Here are 1-3 brief analogies to describe Waters (WAT):

• Like a more focused Thermo Fisher Scientific, specializing in advanced analytical laboratory instruments.
• Similar to Agilent Technologies, providing high-precision scientific instruments for chemical and biological analysis.

• Liquid Chromatography (LC) Systems: Instruments used to separate, identify, and quantify components in a complex mixture, widely applied in various scientific fields.
• Mass Spectrometry (MS) Systems: Instruments that measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions to identify and quantify molecules with high sensitivity and specificity.
• Chemistry Consumables: Products such as chromatography columns, sample preparation products, and vials essential for the operation and success of LC and MS analyses.
• Software Solutions: Comprehensive software packages designed for instrument control, data acquisition, data processing, and laboratory information management.
• Aftermarket Services and Support: A range of services including installation, training, preventive maintenance, repair, and technical support for their analytical instruments and software.

Waters Corporation (WAT) sells primarily to other companies and institutions, rather than directly to individuals.

Due to the highly diversified nature of its global customer base, Waters Corporation does not typically disclose or rely on individual "major customer companies" that account for a significant portion of its revenue. As stated in its financial filings, no single customer accounts for more than 10% of its consolidated net sales. Instead, Waters serves a broad array of customers across several key industries and research sectors.

The primary categories of customers that utilize Waters' advanced analytical instruments, software, and services include:

• Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies: This represents a significant portion of Waters' customer base. These companies, ranging from large multinational pharmaceutical corporations to smaller biotechnology firms, rely on Waters' solutions for critical applications in drug discovery, development, quality control, and manufacturing processes. These applications include impurity analysis, formulation development, and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) analysis.
• Academic, Government, and Research Institutions: Universities, government laboratories (such as those associated with the FDA, EPA, NIH, or CDC), and other non-profit research organizations are key customers. They use Waters' instrumentation for fundamental scientific research, method development, and various regulatory testing and monitoring programs.
• Food, Environmental, and Chemical Industries: This broad category encompasses a diverse group of companies and laboratories. Customers here use Waters' products for applications such as food safety and quality testing (e.g., contaminant detection, nutritional analysis), environmental monitoring (e.g., water quality, soil analysis, air pollution), and quality control and research in specialty chemical and materials science applications.

Dr. Udit Batra, President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Udit Batra has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Waters Corporation since September 2020. He brings over two decades of leadership and operational expertise in the healthcare and life sciences industries, demonstrating a proven track record of leading multi-billion-dollar global organizations. Prior to joining Waters, Dr. Batra was the CEO of MilliporeSigma, the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, from 2014, and joined its Executive Board in 2016. In this role, he successfully led the integration of Sigma-Aldrich following its acquisition in 2015. Before that, he was President and CEO of Merck KGaA's global Consumer Health business, where he significantly increased profitability. Earlier in his career, Dr. Batra held various leadership positions at Novartis, including Global Head of Corporate Strategy, Global Public Health and Market Access for Vaccines and Diagnostics, and President of the Australia Pharma business, which achieved the fastest growth among competitors under his leadership. He began his career as a research engineer at Merck Research Labs. Dr. Batra earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware.

Amol Chaubal, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Amol Chaubal was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Waters Corporation in May 2021, overseeing all aspects of the Finance and Information Technology organizations. Before joining Waters, Mr. Chaubal served as CFO at Quanterix from 2019, where he contributed to strong shareholder value creation. From 2017 to 2019, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Global Operations at Smith & Nephew. His experience also includes serving as Corporate Vice President and Head of Finance for PAREXEL's Clinical Research Services and Access businesses from 2015 to 2017. Between 2013 and 2015, Mr. Chaubal was the North America CFO and later Regional Chief Operating Officer at Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, part of Brookfield Asset Management. Prior to Brookfield, he was the CFO North America at Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics and spent 11 years with Novartis in roles of increasing financial responsibility across Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. He started his career at Procter & Gamble. Mr. Chaubal holds an MBA from INSEAD, France, and a Master's in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.

