.7% -2.2%
6 months -24.8%+52.2%+31.4% +4.2%
Year to date -18.8%+33.4%+48.0% +10.6%
1 year —+40.0%+45.5% +10.4%
3 years —-24.9%+21.5% +73.6%
3 years, per year —-9.1%+6.7% +20.2%
5 years —-67.4%-6.0% +61.6%
5 years, per year —-20.1%-1.2% +10.1%
10 years —-45.6%+445.4% +261.3%
10 years, per year —-5.9%+18.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMDLNBAXWSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.4%42.7%31.2% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.3%44.1%30.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.571.080.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y —0.941.46 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.7%-82.3%-59.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.8%-10.1%-2.1% -3.2%
52-week high $49.99$28.35$415.75 $779.14
52-week low $31.64$15.80$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.

MultipleMDLNBAXWST
P/E now vs peer median 34.9xmedian 28.1x -18.2xmedian 28.1x 44.9xmedian 28.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.9x 1.1xmedian 2.9x 8.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 18.0x 27.0xmedian 18.0x 29.2xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.2xmedian 24.8x 11.4xmedian 24.8x 62.7xmedian 24.8x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 2.3x 2.0xmedian 2.3x 9.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.95 0.58median 0.95 6.70median 0.95

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 monthsMDLNBAXWST
Revenue $28.57B $11.61B $3.40B
Gross profit $7.79B $3.49B $1.28B
Operating income $2.03B -$221.00M $780.20M
Net income $1.03B -$723.00M $638.90M
Free cash flow $1.59B $1.16B $453.40M
R&D – $519.00M $75.60M
EPS (diluted) $0.97 $-1.39 $9.02
Cash & equivalents $2.33B $1.98B $464.10M
Total debt $12.58B $8.60B $202.90M
Shares (diluted) 861.00M 520.00M 70.80M
Enterprise value $27.64B $5.55B $26.48B

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
MetricMDLNBAXWST
P/E 34.9x -18.2x 44.9x
P/FCF 28.2x 11.4x 62.7x
P/Operating cash flow 22.3x 7.9x 43.4x
P/S 1.6x 1.1x 8.4x
P/B 2.3x 2.0x 9.6x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 5.1x 9.6x
EV/EBITDA 17.7x 27.0x 29.2x
EV/EBIT 27.0x -89.6x 36.1x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 1.7x 8.3x
EV/FCF 34.4x 17.1x 62.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.3x 11.9x 43.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.58 6.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMDLNBAXWST
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
MetricMDLNBAXWST
Gross margin 27.3% 30.1% 37.6%
EBITDA margin 10.8% 6.3% 28.4%
Operating margin 7.1% -1.9% 23.0%
Pretax margin 4.3% -1.6% 23.2%
Net margin 2.9% -6.2% 18.8%
FCF margin 5.6% 10.0% 13.3%
Operating cash flow margin 7.0% 14.3% 19.3%
Return on equity 5.4% -11.4% 20.9%
Return on assets 2.6% -3.7% 15.3%
Return on invested capital 5.4% -1.4% 19.3%
Return on capital employed 5.6% -1.4% 22.8%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x -2.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.9% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMDLNBAXWST
Debt / assets 32.0% 44.3% 5.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.3x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 9.0x -0.3x
Debt / FCF 7.9x 7.4x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 51.5% 66.5% 26.9%
Equity / assets 48.5% 33.5% 73.1%
Interest coverage – – 96.3x
Current ratio 4.3x 1.8x 2.8x
Quick ratio 2.3x 1.0x 1.9x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.5x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 2.50 2.38 19.09

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMDLNBAXWST
Dividend yield – 0.2% 0.2%
Net buyback yield 0.0% -0.2% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% 2.5%
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.

ConsensusMDLNBAXWST
Forward P/E 23.7xFY2026 12.9xFY2026 42.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.44FY2026 $1.98FY2026 $9.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 -10.4%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.9% -3.5% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.52BFY2026 $11.05BFY2026 $3.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.4%FY2026 -1.7%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +11.7% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMDLNBAXWST
Held by institutions 57.1% 100.0% 99.5%
Institutions holding 409 692 836
Change in shares held, QoQ +17.9% +5.2% -0.9%
Institutions buying 322 359 451
Institutions selling 69 194 261
Buyers to sellers 4.67 1.85 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.

MDLNBAXWST
MDLN 1.00 0.31 0.08
BAX 0.31 1.00 0.22
WST 0.08 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MDLN, BAX and WST?

Medline (MDLN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Medline (MDLN) $34.69B, Baxter International (BAX) $13.67B, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) $28.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, MDLN, BAX and WST?

Medline (MDLN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Medline (MDLN) 41.4x, Baxter International (BAX) -18.9x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 44.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Medline (MDLN) 23.7x, Baxter International (BAX) 12.9x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 42.6x). 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 (Medline (MDLN) 2.9%, Baxter International (BAX) -6.2%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 18.8%). On return on invested capital, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) leads (Medline (MDLN) 5.4%, Baxter International (BAX) -1.4%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 19.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) returned the most: Baxter International (BAX) +40.0%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +45.5%. Over five years, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) compounded fastest (Baxter International (BAX) -20.1%/yr, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) -1.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Baxter International (BAX) has the highest dividend yield: Medline (MDLN) 0.00%, Baxter International (BAX) 0.01%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 0.00%. Medline (MDLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has been the steadiest (Medline (MDLN) 44.4%, Baxter International (BAX) 42.7%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 31.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MDLN, BAX 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, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) leads on 8. 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.