Sifting through countless of stocks in the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc.

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a portfolio of healthcare products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Medical Products & Therapies, Healthcare Systems & Technologies, and Pharmaceuticals. It offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; inhaled anesthetics; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products; advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space comprising operating room integration technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories. The company also provides specialty injectable pharmaceuticals, inhaled anesthetics, and drug compounding services. Its products are used in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory surgery centers, doctors’ offices, kidney dialysis centers, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company sells its products through direct sales force, independent distributors, drug wholesalers, and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers. It operates in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Western Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Baxter International Inc. was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a medical technology company worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, and markets orthopedic reconstructive products, such as knee and hip products; S.E.T. products, including sports medicine, biologics, foot and ankle, upper extremities, and trauma and CMFT products; sports medicine products for the repair of soft tissue injuries, used in the knee and shoulder; and craniomaxillofacial and thoracic products comprising face and skull reconstruction products, as well as products that fixate and stabilize the bones of the chest to facilitate healing or reconstruction after open-heart surgery, trauma, or for deformities of the chest. It offers technology and data, bone cement, and surgical products; and a suite of integrated digital and robotic technologies that leverage data, data analytics and artificial intelligence. The company’s products and solutions are used to treat patients suffering from disorders of, or injuries to, bones, joints, or supporting soft tissues. It serves orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, hospitals, healthcare institutions, stocking distributors, healthcare dealers, and other specialists, as well as agents, healthcare purchasing organizations, or buying groups. It also offers ROSA Robot, which utilizes robotic technologies to assist a surgeon with implant positioning in total knee arthroplasty or partial knee arthroplasty; and the ZBEdge Platform connects robotic and digital technologies together to collect data before, during and after surgery, that can deliver insights to surgeons to assist in making informed decisions on patient care. The company was formerly known as Zimmer Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. in June 2015. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.

Latest Health Care Equipment & Supplies and Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Baxter International Inc. had a $13.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Equipment & Supplies median of $416.1 million. Baxter International Inc.’s stock is up 33.6% in 2026, down 1.6% in the previous five trading days and up 6.33% in the past year.

Currently, Baxter International Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Baxter International Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $11.5 billion with a -9.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.047 per share for the current fiscal year. Baxter International Inc. currently has a 0.2% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. had a $19.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 85th percentile of all stocks. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.’s stock is up 10.4% in 2026, down 0.2% in the previous five trading days and down 5.25% in the past year.

Currently, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 24.2. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $8.5 billion with a 9.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.534 per share for the current fiscal year. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. currently has a 1.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Baxter International Inc.	BAX	C
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.	ZBH	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Baxter International Inc. has a Value Score of 48, which is Average. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. has a Value Score of 55, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Baxter International Inc.	BAX	C
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.	ZBH	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Baxter International Inc. has a Quality Score of 59, which is Average. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 88, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Baxter International Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Baxter International Inc.	BAX	B
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.	ZBH	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Baxter International Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 69, which is Positive. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 71, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc. have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings or Inc. is a better fit.

Other Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Baxter International Inc. stock has a Value Score of 48, Estimate Revisions Score of 69 and Quality Score of 59.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 55, Estimate Revisions Score of 71 and Quality Score of 88.

Comparing Baxter International Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.