WATWaters Corporation

$433.70+42% 1Y

$433.70

$283.3252 weeks$443.32

Is the business good?

Mixed

The checks split: earnings fully cash-backed (2.1×), but margins compressing.

1 good, 1 to watch, 2 neutral

Fundamental health (F-score)4 / 9SEC EDGAR · Dec 31, 2025

Mixed fundamental signals. Nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year health from the filings.

Profits arrive as cash2.06×derived · Jul 4, 2026

Operating profit is fully backed by cash. Conversion is improving vs a year ago.

Margin direction, 3 years−17.2 pts

Operating profit is falling even as sales grow, costs are outrunning the top line.

Where ROE comes from7% ROA

A balanced mix of margins, efficiency, and leverage. ROE 14% = margin × turnover × leverage.

Unless marked, from derived.

Against the whole market›

Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.

FCF conversiontop 8% of the market

Leverage (Debt/EBITDA)bottom 9% of the market

Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.

Waters Corporation earns 1.3% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so growth costs more than it returns.

1.3%

Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 7.7 points below what the capital costs: growth destroys value

Operating margin: 7.1%
Operating margin · Diagnostics & Research median 3.6% · 12 months to Q2 2026
Cash conversion: 2.06×
Cash conversion · 1.06× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
R&D as % of revenue: 6.9%
R&D as % of revenue

Details›

Operating margin12 months to Q2 2026: 7.1%
Net margin12 months to Q2 2026: 3.6%
Free cash flow margin: 8.5%
R&D as % of revenue: 6.9%
Revenue, trailing twelve months: $4.64B
Free cash flow, trailing twelve months: $395M
Net income, trailing twelve months: $166M
Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash: 1.3%

Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.

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