Waters Corp WAT Stock Analysis
- NYSE
- Stock
- Market closed · opens Monday 9:30 AM ET
$457.60 up $4.52, 1.00% at close Nov 6
Last close · Previous close $453.08
- Market cap
- $44.93BAt the Nov 6 close
- P/E ratio
- 114.40On last 12 months’ EPS
- Diluted EPS
- $4.00Last 12 months
- Dividend yield
- NoneLast 12 months
Price chart
$457.60up $4.52, 1.00%Fri, Nov 6 session
Use the left and right arrow keys to move along the chart.
Price data
Trading
- Previous close$453.08Nov 5
- Volume695.78KNov 6 session
Shares traded on all US exchanges in the last completed session. Live intraday volume covers IEX only, so it is left out.
- Avg. volume1.04MLast 21 sessions
The average daily shares traded over the last 21 trading sessions, about one calendar month.
- 52-week range: $282.77 to $482.28; now $457.60
The lowest and highest trades over the past 52 weeks, adjusted for splits. The marker shows the latest price.
Member SIPC.Low CommissionsLearn More (opens in a new tab)Sponsored. Affiliate link: I may earn a commission. The inclusion of Interactive Brokers’ (IBKR) name, logo or weblink is present pursuant to an advertising arrangement only. IBKR is not a contributor, reviewer, provider or sponsor of content published on this site, and is not responsible for the accuracy of any products or services discussed.
Performance
Past performance, measured to the Nov 6 close. Total return includes reinvested dividends.Price change only, without dividends. Compared with the S&P 500, using SPY.
WAT beat the S&P 500 in 5 of 7 periods.
| Period | WAT and S&P 500 | vs S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Short term | ||
| 1M | WAT: up 4.9% S&P 500: down 5.6% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 10.5 percentage points Beat |
| 3M | WAT: up 14.5% S&P 500: down 4.1% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 18.6 percentage points Beat |
| YTD | WAT: up 20.5% S&P 500: up 8.7% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 11.8 percentage points Beat |
| 1Y | WAT: up 23.3% S&P 500: up 10.9% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 12.4 percentage points Beat |
| Long term | ||
| 3Y | WAT: up 81.5% S&P 500: up 75.0% +22.0% vs +20.5% a year | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 6.5 percentage points Beat |
| 5Y | WAT: up 33.4% S&P 500: up 67.8% +5.9% vs +10.9% a year | WAT trailed the S&P 500 by 34.4 percentage points Trailed |
| 10Y | WAT: up 231.5% S&P 500: up 313.1% +12.7% vs +15.2% a year | WAT trailed the S&P 500 by 81.6 percentage points Trailed |
$10,000 invested in WAT 10 years ago (Nov 4, 2016) would be worth about $33,150 at the close on , with dividends reinvested. The same amount in the S&P 500 would be worth about $41,313.
WAT beat the S&P 500 in 5 of 7 periods.
| Period | WAT and S&P 500 | vs S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Short term | ||
| 1M | WAT: up 4.9% S&P 500: down 5.6% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 10.5 percentage points Beat |
| 3M | WAT: up 14.5% S&P 500: down 4.3% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 18.8 percentage points Beat |
| YTD | WAT: up 20.5% S&P 500: up 7.8% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 12.7 percentage points Beat |
| 1Y | WAT: up 23.3% S&P 500: up 9.7% | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 13.6 percentage points Beat |
| Long term | ||
| 3Y | WAT: up 81.5% S&P 500: up 68.8% +22.0% vs +19.1% a year | WAT beat the S&P 500 by 12.7 percentage points Beat |
| 5Y | WAT: up 33.4% S&P 500: up 56.9% +5.9% vs +9.4% a year | WAT trailed the S&P 500 by 23.5 percentage points Trailed |
| 10Y | WAT: up 231.5% S&P 500: up 252.6% +12.7% vs +13.4% a year | WAT trailed the S&P 500 by 21.1 percentage points Trailed |
$10,000 invested in WAT 10 years ago (Nov 4, 2016) would be worth about $33,150 at the close on , not counting dividends. The same amount in the S&P 500 would be worth about $35,257.
