Baxter International (BAX) Tops Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Company Performance - Baxter International reported quarterly earnings of $0.88 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.86 per share, and matching the earnings from a year ago [1] - The company achieved revenues of $3.89 billion for the quarter ended December 2023, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.28%, with revenues unchanged from the previous year [1] - Over the last four quarters, Baxter has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times and has topped consensus revenue estimates three times as well [1] Market Performance - Baxter shares have increased approximately 1.9% since the beginning of the year, compared to the S&P 500's gain of 4.7% [2] - The stock's immediate price movement will largely depend on management's commentary during the earnings call [2] Earnings Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $0.63 on revenues of $3.61 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $2.93 on revenues of $15.19 billion [4] - The estimate revisions trend for Baxter is currently unfavorable, resulting in a Zacks Rank 4 (Sell) for the stock, indicating expected underperformance in the near future [3] Industry Context - The Medical - Products industry, to which Baxter belongs, is currently in the bottom 33% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting potential challenges ahead [4] - The performance of Baxter's stock may be influenced by the overall outlook for the industry [4]