Baxter International Inc vs Home Depot Inc — how do they compare? Baxter International Inc trades at $27.61 (market cap $14.36B), while Home Depot Inc trades at $354.5 (market cap $349.77B). The key difference: Home Depot Inc is far larger — about 24.4× Baxter International Inc's market cap, and Home Depot Inc pays the higher dividend (2.66%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| BAX | HD | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $14.36B | $349.77B |
Sector | Health | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $28.35 | $423.42 |
52-Week Low | $15.80 | $297.51 |
Enterprise Value | $21.88B | $411.32B |
Dividend Yield | 0.14% | 2.66% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Baxter International (BAX) trades at $27.55, up 2.0% today, showing strong momentum after recent earnings beats. The stock is approaching its 52-week high of $29.35, with technical indicators signaling bullish momentum. Fundamentally, the company reported Q2 2026 earnings of $0.56 per share, beating estimates, and raised full-year guidance, though profitability metrics remain negative with a -9.27% net income margin. Recent news highlights operational improvements and strong demand for IV solutions.
The outlook is cautiously optimistic as Baxter demonstrates turnaround progress with raised guidance and earnings beats. Investment opportunity lies in continued operational execution and margin recovery, but risks include persistent negative profitability, high debt levels, and competitive pressures in the medtech space. Wall Street sentiment is mixed with 42% buy ratings but a consensus price target below current levels.
Home Depot (HD) trades at $350.78, down 1.36% on the day, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and strong institutional support. The company reported $159.51B in 2025 revenue with solid profitability metrics including 8.41% net income margin and 128.38% ROE. Recent earnings show mixed results with Q2 2026 expectations set at $4.73 EPS. The stock faces headwinds from weakening big-ticket demand and rising mortgage rates, but maintains strong analyst support with 59% buy ratings.
Home Depot presents a compelling long-term investment case with stable fundamentals and professional segment growth potential, though near-term challenges include housing market sensitivity and margin pressure. The consensus price target of $368.75 suggests 5.1% upside potential from current levels, supported by strong cash flow generation and dividend payments. Key risks include consumer spending volatility and competitive pressures in the home improvement sector.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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 →Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, operating more than 2,300 warehouse-format stores offering more than 30,000 products in store and 1 million products online in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Its stores offer numerous building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and decor products and provide various services, including home improvement installation services and tool and equipment rentals. The acquisition of distributor Interline Brands in 2015 allowed Home Depot to enter the maintenance, repair, and operations business, which has been expanded through the tie-up with HD Supply (2020). The addition of the Company Store brought textile exposure to Home Depot's lineup.
Read more on HD →