Jianqing Bennett, Senior Vice President, TA Instruments Division and Waters Clinical Business

Jianqing Bennett was named Senior Vice President of the TA Instruments Division in 2021, succeeding Jonathan Pratt, and also leads the Waters Clinical Business. Before her tenure at Waters, Ms. Bennett served as Senior Vice President of High Growth Markets at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, a position she held since 2017.

Christos Ross, Senior Vice President, Global Operations and Interim Senior Vice President, Waters Division

Chris Ross was appointed Senior Vice President, Global Operations of Waters Corporation in 2022. In October 2023, he also assumed the role of Interim Senior Vice President of the Waters Division. Prior to joining Waters, Mr. Ross spent 14 years at MilliporeSigma, the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, where his most recent roles included Interim Sector Head of Life Science and Head of Integrated Supply Chain Operations.

Dr. Daniel Rush, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Transformation

Dr. Daniel Rush was appointed Senior Vice President, Strategy and Transformation of Waters Corporation in 2021. In this role, he works with the Executive Committee to develop and implement global enterprise strategy, contributes to M&A activities, and leads the Global Research function. Before joining Waters, Dr. Rush was Vice President, Worldwide Commercialization Strategy & Innovation at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), where he spearheaded digital customer model transformation and established a new innovation system across commercial, medical, and market access functions. He also spent eight years at Novartis in various leadership positions in sales, marketing, and strategy.

The key risks to Waters Corporation (WAT) are:

1. Execution and Integration Risks from the BD Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions Acquisition: Waters Corporation's recent $17.5 billion merger with the Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions unit of Becton, Dickinson (BDX) presents substantial execution and integration challenges. Analysts have expressed concerns about the sheer size of the deal and the potential for these risks to keep Waters' stock under pressure, despite the strategic rationale. Wells Fargo downgraded Waters due to these execution risks, noting that while Waters' management has a strong reputation, the relative size of the BD assets makes the integration risk higher than usual. Lingering integration risks could also derail the company's margin and earnings trajectory.
2. Foreign Exchange Rate Fluctuations: As a global business, Waters Corporation is significantly exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. These fluctuations can adversely affect the translation of the company's sales, financial operating results, and the condition of its non-U.S. operations, particularly when a currency weakens against the U.S. dollar. For the full year 2025, management estimated foreign exchange to be an approximate 4% headwind to non-GAAP Earnings Per Share (EPS) and anticipated currency translation to decrease full-year sales growth by approximately 2.0%.
3. Global Economic Conditions and Customer Spending: Waters Corporation's demand for products and services is susceptible to changes in global economic conditions. A decline in capital spending and expenditures by customers, changes in governmental regulations, and funding available to governmental, academic, and research institutions can all impact sales. Weaker academic and pharmaceutical funding, for example, could negatively affect the company's margin and earnings trajectory. The company has already noted continued caution in public sector spending, as evidenced by lower growth in its Academic & Government segment.

One clear emerging threat for Waters Corporation is the increasing drive for domestic substitution and self-sufficiency in China's analytical instrument market. The Chinese government is actively promoting and funding local companies to develop high-end analytical instruments, including those for liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. This initiative aims to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers like Waters, threatening their significant market share and growth prospects in a critical global market as domestic players gain capability and preferential treatment.

Waters Corporation (WAT) primarily operates in the analytical instrumentation market, providing instruments and software for chromatography, mass spectrometry, laboratory informatics, and rheometry to the life, materials, and food sciences industries.

Addressable Market Sizes:

• Waters Corporation itself estimates the total addressable market for its core portfolio of analytical instruments, chemistry, software, and services to be $12 billion globally, with a mid-single-digit market growth rate.
• The company is also expanding into faster-growing segments, which it estimates have an additional total addressable market of $7 billion globally, with high-single-digit to double-digit growth.

Broader Market Context:

The global analytical instrumentation market, which encompasses Waters' offerings, was valued at approximately $52.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $88.9 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.77% during 2025-2033. Other estimates place the global market at around $55.00 billion in 2024, expected to grow to $90.48 billion by 2033 with a CAGR of 5.79%, or $60 billion in 2024, anticipated to reach $111.4 billion by 2034 with a CAGR of 6.5%. North America held a significant share of this market, accounting for approximately 46.95% in 2024.