All-time high
$480.07
Closing high on . Now 4.7% below that record.
Split-adjusted daily closes since Nov 17, 1995.
Stock splits
2
Latest: 2-for-1 on . One share bought before the first split is 4 shares today.
Both splits
- 2-for-1
- 2-for-1
Valuation
The Nov 6 close compared with the last 12 months of reported results (the four quarters to Jul 4, 2026). Tap a metric to see how it’s calculated.
Price-to-earnings (P/E)
114.4×The Nov 6 close ÷ diluted EPS over the last 12 months ($4.00)
The range covers daily P/E ratios from Oct 28, 2021 to Nov 6, 2026, each based on the previous 12 months of earnings.
WAT trades at 114.4× its earnings over the last 12 months, above its 5-year median of 29.8×. In plain terms, buyers are paying about $114 for each $1 of profit from the past year. How to read P/E
Other valuation measures
- 9.7×Last 12 months’ revenue
Market value divided by revenue over the last 12 months. Useful when earnings are small or negative.
P/S = Market cap ÷ Revenue (last 12 months)Price-to-sales ratio - 3.0×Book value as of Jul 4, 2026
Price relative to accounting equity (book value) per share on the Jul 4, 2026 balance sheet. Asset-light companies often trade far above book value.
P/B = Price ÷ Book value per sharePrice-to-book ratio - 51.5×Last 12 months’ EBITDA
Enterprise value divided by EBITDA over the last 12 months. It compares companies with different amounts of debt.
EV/EBITDA = Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA (last 12 months)EV/EBITDA explained - 0.89%Last 12 months’ free cash flow
Free cash flow over the last 12 months as a share of the company’s market value: the cash the business generated for each dollar of stock.
FCF yield = Free cash flow (last 12 months) ÷ Market capFree cash flow - $49.84BAt the Nov 6 close
What it would cost to buy the whole business: the market cap at the Nov 6 close, plus debt, minus cash and short-term investments from the Jul 4, 2026 balance sheet.
EV = Market cap + Debt − Cash and short-term investmentsEV/EBITDA explained
Build your own WAT DCF in Excel. Value Waters with your own growth and margin assumptions.Browse DCF models Free DCF calculator
Financials
Reported results, not forecasts. From company filings via Tiingo; the latest report is Q2 FY26, the quarter ended Jul 4, 2026. “Last 12 months” means the four quarters from Jun 29, 2025 to Jul 4, 2026, and balance-sheet figures are as of Jul 4, 2026.
Revenue and net income
Last 12 months, with the change from the 12 months before
- Revenue
- $4.64Bup 52.5%
- Net income
- $166.14Mdown 74.9%
- Diluted EPS
- $4.00down 63.9%
Data table
| Period | Revenue | Net income | Diluted EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 FY24 (Sep 28, 2024) | $740.31M | $161.50M | $2.71 |
| Q4 FY24 (Dec 31, 2024) | $872.71M | $231.40M | $3.88 |
| Q1 FY25 (Mar 29, 2025) | $662.00M | $121.00M | $2.03 |
| Q2 FY25 (Jun 28, 2025) | $771.00M | $147.00M | $2.47 |
| Q3 FY25 (Sep 27, 2025) | $799.89M | $148.92M | $2.50 |
| Q4 FY25 (Dec 31, 2025) | $932.36M | $225.21M | $3.76 |
| Q1 FY26 (Apr 4, 2026) | $1.27B | −$72.00M | −$0.87 |
| Q2 FY26 (Jul 4, 2026) | $1.65B | −$136.00M | −$1.39 |
| Period | Revenue | Net income | Diluted EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY21 (Dec 31, 2021) | $2.79B | $692.84M | $11.17 |
| FY22 (Dec 31, 2022) | $2.97B | $707.76M | $11.73 |
| FY23 (Dec 31, 2023) | $2.96B | $642.23M | $10.84 |
| FY24 (Dec 31, 2024) | $2.96B | $637.83M | $10.71 |
| FY25 (Dec 31, 2025) | $3.17B | $642.63M | $10.76 |
Margins
- Gross 50.9%
- Operating 7.1%
- Net 3.6%
The percentages above the chart cover the last 12 months; the lines show each quarter. What margins tell you
Cash flow
- $401.29MLast 12 months
Cash from operations minus capital spending: the cash left after the business maintains and grows its assets.
