Baxter International Inc. (BAX)

Baxter reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $2.96 billion on 30 July, up 5 percent 3. Net income was $135 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, on a US accounting basis 3. Free cash flow, the cash left after spending on equipment and buildings, was $181 million 3.

The company raised its 2026 outlook and now expects sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent and adjusted earnings of $1.95 to $2.15 per share 3. Chief executive Andrew Hider said the quarter also gained from a tariff refund that earlier guidance had not counted 3.

The infusion pump problem is not settled 2. Baxter has stopped shipping and installing its Novum IQ pump in the U.S. and Canada since July 2025, and the 10-Q says the timing of any release is uncertain 2. John Rogers was named finance chief on 18 August 2026, effective 1 October 4.

Baxter was incorporated in Delaware in 1931 and today sells the basics of a hospital: sterile IV fluids, infusion pumps, nutrition therapies, surgical sealants, smart beds and patient monitors 1.

In December 2021 it bought Hillrom, which added hospital beds, monitors and surgical equipment 1. The company says fitting Hillrom into Baxter has taken longer than first expected and has added costs 1.

Net sales rose from $10.36 billion in 2023 to $10.64 billion in 2024 and $11.24 billion in 2025 1. Part of the 2025 rise came from selling goods to the former Kidney Care business, which added 3 percent 1.

Baxter then sold two businesses to pay down debt 1. On 29 September 2023 it sold BioPharma Solutions for $3.96 billion in cash, and on 31 January 2025 it sold Kidney Care to Carlyle Group for $3.80 billion 1. Kidney Care is now called Vantive 1.

The company repaid $3.81 billion of older debt in 2025, mostly from the Kidney Care proceeds 1. Even so, it lost $957 million that year after special items cut net income by $2.09 billion 1.

Baxter wrote down goodwill, the extra amount paid for past purchases, by $485 million in 2025 and $425 million in 2024, both on its Front Line Care unit 1.

Hurricane Helene damaged its North Cove IV fluid plant in September 2024, and that site made about 60 percent of U.S. IV fluid supply, Healthcare Dive reported 18.

Hospitals learned to conserve fluid, and the finance chief then in post said demand was still 10 percent to 15 percent below pre-hurricane levels 8.

José Almeida retired as chief executive in February, and in July 2025 MedTech Dive reported that Andrew Hider, formerly chief executive of automation company ATS, would succeed him 9.

What the company sells

Since the second quarter of 2026 Baxter reports two segments: Medical Products and Therapies, and Healthcare Systems and Technologies 3. The old Pharmaceuticals segment now sits inside the infusion division 3.

Infusion and surgery

Medical Products and Therapies had second-quarter sales of about $2.1 billion, up 7 percent, led by drug compounding (mixing custom medicines for hospitals) and IV solutions 3. Sales of the Novum IQ pump were held back 3.

In 2025 infusion therapies sold $4.10 billion, flat on the year, and Advanced Surgery, whose hemostats and sealants help stop bleeding, sold $1.20 billion, up 9 percent 1. Advanced Surgery grew 12 percent in the second quarter of 2026 2.

Pharmaceutical products inside that division include injectable drugs and anesthesia gases, which sold $1.35 billion in 2025, down 2 percent on pricing competition and weaker demand 1. Drug compounding sold $1.14 billion, up 10 percent 1.

The Novum IQ pump

The FDA cleared the Novum IQ large volume pump in April 2024, and MedTech Dive called it central to Baxter's effort to win share of the infusion pump market 7.

In July 2025 the FDA said the pump problem was linked to 79 serious injuries and two deaths 7. The FDA classed Baxter's corrections as Class I recalls, and the company booked about $105 million of related charges in 2025 1.

Baxter's Spectrum IQ pump stays available to customers who own Novum pumps 2.

Beds, monitors and connected care

Andrew Hider is president and chief executive and also acted as interim finance chief from 15 September until Rogers starts 4. Bernie Heine became interim chief accounting officer on that date 4.

Where it sells, plants and people

The U.S. gave $6.12 billion of 2025 sales and international markets $5.12 billion 1. Baxter employs about 37,500 people and makes products in over 20 countries, including at owned plants in North Cove, North Carolina, and Batesville, Indiana 1.

Andrew Hider is president and chief executive, and Brent Shafer was chair as of the last filing check on the company file 1.

Rogers, 58, joined from Smith+Nephew, where he was finance chief 4. CFO Dive reported that his start depends on U.S. work authorization, and that until then he would work from Baxter's U.K. offices 6.

Rivals, customers and problems

No single rival competes in every Baxter business, and customers choose mainly on cost, service and product performance 1. Cardinal Health and Medline warehouse and ship a large share of its U.S. products 1.

Shareholders filed a class action in October 2025 over statements about the Novum pump, covering buyers from 23 February 2022 to 30 July 2025 2. The Justice Department also sent a civil investigative demand in December 2025 about IV bag production 2.

In the first quarter of 2026 Standard & Poor's and Moody's moved their outlooks on Baxter's credit ratings from stable to negative 2. At 30 June 2026 it held $2.15 billion of cash and about $9.46 billion of debt 2.

The umbrella, in words

Baxter's main brands are Novum IQ and Spectrum IQ pumps, and Hillrom, the beds and monitors business it bought in December 2021 12.

It bought Claris Injectables Limited in 2017, which gave it facilities in Ahmedabad, India 1. Baxter Healthcare SA and Baxter World Trade SRL were borrowers on its credit agreement until August 2026, when the second was removed 5.

Baxter no longer owns Vantive, but it agreed to supply and receive dialysis products under a contract lasting up to 10 years after the January 2025 sale 2.

Its corporate offices at One Baxter Parkway in Deerfield, Illinois, are owned 1.

Baxter expects 2026 sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent and adjusted earnings of $1.95 to $2.15 per share, the outlook it raised on 30 July 3.

The company is aiming for a net leverage of about 3.0 times by the end of 2026 (debt compared with earnings) 1. Until then it intends to keep a dividend, make no share repurchases and be highly selective on acquisitions 1.

On 18 August 2026 Baxter agreed to raise the maximum net leverage its lenders allow for five quarters, from the one ending 30 September 2026 to the one ending 30 September 2027 5.

The same day it raised the cap on its cash offers to buy back four series of bonds to up to $600 million from $500 million 5.

On the Novum IQ pump, Baxter says more corrections are needed, some of which may require regulatory clearance, and testing is at an early stage 2.

John Rogers is due to begin as finance chief on 1 October 2026 4.