Waters (WAT)
What the price implies
A reverse DCF: instead of guessing a fair value, it asks what growth today's price already assumes. How it works.
At a market value of $42.6B, Waters's free cash flow of $540M (fiscal 2025) would need to grow about 23% a year for the stock to be worth today's price. That is faster than the company has grown its free cash flow over the last 2 years.
Assumes a 9% discount rate and 3% growth after year 10, on free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital spending) from Waters's SEC filings. Change any assumption, or model revenue and margins instead, in the Modeling tab, or try your own numbers in the reverse DCF calculator.
Fundamental grade
Five factors scored 1 to 9 from WAT's latest numbers, weighted into one grade. It describes the business, not whether the stock is a buy.
Key numbers
Results from SEC filings
Fiscal years, from Waters's 10-K filings. The deep dive has 15+ years, quarters and every line.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.8B | $3.0B | $3.0B | $3.0B | $3.2B |
| Net income | $693M | $708M | $642M | $638M | $643M |
| Free cash flow | — | — | $442M | $620M | $540M |
| EPS (diluted) | $11.17 | $11.73 | $10.84 | $10.71 | $10.76 |
| Operating margin | 29.5% | 29.4% | 27.7% | 27.9% | 25.4% |
Where the revenue comes from
Revenue by products, fiscal 2025.
Superinvestors who own WAT
From each investor's latest 13F filing (what a 13F shows). 10 of the investors we track hold it.
| Investor | Last quarter | Value | % of portfolio | Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andreas Halvorsen Viking Global Investors |
Added | $623M | 1.8% | Q2 2026 |
| Jean-Marie Eveillard First Eagle Investment Management |
Trimmed | $501M | 0.84% | Q2 2026 |
| Steven Romick First Pacific Advisors |
Added | $101M | 1.3% | Q2 2026 |
| Hersh Cohen ClearBridge Investments |
Trimmed | $64M | 0.05% | Q2 2026 |
| Joel Greenblatt Gotham Asset Management |
Trimmed | $25M | 0.06% | Q2 2026 |
| Cliff Asness AQR Capital Management |
Added | $19M | 0.01% | Q2 2026 |
| PRIMECAP Management PRIMECAP Management Co |
Trimmed | $14M | 0.01% | Q2 2026 |
| Will Nasgovitz Heartland Advisors |
Added | $9M | 0.41% | Q2 2026 |
| Bill Nygren Harris Associates LP |
Trimmed | $7M | 0.01% | Q2 2026 |
| Mario Gabelli GAMCO Investors |
Trimmed | $484,177 | 0.00% | Q2 2026 |
Insider buying
Open-market purchases by Waters's executives and directors in the last 12 months, from SEC Form 4 filings. What insider buying tells you.
| Date | Insider | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 18, 2026 | Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. |
0 | $295.30 | — |
| Mar 18, 2026 | Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. |
0 | $295.30 | — |
| Mar 16, 2026 | Wei Jiang |
500 | $289.46 | $144,730 |
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In the full deep dive
Questions
What growth does Waters's stock price imply?
At a market value of $42.6B, Waters would need its free cash flow to grow about 23% a year for 10 years (discounted at 9%, 3% growth after that) to be worth today's price. Over the last 2 years its free cash flow grew 10% a year.
Are Waters insiders buying the stock?
3 open-market insider purchases of WAT in the last 12 months, from SEC Form 4 filings.
Which superinvestors own Waters?
10 of the superinvestors Investingly tracks hold WAT in their latest 13F, including Andreas Halvorsen, Jean-Marie Eveillard, Steven Romick.
Prices and ratios as of Oct 7, 2026; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice. Superinvestor holdings come from 13F filings, which are filed up to 45 days after each quarter ends.