FCF = Operating cash flow − Capital spendingFree cash flow - Operating cash flow$549.86MLast 12 months
- Capital spending$148.57MLast 12 months
- 8.6%Last 12 months
Free cash flow as a share of revenue, both over the last 12 months.
Shareholder returns
- $8.69MLast 12 months
Cash spent repurchasing shares, net of shares issued. Buybacks shrink the share count, so each remaining share owns more of the company.
- Dividends paid$0.00Last 12 months
- Total returned$0.00Last 12 months
0% of free cash flow
Balance sheet
- $539.00MAs of Jul 4, 2026
Cash plus short- and long-term marketable securities on the Jul 4, 2026 balance sheet.
- Total debt$5.45BAs of Jul 4, 2026
- Net debt$4.92BAs of Jul 4, 2026
- 1.86As of Jul 4, 2026
Current assets divided by current liabilities on the Jul 4, 2026 balance sheet. Above 1 means short-term assets cover the bills due within a year.
Current ratio = Current assets ÷ Current liabilitiesCurrent ratio - 0.36As of Jul 4, 2026
Total debt divided by shareholders’ equity on the Jul 4, 2026 balance sheet: a measure of financial leverage.
D/E = Total debt ÷ Shareholders’ equityDebt-to-equity ratio
Financial strength
- 5 of 9Last 12 months
vs the 12 beforeA 0–9 checklist from accounting professor Joseph Piotroski. Each test compares the last 12 months with the 12 months before and scores a point if it passes. 8–9 is strong; 0–2 is weak.
- ✓Net income was positive: passed
- ✓Operating cash flow was positive: passed
- ✗Return on assets improved: not passed
- ✓Operating cash flow exceeded net income: passed
- ✗Long-term debt fell relative to assets: not passed
- ✓Current ratio improved: passed
- ✗Share count didn’t rise: not passed
- ✗Gross margin improved: not passed
- ✓Asset turnover (revenue ÷ assets) improved: passed
- 1.9%Last 12 months
Over the last 12 months, Waters’s net income was 1.9% of its shareholders’ equity (averaged over the last four quarter-ends). It describes the past year, not an expected return.
ROE = Net income (last 12 months) ÷ Average equityReturn on equity - 1.1%Last 12 months
Over the last 12 months, Waters’s net income was 1.1% of its total assets (averaged over the last four quarter-ends): what the business earned on everything it owns.
ROA = Net income (last 12 months) ÷ Average total assets
About Waters Corp
Waters Corporation is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. Non-GAAP Financial Measures This release contains financial measures, such as organic constant currency growth rates, constant currency growth rates, prior year comparable revenue, adjusted earnings per diluted share, and adjusted free cash flow, among others, which are considered "non-GAAP" financial measures under applicable SEC rules and regulations. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered supplemental to, and not a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The Company's definitions of these non-GAAP measures may differ from similarly titled measures used by others. The non-GAAP financial measures used in this release adjust for specified items that can be highly variable or difficult to predict. The Company generally uses these non-GAAP financial measures to facilitate management's financial and operational decision-making, including evaluation of the Company's historical operating results, comparison to competitors' operating results and determination of management incentive compensation. These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of the Company's operations that, when viewed with GAAP results and the reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, may provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting the Company's business. Because non-GAAP financial measures exclude the effect of items that will increase or decrease the Company's reported results of operations, management strongly encourages investors to review the Company's consolidated financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety. Definitions of the non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the tables accompanying this release. Cautionary Statement This release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding future results and events.
