Alcon (ALC) vs Baxter International Inc. (BAX)

Alcon and Baxter International Inc. are both Medical Instruments & Supplies companies. Alcon is the larger, with a market value of $36.9B against $13.3B — 2.8× the size. Baxter International Inc. has negative trailing earnings, so its P/E is not meaningful; Alcon trades at 58.4×. Alcon grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 8.34% against 5.33%. Alcon has the higher net margin (5.92% vs −6.23%) and the higher return on invested capital (2.38% vs −1.05%). Both pay a dividend; Alcon yields more (0.46% vs 0.16%). Across the 21 metrics below, Alcon leads on 16 and Baxter International Inc. on 5.

Valuation

Metric ALC BAX Medical Instruments & Supplies median
P/E 58.36 n/m 30.28
P/S 3.43 1.14 2.49
P/B 1.72 2.04 2.34
Price to free cash flow 23.34 11.63 23.49
EV/EBITDA 14.80 13.15 14.87
EV/Sales 3.73 1.71 2.75
Earnings yield 1.71% (5.52%) 0.00%
Free cash flow yield 4.28% 8.60% 0.59%

Profitability

Metric ALC BAX Medical Instruments & Supplies median
Gross margin 56.85% 30.09% 53.60%
Operating margin 8.73% (1.90%) 1.97%
Net margin 5.92% (6.23%) 0.00%
Free cash flow margin 14.68% 9.79% 2.36%
Return on equity 2.94% (10.56%) 0.00%
Return on assets 2.06% (3.57%) 0.00%
Return on invested capital 2.38% (1.05%) 0.13%

Growth

Metric ALC BAX Medical Instruments & Supplies median
Revenue growth (TTM) 8.34% 5.33% 8.97%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) (3.41%) (47.24%) 6.51%
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 8.77% (0.75%) 8.85%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

Health

Metric ALC BAX Medical Instruments & Supplies median
Debt to equity 0.22 1.33 0.10
Current ratio 2.09 1.79 2.47
Net debt to EBITDA 1.23 5.19 0.97

Dividend

Metric ALC BAX Medical Instruments & Supplies median
Dividend yield 0.46% 0.16% 1.02%
Payout ratio 0.27 — 0.27

Size

Metric ALC BAX Medical Instruments & Supplies median
Market cap 36.90b 13.27b 1.71b

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