Baxter International Inc vs Hormel Foods Corp — how do they compare? Baxter International Inc trades at $22.35 (market cap $11.26B), while Hormel Foods Corp trades at $25.48 (market cap $13.65B). The key difference: Hormel Foods Corp is the larger of the two by market cap, and Hormel Foods Corp pays the higher dividend (4.72%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| BAX | HRL | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $11.26B | $13.65B |
Sector | Health | Consumer Staples |
52-Week High | $29.22 | $29.91 |
52-Week Low | $15.80 | $19.74 |
Enterprise Value | $18.93B | $15.65B |
Dividend Yield | 0.92% | 4.72% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
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.
Hormel Foods (HRL) trades at $24.46, down 1.11% on the day, with a neutral technical outlook and mixed analyst sentiment. The company has beaten earnings estimates for three consecutive quarters, though net income margin has compressed to 3.82% in 2025 from 6.75% in 2024. Recent strategic moves include the sale of its Brazilian Ceratti operations to focus on higher-growth markets, while maintaining its Dividend King status with 60 consecutive years of dividend increases.
The stock presents a value opportunity with a P/E of 28.78 and consensus price target of $26.33 (7.6% upside), but faces margin pressure from input cost inflation and competitive headwinds. The dividend yield of approximately 4.7% provides income support, though earnings stabilization remains key for sustained recovery from multi-year lows.
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 →Hormel Foods is a protein-focused branded food company. Its brands include its namesake Hormel, Spam, Jennie-O, Dinty Moore, Applegate, Wholly Guacamole, and Skippy. The vast majority of the company's revenue is U.S.-based: 64% U.S. retail, 28% U.S. food service, and 8% international. By product type, in fiscal 2021, 23% of revenue was shelf-stable foods, 18% was poultry (branded and commodity), 55% was other perishable food, and 3% was other, primarily nutritional products. The company holds the number-one market position in shelf-stable meat, shelf-stable ready meals, pepperoni, natural/organic deli meat, and guacamole and the number-two position in turkey, bacon, chilled ready meals, and peanut butter.
Read more on HRL →