Baxter
(NYSE: BAX)
shares took a hit today on fourth-quarter results that came up shy of expectations.
Shares of BAX 11.6% to $19.70 apiece in mid-morning trading today.
The Deerfield, Illinois-based company reported losses of $1 billion. That equals $2.01 per share on sales of $2.97 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2025. These numbers are based on continuing operations, as Baxter reported results from its Kidney Care business, acquired last year by Carlyle Group, as discontinued operations.
Baxter recorded a significant bottom-line slide from losses of $488 million this time a year ago. It posted a sales increase of 8%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share came in at 44¢. That landed 10¢ behind expectations on Wall Street. Sales exceeded those expectations, though, as experts forecast $2.82 billion in revenue.
Baxter expects 2026 sales growth to range from flat to 1%. It anticipates adjusted EPS to land between $1.85 and $2.05.
“While we delivered sales growth across all segments, our fourth-quarter results did not meet our expectations, underscoring the importance of our focus on driving continuous improvement across the enterprise,” said Andrew Hider, president and CEO. “We recently introduced a new operating model that is designed to simplify our organization, accelerate innovation and improve performance. These changes further decentralize the business and embed critical functional roles directly within each division – bringing us closer to our customers and ultimately helping us to improve our say-do ratio and execute more consistently.
“While the work ahead will take time, I’m encouraged by the dedication of our employees and remain confident in Baxter’s long-term trajectory.”
