Assay
Financial-condition grades for SEC filers
Company Report · as of Oct 9, 2026
|
| Waters Corp.WAT · business equipment | |
|---|---|
| Grade |  Bsecond fifth of 497 graded peers; percentile 30.4, sampling error 2.2 points; lower is stronger |
| Rank | 152 of 497 |
| Profitability | Bpercentile 36.7 |
| Solvency | Bpercentile 33.1 |
| Growth and financing | C/Dpercentile 58.1 |
| Reliability | 0.94 AUCfailure model, filers with over $2.67B assets; 95% interval 0.88 to 0.97; 61 events, 2020 to 2025 |
| Peer failure rate | 0.52% a yearItem 1.03 bankruptcies, same asset band, 2012 to 2025 |
| Size band | over $2.67B assetstotal assets $5.1B[1] |
| Standard universe | insiderevenue above $1M and assets above $10M[1-2] |
| Warnings | dilutionnot computable: distress |
| Inputs computable | 12 of 14 |
| Graded from | filings received through Feb 23, 2026228 days before the rescan; every figure keyed to the SEC receipt date |
| Last close | $429.942026-10-08; market equity $42.2B; iex feed |
| Price used in grade | None |
| Share price, twelve months to the rescansplit-adjusted close; a lollipop at every rescan carries the letter held then; baseline ticks are SEC receipt dates of the inputs; ranges and dragging scroll the full history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Percentile at every rescan on file, Jan 21, 2012 to Oct 9, 2026; stronger toward the top. Hover for the date. Open this report as it stood on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each date opens the report as it stood on that rescan. |
Business, in the company's words. Opening of Item 1 of the 10-K received Feb 23, 2026; the document on sec.gov.
Waters Corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”), a global leader in analytical instruments and software, has pioneered innovations in chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis serving life, materials and food sciences for more than 65 years. The Company primarily designs, manufactures, sells and services high-performance liquid chromatography (“HPLC”), ultra-performance liquid chromatography (“UPLC” and together with HPLC, referred to as “LC”) and mass spectrometry (“MS”) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and comprehensive post-warranty service plans.
Warnings [top]
7 checks ran; none of them enters the letter. The checks are listed on the warnings screen.
The Fourteen Inputs [top]
Lower percentile is stronger. Source numbers open the SEC filing; a range that spans filings opens the sources table.
| Input | Percentile, 0 to 100 | Value | Source | Peer median | Percentile | Peers | Period end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability, sleeve percentile 36.7 | |||||||
| Gross profitability | 37.0% | [1-2,5] | 28.5% | 32.1 | 558 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Return on invested capital | 21.0% | [6-14] | 10.9% | 24.4 | 136 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Accruals ratio | (0.2%) | [1,15-17] | (7.4%) | 85.3 | 621 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Gross margin stability, five years | 0.6 pts | [2,5,18-25] | 2.4 pts | 4.9 | 429 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Solvency, sleeve percentile 33.1 | |||||||
| Twelve-month failure probability | not computable | 0.05% | |||||
| latest liabilities, cash plus short-term investments, book equity, and shares are required | |||||||
| Altman Z double-prime | 10.00 | [1,6,10,26-29] | 2.18 | 8.7 | 566 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.92x | [6,9,11,30] | 1.11x | 43.2 | 147 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Interest coverage | 11.54x | [6,31] | 3.77x | 24.7 | 90 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Current ratio | 1.73x | [26-27] | 2.02x | 55.9 | 666 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Growth and financing, sleeve percentile 58.1 | |||||||
| Revenue growth, three-year compound | 2.1% | [2,18,20,22] | 6.4% | 62.6 | 538 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Free cash flow growth, three-year compound | not computable | 17.2% | |||||
| four consecutive annual FCF observations are required; found 1 | |||||||
| Reinvestment rate | 7.8% | [6-8,26-27,30,32-34] | 14.3% | 52.0 | 226 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Asset growth, three years | 15.7% | [1,17,35-36] | 5.0% | 23.7 | 563 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Net share issuance, one year | 65.1% | [3-4] | 0.5% | 94.1 | 407 | 2026-02-19 | |
Gross profitability. Revenue less cost of goods sold, over total assets.
Accruals ratio. Net income less operating cash flow, over average assets; lower is stronger.
Gross margin stability, five years. Standard deviation of gross margin; lower is stronger.
Twelve-month failure probability. CHS model; lower is stronger.
Net debt to EBITDA. Lower is stronger.
Net share issuance, one year. Split-adjusted; lower is stronger.
Sleeves are equal-weighted; within a sleeve each computable input carries equal weight. Composite -0.156; sampling error 2.2 percentile points on 497 peers.
