Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold35 ratings
Bullish1440.0%
Neutral1954.3%
Bearish25.7%
Waters Corporation · WAT · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Waters Q1 Beats on 13% Organic Growth, Raises Full-Year Guidance
Waters Corporation delivered a decisive first-quarter beat, with revenue of $1.267 billion (13% organic growth) and adjusted EPS of $2.70 (+20% YoY), both above the high end of guidance and consensus. The stock surged over 13% on the report. Management raised full-year organic revenue guidance to 6.5-8% from ~5.3% and EPS to $14.40-$14.60 from $14.30-$14.50, reflecting early traction on BD integration synergies and broad-based instrument demand. The acquisition of BD's Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions business is already generating $35 million in revenue synergies through cross-selling and pricing actions. Key regulatory milestones -- FDA clearance for an HPV self-collection kit and CE marking for the BACTEC FXI system ahead of schedule -- position Waters for continued product-driven growth. The prior quarter's tone of confident integration preparation has shifted to confident…
Reported Before market openNYSEHealthcare
$24.74B market cap
100quality score
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationWaters Corporation is a global leader in specialized measurement, delivering analytical solutions across Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The company operates through two main divisions: Waters and TA. Under its Waters segment, it engineers, manufactures, sells, and provides support for high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) systems. This includes essential consumables like chromatography columns and comprehensive post-warranty service plans. The TA segment focuses on designing, producing, selling, and servicing instruments for thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry. Additionally, Waters develops and supplies sophisticated software that integrates with both its own instruments and those from other manufacturers.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$2.70
Consensus $2
EPS surprise
+16.9%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$1.27B
Consensus $1.20B
Revenue surprise
+5.3%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$380.3Current
$300Low
$393.75Average
$480High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 30, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 6, 2026 |
| HSBC | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 3, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 2, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | May 14, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | May 7, 2026 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 6, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Hold | Hold | Maintain | May 6, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 6, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Mar 25, 2026 |
| Wolfe Research | Outperform | Peer Perform | Upgrade | Dec 10, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Aug 4, 2025 |
| Baird | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 16, 2025 |
| Keybanc | Overweight | Sector Weight | Upgrade | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Sector Outperform | Sector Perform | Upgrade | Feb 13, 2025 |
| Stifel | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Nov 4, 2024 |
| Bernstein | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Nov 4, 2024 |
| Leerink Partners | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Dec 11, 2023 |
| SVB Leerink | Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Jul 20, 2023 |
| Needham | Underperform | Hold | Downgrade | Jan 8, 2020 |
| BTIG Research | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Dec 5, 2019 |
| BTIG | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Dec 5, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Underperform | Neutral | Downgrade | Jul 16, 2019 |
| Leerink Swann | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Oct 8, 2018 |
| Janney Montgomery Scott | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 17, 2018 |
| Janney Capital | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 17, 2018 |
| William Blair | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Jan 6, 2017 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 28, 2015 |
| Mizuho | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Oct 14, 2013 |
| ISI Group | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Apr 23, 2013 |
| Gabelli & Co. | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 23, 2013 |
| Bank oferica | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 25, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $380.3. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs | Evie Koslosky | $425 | $373.22 | +11.8% | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Kallum Titchmarsh | $390 | $368.13 | +2.6% | Jul 9, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $435 | $368.13 | +14.4% | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $410 | $375.38 | +7.8% | Jul 6, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $400 | $363.18 | +5.2% | Jun 11, 2026 |
