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Flags

Earnings warning

Waters

NYQ:WAT · US9418481035
Life Sciences Tools & ServicesLarge

360

35
EV / EBIT48
Price / Owner Earnings20
Owner Earnings Yield59
Dividend Yield1
Price/Sales34
EV / Gross Profit15
Price/Book73
Return on Capital43
Cash Return on Capital57
Return on Equity50
EBIT Margin71
Gross Profitability9
Cash Conversion5
Accruals44
Owner Earnings Margin83
Sales growth100
Profit Growth94
Long-Term EPS Growth62
Owner Earnings Growth40
Reinvestment98
Price momentum37
Debt load51
Refinancing51
Debt Payback25
Liquidity72
Analyst ratings50
Opinion Changes37
Price Target Upside37
Market mood82
Value Creation10/20creating some value
  • Creates more value than its capital costs
  • Owner earnings growing
  • Owner earnings per share growing
  • Reinvests at strong returns
  • Solid earnings base

What this means

Waters clears its cost of capital, but the record is mixed across the five tests. Real value creation, just not yet consistent.

Profile

CountryUSA
IndustryLife Sciences Tools & Services
SizeLarge
TypePublic Company
ExchangeNYSE
Founded1991
Employees6,990
Websitewaters.com
ISINUS9418481035
Last UpdateApr 2, 2026
Indices
S&P 500 (USA)D.J. US Health Care
Themes
SensorsEnvironment, Health and Safety (EH&S)Process AutomationHealth DiagnosticsEnvironmental ConsultingBiomedical EngineeringDetectors, Sensors and MemsSoftware DevelopmentSearch Engine

Description

Waters Corporation operates as a global company in analytical instruments and software, has pioneered innovations in chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis serving life, materials and food sciences. The company primarily designs, man…

Analysis

Middle-of-the-road

Waters Corporation sits in the middle of our grid: average quality, average price, no obvious signal in either direction.

On valuation, the picture is expensive. The owner-earnings multiple stands at 51.3×; owner earnings: the cash an owner could take out each year. The implied growth embedded in that price is around 19% a year, against analyst forecasts of 11%. The gap between price and consensus is worth watching: demanding expectations.

Growth is solid; the safety picture is stretched. The company scores 10/20 on our value-creation score: creating some value.

Flags to be aware of: Reported profits have run ahead of actual cash for several periods. As always: this describes the company's numbers; it is not a recommendation.

360° rank · history

1007550250
89
2023202420252026

All-time high

89

Jun 2026

All-time low

4

Jan 2025

Average rank

32

across all years

Detailed & Historical Ranks

Deep dive into 15 detailed ranks and 3 years of history.

Current202520242023
Price/Sales
34
12
23
42
Price/Earnings
44
33
46
49
Price/Book
73
8
1
3
Dividend Yield
1
1
1
1
Value (overall)
37
1
8
13

Cells are coloured by rank band (red weak → green strong). Sentiment & 360° history begins 2023.

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Make Sense of the Ranks

Every rank runs 1–100 against true peers. Higher is always better.

360° View
1 · Watch OutGood· 100
Value
1 · ExpensiveGood Value· 100
Quality
1 · Weak FundamentalsHigh Quality· 100
Growth
1 · Tough TimesHigh Growth· 100
Safety
1 · High LeverageWell-Financed· 100
Sentiment
1 · SkepticismPositive· 100
Learn More →