WATERS CORP /DE/
WAT · Laboratory Analytical Instruments · 98.2M shares · -3%/yr ↓ buyback · EDGAR filings ↗
Net buyback after stock comp: $33M (gross $70M, SBC $37M)
Reference price $289.46 · est. market cap ~$28.4B — last insider purchase, 2026-03-16 (estimated from the dated SEC Form 4 price × shares outstanding — not a live quote)
Grade
A87Dominant analytical-instruments franchise with top-decile margins, returns and cash generation and a deep recurring-revenue moat.
Strengths
- Top-decile profitability: operating margin and ROIC at 100th pct, net margin 90.9th, ROA 92nd, ROE ~25% (91.7th)
- High-switching-cost installed base of LC/MS systems with growing recurring chemistry/service revenue (recurring +8%), gross margin 84th pct
Risks
- China exposure and government-procurement tightening pressured prior-year sales; macro/tariff uncertainty
- Large debt-funded BDS (BD Biosciences) acquisition (~$16.8B, ~$4B assumed debt) adds integration and leverage risk
Notable findings
- High convictionHigh conviction — notable institutional holders, insider buying, and a strong balance sheet
- Fund exitedNotable fund(s) exited this quarter: VANGUARD GROUP INC
- Exec changeRecent 8-K item 5.02 8-K ↗
- Strong balance sheetStrong balance sheet — $588M cash & investments
- Insider buyingInsider buying — 2 open-market buy(s) by 2 insider(s) (cluster of 2 insiders, ~$451,070, last 6mo) Form 4 ↗
- Buying back stockNet buyback — share count -3%/yr over 4y
- AccumulatingInstitutional holders rose 9→11 QoQ (2025-12-31→2026-03-31)
- Notable holderHeld by 4 notable fund(s): STATE STREET CORP, GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC, FMR LLC +1 more (as of 2026-03-31)
Quarterly revenue
Last 4 quarters · from SEC filings.
Key metrics
Gross margin
59.3%
Operating margin
25.4%
Net margin
20.3%
Return on equity
25.1%
Return on assets
12.7%
ROIC
18.1%
Revenue growth (QoQ)
35.9%
Net-income growth
0.8%
Debt / equity
0.4×
Interest coverage
11.5×
Current ratio
1.7×
Tangible book value
$663M
Cash & investments
$588M
Stock comp / revenue
1.7%
Insider transactions · last 18 months
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-24 | Carpio Robert L III | Tax withheld | 189 | $369.18 |
| 2026-05-12 | Chaubal Amol | Tax withheld | 239 | $352.21 |
| 2026-04-06 | Bennett Jianqing | Tax withheld | 302 | $304.09 |
| 2026-03-31 | Knight Heather | Grant | 68 | — |
| 2026-03-31 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 64 | — |
| 2026-03-16 | Jiang Wei | Buy | 500 | $289.46 |
| 2026-03-06 | FEARON RICHARD H | Buy | 1.0K | $306.34 |
| 2026-03-02 | Bennett Jianqing | Tax withheld | 410 | $307.23 |
| 2026-03-02 | Chaubal Amol | Tax withheld | 709 | $307.23 |
| 2026-03-02 | Batra Udit | Tax withheld | 3.4K | $307.23 |
| 2026-02-25 | FEARON RICHARD H | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Brennan Daniel J. | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | BADDOUR LINDA | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Ornskov Flemming | Grant | 336 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | KUEBLER CHRISTOPHER A | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Carpio Robert L III | Grant | 997 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Bennett Jianqing | Grant | 986 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Chaubal Amol | Grant | 1.5K | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Batra Udit | Grant | 5.2K | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Vergnano Mark | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Knight Heather | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Huang Pearl S | Grant | 23 | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Fraser Claire | Grant | 358 | — |
| 2026-02-05 | Chaubal Amol | Tax withheld | 58 | $376.89 |
| 2026-02-05 | Bennett Jianqing | Tax withheld | 43 | $376.89 |
| 2026-02-05 | Batra Udit | Tax withheld | 218 | $376.89 |
| 2026-02-05 | Carpio Robert L III | Tax withheld | 38 | $376.89 |
| 2026-02-04 | Chaubal Amol | Grant | 1.9K | — |
| 2026-02-04 | Bennett Jianqing | Grant | 1.4K | — |
| 2026-02-04 | Batra Udit | Grant | 7.1K | — |
