Baxter International vs Intuitive Surgical
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Baxter International and Intuitive Surgical side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Baxter International is the larger business, with $11.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $10.1B for Intuitive Surgical.
- Intuitive Surgical grew revenue faster (20.5%, against 5.7%).
- Intuitive Surgical kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (29.3% operating margin, against −2.7%).
- Intuitive Surgical turned more of its sales into free cash flow (24.8% FCF margin, against 3.0%).
- Intuitive Surgical earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (20.9%, against −1.4%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Baxter International
BAX
0/11
Intuitive Surgical
ISRG
10/11
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | BAX FY25 | ISRG FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $13.1B | $158.8B |
| Revenue | $11.2B | $10.1B |
| Free cash flow | $332M | $2.5B |
| Net income | −$957M | $2.9B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.7% | 20.5% |
| 5-year growth | −0.8% | 18.2% |
| Share count change | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 30.1% | 66.0% |
| Operating margin | −2.7% | 29.3% |
| Net margin | −8.5% | 28.4% |
| FCF margin | 3.0% | 24.8% |
| Return on capital | −1.4% | 20.9% |
| Return on equity | −14.6% | 16.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $7.5B | −$5.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 11.1x | −1.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $348M | $2.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 54.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.