WATWaters Corporation
Is it safe?
Strong, no red flags: a safe balance sheet, clean books, and comfortable debt (AA).
Financially healthy, low distress risk Altman Z-score, a bankruptcy-risk model from five balance-sheet ratios.
Reported earnings show no manipulation flags Beneish M-score, a forensic model that detects earnings-manipulation patterns (receivables outrunning sales, margins slipping, accrual-heavy profit).
Mixed fundamental signals Piotroski F-score, nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year financial health across profitability, balance sheet and efficiency. 7 to 9 is strong, 0 to 3 weak.
Insiders were net sellers (-$1.4M, 90 days to Oct 8, 2026), selling is often routine.
Rock-solid balance sheet, low leverage. A rule of thumb on leverage, not a credit rating.
Moderate price swings, typical volatility. Worst drawdown -44% · now 2% below its 52-week high.
Unless marked, from SEC EDGAR, as of Dec 31, 2025.
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.
Where this answer is blind. Altman sits structurally low for utilities and pipelines; Beneish runs high for fast growers, since sales growth alone lifts it; banks and REITs are excluded.
Can WAT take a bad year?
Waters Corporation carries $4.55B of net debt at 6.65× EBITDA: a heavy load to carry through a bad year.
Net debt · as at Q2 2026 · over four years of earnings before interest, tax and depreciation, heavy
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 6.65×
Net debt / EBITDA · 1.15× a year ago · the load is going up
- Interest cover
- 2.21×
Interest cover · operating profit covers the interest bill, with room to spare
- Annualised volatility
- 38%
Annualised volatility · roughly twice as jumpy as the market
Details›
- Total debtQ2 2026
- $5.09B
- Cash and short-term investments
- $539M
- Net debt
- $4.55B
- EBITDA, trailing twelve months
- $684M
- Operating profit, trailing twelve months
- $330M
- Debt / equity
- 0.34×
- Total debt / EBITDA
- 7.44×
- Annualised volatilitytwo years of daily moves
- 38%
- Worst drawdown on file
- −44%
- Below its 52-week high
- 2.2%
Balance sheet from SEC filings; drawdown and volatility from end-of-day closes; Altman Z from the filed statements.
Diagnostics & Research
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