| 2026-01-02 | Ornskov Flemming | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | Vergnano Mark | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | KUEBLER CHRISTOPHER A | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | Huang Pearl S | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | FEARON RICHARD H | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | Brennan Daniel J. | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | BADDOUR LINDA | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2026-01-02 | Knight Heather | Grant | 307 | — |
| 2025-12-31 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 60 | — |
| 2025-12-31 | Knight Heather | Grant | 60 | — |
| 2025-11-05 | KUEBLER CHRISTOPHER A | Option exercise | 3.8K | $130.35 |
| 2025-11-05 | KUEBLER CHRISTOPHER A | Tax withheld | 1.3K | $371.97 |
| 2025-09-30 | Knight Heather | Grant | 78 | — |
| 2025-09-30 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 73 | — |
| 2025-06-30 | Knight Heather | Grant | 68 | — |
| 2025-06-30 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 68 | — |
| 2025-06-24 | Carpio Robert L III | Tax withheld | 134 | $346.80 |
| 2025-05-12 | Chaubal Amol | Tax withheld | 239 | $366.67 |
| 2025-04-07 | Bennett Jianqing | Tax withheld | 303 | $325.80 |
| 2025-03-31 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 53 | — |
| 2025-03-31 | Knight Heather | Grant | 53 | — |
| 2025-03-01 | Bennett Jianqing | Tax withheld | 786 | $371.79 |
| 2025-03-01 | Chaubal Amol | Tax withheld | 1.1K | $371.79 |
| 2025-03-01 | Batra Udit | Tax withheld | 5.0K | $371.79 |
| 2025-02-05 | Batra Udit | Grant | 3.6K | — |
| 2025-02-05 | Batra Udit | Grant | 11K | — |
| 2025-02-05 | Chaubal Amol | Grant | 3.3K | — |
| 2025-02-05 | Chaubal Amol | Grant | 833 | — |
| 2025-02-05 | Bennett Jianqing | Grant | 2.6K | — |
| 2025-02-05 | Bennett Jianqing | Grant | 615 | — |
| 2025-02-05 | Carpio Robert L III | Grant | 543 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | Knight Heather | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | Huang Pearl S | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | VERGNANO MARK P | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | Ornskov Flemming | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | KUEBLER CHRISTOPHER A | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | FEARON RICHARD H | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | BADDOUR LINDA | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2025-01-02 | Brennan Daniel J. | Grant | 319 | — |
| 2024-12-31 | Jiang Wei | Grant | 81 | — |
| 2024-12-31 | Huang Pearl S | Grant | 83 | — |
| 2024-12-31 | Knight Heather | Grant | 72 | — |
All non-derivative Form 4 activity (SEC), newest first.
Notable events (8-K)
| Date | Items | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-22 | Shareholder vote | filing ↗ |
| 2026-05-05 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-03-23 | Material agreementDebt obligationOtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-03-16 | OtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-02-09 | Material agreementAcquisition/dispositionDebt obligationExec/director changeReg FDExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-02-09 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-01-27 | Shareholder voteReg FDOtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-01-16 | Other | filing ↗ |
Recent filings
| Form | Filed | Period | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-K | 2026-05-22 | 2026-05-21 | 0001193125-26-236929 ↗ |
| 10-Q | 2026-05-12 | 2026-04-04 | 0001193125-26-219487 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-05-05 | 2026-05-05 | 0001193125-26-204955 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-03-23 | 2026-03-23 | 0001193125-26-119753 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-03-16 | 2026-03-16 | 0001193125-26-107339 ↗ |
| 10-K | 2026-02-23 | 2025-12-31 | 0001193125-26-062604 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-02-09 | 2026-02-09 | 0001193125-26-041897 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-02-09 | 2026-02-09 | 0001193125-26-042819 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-01-27 | 2026-01-27 | 0001193125-26-024492 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-01-16 | 2026-01-16 | 0001193125-26-015384 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-01-12 | 2026-01-12 | 0001193125-26-010633 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2025-11-04 | 2025-11-04 | 0001193125-25-263520 ↗ |