| HSBC | Analyst unavailable | $435 | $371.93 | +14.4% | Jun 3, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $350 | $351.33 | -8.0% | May 7, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $425 | $349.53 | +11.8% | May 7, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $375 | $352.64 | -1.4% | May 6, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $387 | $342.75 | +1.8% | May 6, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $350 | $333.33 | -8.0% | Feb 22, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $370 | $327.59 | -2.7% | Feb 10, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $363 | $326.16 | -4.5% | Feb 10, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $400 | $328.14 | +5.2% | Feb 10, 2026 |
| Guggenheim | Subbu Nambi | $440 | $394.97 | +15.7% | Jan 6, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Brandon Couillard | $415 | $385.33 | +9.1% | Dec 15, 2025 |
| Wolfe Research | Doug Schenkel | $480 | $386.16 | +26.2% | Dec 10, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $423 | $397.79 | +11.2% | Dec 1, 2025 |
| Redburn Partners | Natalya Davies | $390 | $318.35 | +2.6% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $315 | $281.19 | -17.2% | Aug 5, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $385 | $285.59 | +1.2% | Aug 4, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Sung Ji Nam | $465 | $352.7 | +22.3% | Jul 11, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Catherine Ramsey Schulte | $374 | $339.02 | -1.7% | May 7, 2025 |
| Bernstein | Eve Burstein | $400 | $321.1 | +5.2% | Apr 16, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Catherine Ramsey Schulte | $407 | $367.79 | +7.0% | Mar 26, 2025 |
| CFRA | Jonathan Sakraida | $389 | $347.31 | +2.3% | Oct 17, 2024 |
| Jefferies | Tycho Peterson | $415 | $349.92 | +9.1% | Oct 8, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Brandon Couillard | $380 | $336.77 | -0.1% | Aug 27, 2024 |
| Barclays | Luke Sergott | $300 | $352.53 | -21.1% | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Evercore ISI | Vijay Kumar | $300 | $282.7 | -21.1% | Jul 2, 2024 |
| Jefferies | Tycho Peterson | $320 | $308.9 | -15.9% | Jun 3, 2024 |
| Evercore ISI | Vijay Kumar | $320 | $326.06 | -15.9% | May 7, 2024 |
| Evercore ISI | Vijay Kumar | $365 | $341.41 | -4.0% | Jul 12, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $315 | $296.44 | -17.2% | Apr 25, 2022 |
Track every rating change on WAT the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
+13.5%
Event window
SPY move
+0.8%
Same window
Abnormal move
+12.7%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
2.3×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+10.8%
Up to 20 sessions
WATSPY benchmark
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Try FN2 freeTranscript intelligence
What changed
From Q4 2025 to Q1 2026, the narrative shifted from integration preparation to execution. Last quarter's 7% revenue growth and maintained full-year guidance have been eclipsed by a 13% organic growth print and a 20% EPS increase. Revenue synergies of $35M materialized immediately in Q1 rather than remaining a future expectation. Regulatory milestones arrived ahead of schedule: CE marking for BACTEC FXI in the EU and Japan, and FDA clearance for the BD Onclarity HPV self-collection kit. The guidance raise -- both revenue and EPS -- signals management's confidence that the BD integration is tracking ahead of the initial plan. China localization of flow cytometry manufacturing is slated to begin in Q3, addressing a key analyst concern about export-control constraints.
Guidance delta
Full-year organic revenue growth raised to 6.5-8% from the prior ~5.3% target. Adjusted EPS guidance raised to $14.40-$14.60 from $14.30-$14.50. Adjusted operating margin target maintained at 28.1%. Combined synergy targets of $55M cost and $50M revenue maintained, with $35M of revenue synergies already realized in Q1.
Key takeaways
- Q1 revenue of $1.267B with 13% organic growth exceeded guidance and consensus
- Adjusted EPS of $2.70 rose 20% YoY, beating the high end of guidance
- Full-year guidance raised: organic revenue to 6.5-8% and EPS to $14.40-$14.60
- BD Biosciences integration is ahead of plan, with $35M in revenue synergies already realized
- Regulatory wins include FDA clearance for an HPV self-collection kit and CE marking for BACTEC FXI
Management priorities
- Execute the 180-day BD integration plan with increased forecast rigor
- Localize flow cytometry manufacturing in China beginning Q3
- Roll out BACTEC FXI and additional high-throughput instruments
- Scale the Bangalore e-commerce team into a best-in-class digital ordering platform
- Deliver $55M cost synergies and $50M revenue synergies in 2026
Related earnings events
HealthcareHCA · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026HCA Q2 2026: Payer-Mix Shift Hits EBITDA, Florida Medicaid Boosts, $7B Capex UnveiledWST · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026West Pharmaceutical Q2 2026: EPS and Revenue Beat, Guidance Raised AgainDGX · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026Quest Diagnostics Beats on Volume and AI Automation, Raises Full-Year Guidance
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T20:51:24.651555+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T20:51:24.648678+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.