American Water Works Company Inc vs Baxter International Inc — how do they compare? American Water Works Company Inc trades at $131.69 (market cap $25.69B), while Baxter International Inc trades at $21.78 (market cap $11.26B). The key difference: American Water Works Company Inc is far larger — about 2.3× Baxter International Inc's market cap, and American Water Works Company Inc pays the higher dividend (2.72%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AWK | BAX | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $25.69B | $11.26B |
Sector | Utilities | Health |
52-Week High | $147.00 | $29.22 |
52-Week Low | $121.13 | $15.80 |
Enterprise Value | $41.25B | $18.93B |
Dividend Yield | 2.72% | 0.92% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
American Water Works (AWK) trades at $131.53, up 0.64% with a bullish technical signal and strong fundamentals. The stock shows consistent revenue growth from $3.8B in 2022 to $5.14B in 2025, maintaining net margins above 21%. Recent earnings show mixed results with a Q3 2025 beat but Q1 2026 miss, while the company continues infrastructure investments and community initiatives.
AWK presents a stable utility investment with moderate upside to the $137 consensus target. Key risks include regulatory approvals for rate increases and high capital expenditures. Analyst sentiment is balanced with 47% buy ratings, though recent earnings misses warrant caution ahead of Q2 2026 results on July 29, 2026.
Baxter International (BAX) trades at $22.57, down 0.22% on the day, with mixed technical signals showing a bullish moving average trend but neutral oscillators. The company reported Q1 2026 earnings beat with $0.36 EPS versus $0.31 expected, though net income margin remains negative at -9.7%. Recent news highlights upcoming Q2 earnings call and sustainability initiatives, while analyst consensus sits at $22.67 price target with 42% buy ratings.
BAX faces fundamental challenges with negative profitability metrics and volatile cash flow, but valuation appears reasonable with P/S of 1.02. The stock offers potential upside to analyst targets if operational improvements materialize, though investors must weigh high debt levels and inconsistent earnings performance against turnaround prospects in the medical technology sector.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
American Water Works is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility, serving approximately 3.5 million customers in 16 states. It provides water and wastewater services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers and operates predominantly in regulated markets. The company's only nonregulated business is water services for military bases, which operates under long-term contracts.
Read more on AWK →Baxter offers a variety of medical instruments and supplies to caregivers. It enhanced its portfolio of hospital-focused offerings by acquiring Hillrom in late 2021. Legacy Baxter offers tools to help patients with acute and chronic kidney failure. It also sells a variety of injectable therapies for use in care settings, such as IV pumps, and administrative sets.
Read more on BAX →