- Sector
- Healthcare
- Industry
- Diagnostics & Research
- Headquarters
- Massachusetts, USA
- SEC filings
- EDGAR (opens in a new tab)
- Exchange
- NYSE
- Asset type
- Common stock
- Price history since
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WAT stock FAQ
What is WAT stock’s price today?
Waters (WAT) traded at $457.60 at the close on , up $4.52 (1.00%) from the previous close of $453.08. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $282.77 and $482.28.
If you invested $1,000 in WAT 10 years ago, how much would you have now?
With dividends reinvested, $1,000 invested in WAT on would be worth about $3,315 at the close on , a total return of +231.5%. The same $1,000 would be worth $1,334 if invested five years ago, $1,233 if invested one year ago, $9,215 if invested 20 years ago, and $60,260 if invested 30 years ago. Past performance doesn’t predict future returns.
What is Waters’s market cap?
Waters’s market capitalization is about $44.9 billion. That’s Tiingo’s daily market cap for , at that day’s closing price of $457.60 (how market cap works). Waters reported 98.19M shares outstanding at the end of its latest quarter ().
What is WAT’s P/E ratio?
WAT trades at 114.4 times its diluted earnings over the four quarters to ($4.00 per share), at the close. Over the past five years its P/E has ranged from 21.3 to 283.7, with a median of 29.8. (How the P/E ratio works.)
How much revenue does Waters make?
Waters reported $4.6 billion of revenue over the four quarters to , up 52.5% from the twelve months before. In its latest quarter (Q2 FY26, ended ) revenue was $1.6 billion, up 113.4% from a year earlier.
Is Waters profitable?
Yes. Waters earned $166.1 million of net income over the four quarters to , a net margin of 3.6%, and its operating margin was 7.1% (what margins tell you).
What are WAT’s earnings per share?
WAT’s diluted earnings per share were $4.00 over the four quarters to , compared with $11.09 in the twelve months before. The latest quarter (Q2 FY26) brought −$1.39 per share, against $2.47 a year earlier (how EPS works).
Does WAT pay a dividend?
Waters hasn’t paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
What is WAT’s 52-week high and low?
Over the past 52 weeks WAT has traded as low as $282.77 and as high as $482.28. At $457.60 at the close on , it is 5.1% below that high and 61.8% above the low.
What is WAT’s all-time high?
WAT’s highest closing price was $480.07 on , adjusted for stock splits. At $457.60 at the close on , it is 4.7% below that record.
Has WAT stock ever split?
Yes, twice: 2-for-1 on ; 2-for-1 on . One share bought before the first split would be 4 shares today.
How has WAT stock performed?
Including dividends and measured to the close on , WAT has returned +20.5% so far this year and +23.3% over the past year, and +33.4% over five years (+5.9% a year). Over the same periods the S&P 500, measured by SPY, returned +8.7%, +10.9% and +67.8%. Past performance doesn’t predict future returns.
What sector and industry is Waters in?
Waters is in the Healthcare sector and the Diagnostics & Research industry, and is headquartered in Massachusetts, USA.
What exchange does WAT trade on?
Waters trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol WAT. Its price history on this dashboard begins on .
Member SIPC.Low CommissionsLearn More (opens in a new tab)Sponsored. Affiliate link: I may earn a commission. The inclusion of Interactive Brokers’ (IBKR) name, logo or weblink is present pursuant to an advertising arrangement only. IBKR is not a contributor, reviewer, provider or sponsor of content published on this site, and is not responsible for the accuracy of any products or services discussed.
About this data. Data sourced by Tiingo (opens in a new tab). The live price is Tiingo’s real-time price, based on IEX trades and quotes; intraday charts show IEX trades, and volume figures are consolidated totals for completed sessions. Prices are split-adjusted, and total returns assume dividends are reinvested. Financials come from company filings and can lag new reports. Times are Eastern.
This page is for education, not investment advice. Past performance doesn't predict future returns. Logos provided by Logo.dev (opens in a new tab).
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