Waters Corporation (WAT)
Waters Corporation creates the high-tech analytical tools and software that scientists use to test the purity and safety of medicines and food.
Is Waters Corporation a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Essential role in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Worth weighing: High valuation relative to current earnings.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Waters Corporation do?
Think of Waters as the 'quality control' department for the global pharmaceutical industry. They make sophisticated machines that separate and identify chemical compounds, ensuring that the pills in your cabinet or the food on your plate are exactly what they claim to be. The income flows from selling these expensive instruments plus the ongoing service contracts and chemical supplies needed to keep them running. What really moves the needle here is how much money pharmaceutical companies spend on research and development, as that is where Waters' equipment is most essential.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and momentum, and weakest on income.
- !Pays no dividend - the whole return rides on the share price
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 113% over the year
- !High P/E of 105 - big growth is already priced in
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- Growth screens high
- Momentum screens high
- Value screens low
- Income screens low
Does Waters Corporation pay a dividend?
No - Waters Corporation doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.
Does Waters Corporation have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $539.00M in cash against about $5.09B of debt - so it has net debt of about $4.55B. Debt is not automatically a problem - it funds growth - but it has to be serviced and repaid, which matters more when profits wobble.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do Waters Corporation's numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Waters Corporation actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Waters Corporation fell as much as −33% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns Waters Corporation?
About 99% of Waters Corporation, or about 99 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds. The rest, roughly 1%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Waters Corporation make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Waters Corporation's sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £44 covers making the product or service, £52 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £4 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Waters Corporation report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Waters Corporation is next scheduled to report on about 2026-10-30 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-04 | $3.01 | $3.05 | Beat +1% |
| 2026-05-05 | $2.31 | $2.70 | Beat +17% |
| 2026-02-09 | $4.51 | $4.53 | In line |
| 2025-11-04 | $3.22 | $3.40 | Beat +5% |
| 2025-08-04 | $2.94 | $2.95 | In line |
| 2025-05-06 | $2.22 | $2.25 | Beat +1% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Waters Corporation came in ahead of what analysts expected 4 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Waters Corporation?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Expansion into new testing markets like food safety
Long-term shift away from traditional lab testing
What are the pros and cons of Waters Corporation?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Essential role in the pharmaceutical supply chain
- High gross margins suggest strong pricing power
- Significant portion of revenue comes from recurring service and supplies
- High valuation relative to current earnings
- No dividend payments for income-focused investors
- Relies heavily on the spending habits of large pharmaceutical firms
- Economic downturns could lead to cuts in research budgets
- Technological disruption from cheaper or faster testing methods
- Supply chain issues affecting the production of complex machinery
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained drop in pharmaceutical research and development spending
- Loss of market share to lower-cost competitors
Common questions about Waters Corporation
Does Waters Corporation pay a dividend?
No - Waters Corporation does not currently pay a dividend, so the return would rest on the share price. Many growing companies reinvest profits instead of paying them out.
When does Waters Corporation report earnings next?
Waters Corporation is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-10-30. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
More in Healthcare
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
Cardinal Health, Inc.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
McKesson Corporation
Pfizer Inc.
Zoetis Inc.
Becton, Dickinson and Company
UnitedHealth Group IncorporatedBuilt from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →
This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.