Among 497 Peers [top]
Composite score of every graded peer, smoothed. Vertical rules are the letter band edges at the 20th, 40th, 60th and 80th percentiles. Small dots are the six largest peers by market equity.
| Rank | Company | Percentile | Letter | Warnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 147 | EnerSys (ENS) EnerSys (ENS) Bsecond fifth; percentile 29.4 NYSE · Miscellaneous Electrical Machinery, Equipment & Supplies market equity $6.5B; last close $179.30 No active warnings; 12 of 14 inputs | 29.4 | B | |
| 148 | First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) Bsecond fifth; percentile 29.6 Nasdaq · Semiconductors & Related Devices market equity $19.2B; last close $178.87 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 8 of 14 inputs | 29.6 | B | fortress balance sheet |
| 149 | Data Storage Corp. (DTST) Data Storage Corp. (DTST) Bsecond fifth; percentile 29.8 Nasdaq · Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation market equity $7.7M; last close $3.27 Warnings: short runway, late filer, fortress balance sheet; 9 of 14 inputs | 29.8 | B | short runway, late filer, fortress balance sheet |
| 150 | Block, Inc. (XYZ) Block, Inc. (XYZ) Bsecond fifth; percentile 30.0 NYSE · Services-Prepackaged Software last close $75.21 No active warnings; 9 of 14 inputs | 30.0 | B | |
| 151 | Leonardo DRS, Inc. (DRS) Leonardo DRS, Inc. (DRS) Bsecond fifth; percentile 30.2 Nasdaq · Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys market equity $9.6B; last close $35.85 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 10 of 14 inputs | 30.2 | B | fortress balance sheet |
| 152 | Waters Corp. (WAT) Waters Corp. (WAT) Bsecond fifth; percentile 30.4 NYSE · Laboratory Analytical Instruments market equity $42.2B; last close $429.94 Warnings: dilution; 12 of 14 inputs | 30.4 | B | dilution |
| 153 | TaskUs, Inc. (TASK) TaskUs, Inc. (TASK) Bsecond fifth; percentile 30.6 Nasdaq · Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation last close $8.00 No active warnings; 9 of 14 inputs | 30.6 | B | |
| 154 | Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF) Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF) Bsecond fifth; percentile 30.8 Nasdaq · Services-Prepackaged Software market equity $69.7M; last close $13.75 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 10 of 14 inputs | 30.8 | B | fortress balance sheet |
| 155 | CTS Corp. (CTS) CTS Corp. (CTS) Bsecond fifth; percentile 31.0 NYSE · Printed Circuit Boards market equity $1.6B; last close $57.46 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 10 of 14 inputs | 31.0 | B | fortress balance sheet |
| 156 | CarGurus, Inc. (CARG) CarGurus, Inc. (CARG) Bsecond fifth; percentile 31.2 Nasdaq · Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation last close $29.23 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 11 of 14 inputs | 31.2 | B | fortress balance sheet |
| 157 | Wetouch Technology Inc. (WETH) Wetouch Technology Inc. (WETH) Bsecond fifth; percentile 31.5 Nasdaq · Computer Peripheral Equipment, NEC market equity $12.5M; last close $0.94 Warnings: late filer; 8 of 14 inputs | 31.5 | B | late filer |
| Peer policy | Letter | Percentile | Peers |
|---|---|---|---|
| all graded filers, equal sleeves | B | 22.1 | 2204 |
| sector peers, equal sleeves (the grade) | B | 30.4 | 497 |
| same exchange, equal sleeves | A/B | 19.5 | 984 |
| sector peers, equal inputs | B | 30.0 | 497 |
Each letter is one fifth of the 497 graded peers, about 99 companies. A boundary letter (A/B, B/C, C/D, D/E) marks a percentile within one sampling error of a band edge.
What the Price Implies [top]
Market measures at the 2026-10-08 close. None enters the grade. Percentile among graded peers with the same measure.
| Measure | Value | Peer median | Percentile | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twelve-month price change, skipping the latest month | 38.3% | 2.2% | 74 | hotter than 74 of 100 peers |
| Distance from 52-week high | (3.2%) | (30.0%) | 92 | closer to its high than 92 of 100 peers |
| EBIT to enterprise value | 1.9% | 1.5% | 54 | pricier than 46 of 100 peers |
| Free cash flow yield | 1.3% | 2.7% | 35 | pricier than 65 of 100 peers |
| Book value to price | 0.36 | 0.23 | 62 | pricier than 38 of 100 peers |
| Sales to price | 0.08 | 0.30 | 16 | pricier than 84 of 100 peers |
| Composite equity issuance, five years | 45.7% | 3.9% | 85 | more equity-funded than 85 of 100 peers |
| Relative strength against the sector, log excess return | 0.04 | (0.26) | 74 | ahead of 74 of 100 peers |
Inputs: market equity $42.2B; EBIT $802.6M; free cash flow $539.8M; book equity $15.2B; sales $3.2B; debt $1.4B; cash $539.0M[37].
