Waters Corporation Shares Drop 11% on Disappointing Outlook Despite Strong Q4 Results
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 6 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy WAT?
Source: seekingalpha
- Strong Earnings Report: Waters Corporation reported an adjusted EPS of $4.53 and revenue of $932 million for Q4 2025, exceeding market expectations by $0.02 and $3.28 million respectively, driven by robust performance from pharmaceutical and industrial clients.
- Disappointing Outlook: Despite the strong Q4 results, Waters projected an adjusted EPS of $2.25 to $2.35 for Q1 2026, falling short of the consensus estimate of $2.51, with revenue expectations of $1.198 billion to $1.211 billion slightly above analysts' forecast of $712.8 million.
- Merger Completion: The company has completed its merger with BD's Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions, valued at nearly $17.5 billion, which is expected to contribute nearly $3 billion in revenue benefits in the future, enhancing growth prospects.
- Board Expansion: Following the merger, Waters expanded its board to 11 members, adding Claire Fraser, a genome scientist and former director of the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland, which is anticipated to bring new strategic insights to the company.
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Analyst Views on WAT
Wall Street analysts forecast WAT stock price to rise
13 Analyst Rating
8 Buy
5 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 319.830
Low
350.00
Averages
414.08
High
480.00
Current: 319.830
Low
350.00
Averages
414.08
High
480.00
About WAT
Waters Corporation offers analytical instruments, separations technologies, and software, serving the life, materials, food, and environmental sciences. The Company's segments include Waters and TA. The Company primarily designs, manufactures, sells and services high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC and together with HPLC, referred to as LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and comprehensive post-warranty service plans. The Company designs, manufactures, sells and services thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments through its TA Instruments (TA) product line. The Company is also a developer and supplier of advanced software-based products that interface with the Company’s instruments, as well as other manufacturers’ instruments. It operates directly in over 35 countries and has products available in more than 100 countries.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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