More specifically, for Waters' key product areas:

• Chromatography: The global chromatography instruments market was estimated at $9,822.6 million in 2023 and is projected to reach $13,801.3 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.2%. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), a major segment within chromatography and a core Waters product, had a global market size of $4.5 billion in 2020 and was projected to reach $5.7 billion by 2025.
• Mass Spectrometry: The global mass spectrometry market was estimated at $6.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $10.65 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 7.97%. Another report estimates the global market at $6.33 billion in 2024, reaching $9.62 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 7.2%. North America dominated the global mass spectrometry market with a 41.63% revenue share in 2024.
• Chromatography Software: The global chromatography software market size was valued at $596.62 million in 2024 and is expected to reach $1,120.77 million by 2032, at a CAGR of 8.20%. North America dominated this market with a 39.8% revenue share in 2024.

Expected Drivers of Future Revenue Growth for Waters Corporation (WAT)

Waters Corporation (WAT) is anticipated to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key strategies and market dynamics:

• Continued Innovation and New Product Launches: Waters is heavily focused on introducing innovative products that address unmet market needs, particularly in the bioanalytical and biopharmaceutical sectors. Recent successful launches, such as the Xevo™ Charge Detection Mass Spectrometer (CDMS) and the Affinity bioseparation columns, along with the Xevo TQ Absolute XR and Alliance iS HPLC system, are expected to be significant contributors. Products launched within the last five years have shown substantial growth, underpinning this driver.
• Robust Growth in the Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Markets: The pharmaceutical segment remains a primary growth engine for Waters, accounting for a significant portion of its sales. The increasing demand for advanced analytical solutions driven by the growing share of biologics and novel modalities in the pharma pipeline, coupled with an ongoing instrument replacement cycle, is expected to fuel continued expansion in this sector.
• Strategic Acquisitions and Synergies from BD Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions Combination: Waters is pursuing growth through strategic acquisitions, exemplified by the integration of Halo Labs. Furthermore, the pending combination with BD's Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business, anticipated around the end of Q1 2026, is a major catalyst. This merger is expected to generate substantial cost and revenue synergies, particularly by expanding Waters' platform and capabilities in high-growth areas like flow cytometry.
• Growth in Recurring Revenue and Geographic Expansion: The company's recurring revenue, comprising service and precision chemistry products, consistently demonstrates strong growth, supported by price optimization, volume increases, and new chemistry product introductions. Additionally, targeted geographic expansion, with a notable strong performance in the pharmaceutical market in China, is expected to contribute to overall revenue growth.

Share Repurchases

• Waters Corporation did not make any open market share repurchases in 2024 or the first half of 2025.
• In December 2024, the Board of Directors authorized an extension of the existing share repurchase program through January 21, 2028, with $1.0 billion remaining available for repurchases.
• During the three months ended April 1, 2023, the company repurchased 0.2 million shares for $58 million under its share repurchase program, which was later temporarily suspended to prioritize deleveraging after an acquisition.

Share Issuance

• Waters issues new shares of common stock primarily upon the exercise of stock options, restricted stock unit conversion, or performance stock unit conversion.
• Proceeds from the exercise of stock options and employee stock purchase plans amounted to $13 million in the first half of 2025 and $22 million in the first half of 2024.
• For the six months ended July 1, 2023, the company received approximately $8.6 million from stock plans.

Outbound Investments

• Waters Corporation acquired Wyatt Technology in 2023, which resulted in an increase in its net debt by approximately $1.3 billion.
• The company is preparing for a strategic business combination with BD's Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions business, expected in Q1 2026. This transaction involves the merged entity (SpinCo, which becomes a Waters subsidiary) making a $4.0 billion cash payment to BD.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures for property, plant, equipment, and software capitalization were $73.772 million for the first nine months of 2025 and $90.377 million for the first nine months of 2024.
• The company reported capital expenditures of $176 million in 2022, $161 million in 2021, and $172 million in 2020.
• A notable portion of capital expenditures, including $32 million in 2022, $49 million in 2021, and $70 million in 2020, was allocated to the major expansion of the company's precision chemistry consumable operations in the United States.