Waters (WAT) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Key Points

• Waters will release Q1 2026 results before the market opens on May 5, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET; analysts expect $2.30 EPS and ~$1.172 billion revenue while the company guided Q1 EPS to $2.25–$2.35 and FY 2026 EPS to $14.30–$14.50.
• In the prior quarter Waters beat estimates with $4.53 EPS (vs. $4.50 expected) and $932.4M revenue; analysts project about $14 EPS for the current fiscal year and $16 for next year, and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $387.53 target.
• Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares at $289.46, boosting insider ownership, and WAT trades with a market cap of $29.5B, a P/E of 27.9, a 52-week range of $275.05–$414.15, and roughly 94% institutional ownership.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) is expected to release its Q1 2026 results before the market opens on Tuesday, May 5th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.30 per share and revenue of $1.1723 billion for the quarter. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Investors are encouraged to explore the company's upcoming Q1 2026 earning overview page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The company's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. On average, analysts expect Waters to post $14 EPS for the current fiscal year and $16 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $300.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.20. Waters has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $311.26 and its 200 day moving average is $352.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,787 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,538 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 728.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 38,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $14,785,000 after buying an additional 34,227 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 12,818 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,752,000 after buying an additional 5,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore upgraded shares of Waters from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.53.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.

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