Waters Corporation (WAT)

Over the past six months, Waters Corp. stock has experienced fluctuations, including a three-month change of -12.44% as of October 1, 2025. Key events include an agreement to merge with the biosciences & diagnostics unit of Becton Dickinson, Q2 2025 sales of $709 million (a 4% decrease), a workforce reduction of approximately 2% primarily in China, product launches such as the Alliance iS HPLC System Software version 2.0 and BioResolve Protein A Affinity Columns, and Q3 2025 guidance set at $3.15-$3.25 EPS.

Demand for Waters' products and services is influenced by global economic conditions, regional market dynamics, industrial sector performance, and the adoption of new technologies. Recurring revenue streams and a focus on regulated markets provide stability. The industrial market has shown more volatility compared to the pharmaceutical end-market. Geographic demand fluctuations have been observed, such as a decline in China and growth in India. New product adoption and post-pandemic recovery also impact demand.

Waters Corporation is a specialty measurement company that provides analytical instruments and software for the life, materials, and food sciences industries. The company's offerings include chromatography systems, mass spectrometry systems, chemistry consumables, thermal analysis instruments, informatics software, and laboratory automation equipment. Waters' products are used in drug discovery, clinical trials, protein analysis, nutritional safety, environmental testing, food analysis, and material characterization, serving pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, industrial, academic, and governmental customers.

Waters Corporation has a global presence, operating in over 100 countries with more than 7,600 employees. It has manufacturing facilities in 9 U.S. locations and 11 international locations. The company's net sales are distributed geographically, with the United States accounting for 31.4%, Americas (excluding the US) 6.1%, China 14.9%, Japan 5.7%, Asia (excluding China and Japan) 13.5%, and Europe 28.4%.

Waters Corporation has maintained a strong brand reputation, particularly in sustainability and customer satisfaction. In 2023, Waters received sustainability recognition, including being named to U.S. News & World Report's Best Companies to Work For and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. Waters' service team has been recognized for delivering high service satisfaction scores, and the company's net promoter scores lead the industry.

Waters Corporation is primarily owned by institutional shareholders, who hold approximately 98.10% of the company's stock. Retail investors hold about 18.81% of the stock, and insiders hold around 0.12%. Major institutional owners include Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock, Inc., and Alliancebernstein L.P. The largest individual shareholder is Douglas A. Berthiaume, who owns 5.76% of the company.