Why Is Waters Corporation (WAT) Stock Soaring Today

What Happened?

Shares of scientific instruments company Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) jumped 8.2% in the morning session after it reported mixed third-quarter 2025 results where a strong revenue performance outweighed a miss on profitability. The company announced sales of $799.9 million, up 8% year on year and beating Wall Street estimates by 2.4%. This top-line strength was driven by an 8% increase in organic revenue, which also surpassed expectations. However, the quarter was not without its challenges. Waters reported GAAP earnings per share of $2.50, which was 14.7% below what analysts had projected. The company's profitability also came under pressure, with its operating margin contracting to 24% from 28.5% in the same period last year. Looking ahead, Waters guided for fourth-quarter revenue of around $926.8 million, which was in line with analyst forecasts. Investors appeared to focus on the strong sales growth and stable outlook, choosing to overlook the weaker-than-expected earnings for the quarter.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Waters Corporation’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 27 days ago when the stock gained 3.2% on the news that Rothschild & Co initiated coverage on the stock with a 'Buy' rating and a $390 price target. The research firm described Waters as a leading company in the field of analytical instruments, which are tools used for scientific analysis. Rothschild noted the company's strong profit margins and highly dependable business model. A key factor in the positive outlook was Waters' recent acquisition of BD's Biosciences and Diagnostics business. This purchase was seen as doubling the company's total potential market to around $40 billion. The firm viewed the deal as value-adding and projected strong growth in earnings per share for the combined company in the coming years.

Waters Corporation is up 1.8% since the beginning of the year, but at $374.80 per share, it is still trading 10.2% below its 52-week high of $417.28 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Waters Corporation’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,759.

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