Economic Impacts

As part of Baxter's Making a Meaningful Difference campaign, employee volunteers participate in free healthcare clinics such as this one in India to provide checkups to children in impoverished areas.

Baxter's direct and indirect economic impacts on its stakeholders are an important aspect of the company's sustainability performance. Direct impacts can be described by financial transactions, such as revenue received from customers, wages and benefits provided to employees, and tax payments made to governments. Some but not all of these appear in a company's financial statements. Indirect impacts, which can be more difficult to quantify, include increased productivity and money saved by customers due to their use of Baxter's products, and job creation outside of Baxter due to the company's spending.

Baxter's Financial Performance

Baxter's broader economic impacts depend on its ongoing financial performance. The company's global net sales totaled $12.84 billion in 2010, an increase of 2% over 2009. Sales within the United States totaled $5.26 billion, roughly flat compared to 2009, and international sales totaled $7.58 billion, an increase of 5% over 2009. Baxter's net income for 2010 totaled $1.4 billion compared to $2.2 billion the prior year. On an adjusted basis, excluding special charges in 2009 and 2010, Baxter's net income in 2010 was $2.4 billion, an increase of 2% over 2009. Over the five years ending December 31, 2010, total shareholder return (including dividends) was 46%.

For a detailed description of the company's financial performance, see Baxter's 2010 Annual Report. For other investor information such as upcoming events, presentations and reports, see the Investors portion of the company's website.