Diagnostics [top]
Diagnostics do not feed the grade.
| Piotroski F-score: 6 of 9, period end 2025-12-31 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Return on assets above zero | 14.1% | ✓ pass[15,17] |
| Operating cash flow above zero | $652.6M | ✓ pass[16] |
| Return on assets improved | 0.3 pts | ✓ pass[15,17,35,38] |
| Operating cash flow exceeds net income | $9.9M | ✓ pass[15-16] |
| Long-term leverage fell | (15.8 pts) | ✓ pass[1,17,35,39-40] |
| Current ratio improved | (38.1 pts) | ✗ fail[26-27,33-34] |
| No new shares issued | 65.1% | ✗ fail[3-4] |
| Gross margin improved | (0.1 pts) | ✗ fail[2,5,18-19] |
| Asset turnover improved | 5.6 pts | ✓ pass[2,17-18,35] |
| Cash, filings, liquidity | |
|---|---|
| Cash and equivalents | $539.0M[41] |
| Operating cash flow, four quarters | $549.6M[16,41-45] |
| Months of runway | not finite |
| trailing operating cash flow is nonnegative, so runway is not finite | |
| Late filings, two years | 0 |
| NT 10-K or NT 10-Q | |
| Days since last periodic filing | 59 |
| 10-Q received Aug 11, 2026 | |
| Median daily dollar volume | $297.9M |
| 63 sessions | |
| Days since newest grade input | 228 |
Downloads [top]
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Sources [top]
Every citation on this page. Filing opens the SEC index page for that submission; viewer opens the SEC interactive data for the same filing; series opens the SEC XBRL API record for that tag and company.
| # | Concept | XBRL tag | Value | Period end | Received | Form | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $5.1B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 2 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.2B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 3 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 98,101,871 | 2026-02-19 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 4 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 59,410,941 | 2025-02-21 | 2025-02-25 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 5 | cost of revenue | us-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold | $1.3B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 6 | operating income | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | $802.6M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 7 | pretax income | us-gaap:IncomeLossFromContinuingOperationsBeforeIncomeTaxesExtraordinaryItemsNoncontrollingInterest | $754.9M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 8 | income tax | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit | $112.2M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 9 | total debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebt | $1.4B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 10 | book equity | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | $2.6B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 11 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $587.8M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 12 | total debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebt | $1.6B | 2024-12-31 | 2025-02-25 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 13 | book equity | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | $1.8B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 14 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $325.4M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 15 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $642.6M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 16 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $652.6M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 17 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $4.6B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 18 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.0B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 19 | cost of revenue | us-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold | $1.2B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 20 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.0B | 2023-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 21 | cost of revenue | us-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold | $1.2B | 2023-12-31 | 2025-02-25 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 22 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $3.0B | 2022-12-31 | 2025-02-25 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 23 | cost of revenue | us-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold | $1.2B | 2022-12-31 | 2024-02-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 24 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $2.8B | 2021-12-31 | 2024-02-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 25 | cost of revenue | us-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold | $1.2B | 2021-12-31 | 2023-02-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 26 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $2.1B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 27 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $1.2B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 28 | retained earnings | us-gaap:RetainedEarningsAccumulatedDeficit | $10.4B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 29 | liabilities | us-gaap:Liabilities | $2.5B | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 30 | depreciation amortization | us-gaap:Depreciation | $88.1M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 31 | interest expense | us-gaap:InterestExpense | $69.5M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 32 | capital expenditure | us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets | $112.7M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 33 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $1.7B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 34 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $789.8M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 35 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $4.6B | 2023-12-31 | 2025-02-25 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 36 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $3.3B | 2022-12-31 | 2024-02-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 37 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 98,248,111 | 2026-08-07 | 2026-08-11 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 38 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $637.8M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 39 | long term debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebtNoncurrent | $947.4M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 40 | long term debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebtNoncurrent | $1.6B | 2024-12-31 | 2026-02-23 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 41 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $539.0M | 2026-07-04 | 2026-08-11 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 42 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $198.0M | 2026-07-04 | 2026-08-11 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 43 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | -$3.0M | 2026-04-04 | 2026-05-12 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 44 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $488.0M | 2025-09-27 | 2025-11-04 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 45 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $301.0M | 2025-06-28 | 2026-08-11 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
Limitations [top]
Grade boundary. Percentile 30.4 is 9.6 points from the nearest band edge; sampling error is 2.2 points.
Peer group. Sector assignment from four-digit SIC codes, hand-tuned and published. The grade under three alternative peer policies is tabled above.
Size. Within a sector the letter tracks size. Among graded filers in the smallest asset band, 72% grade E and 0% grade A; in the largest, 13% grade E and 21% grade A. Universe as of Oct 9, 2026.
Failure model. filings 2012-01-01 to 2019-12-31 fit, filings 2020-01-01 to 2025-12-31 test; status post hoc pending confirmation. pre-registered on 2026 filings once their 12-month outcome windows close; supported if the paired per-quintile gain over the pooled model has a lower bound above 0.05.
Input validity. Revenue or total assets at or below $100,000 sets the degenerate-inputs flag. An input whose denominator is at or below $100,000 is left not computable rather than ranked.
Returns. No input on this page has a post-2015 confidence interval on returns that excludes zero. The grade ranks reported financial condition and is not a return forecast.
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