Waters Corporation (WAT) Key Metrics
WAT valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $42.90B
- Enterprise value
- $46.21B
- P/E (TTM)
- 110.6 10-yr median 30.0
- Forward P/E
- 24.8
- PEG ratio
- 1.57
- Price / sales
- 9.2 10-yr median 6.7
- Price / book
- 2.7 10-yr median 12.1
- EV / EBITDA
- 47.8 10-yr median 22.1
- Dividend yield
- —
- Beta
- 1.15
WAT key metrics, 2016–2025
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsWAT valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
WAT returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
WAT per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
WAT financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
WAT efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
WAT valuation history
WAT returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
WAT debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
WAT cash returned to shareholders
WAT price vs earnings per share
WAT key metrics
2016–2025| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $22.68B | $22.09B | $19.51B | $20.67B | $23.11B | $15.44B | $15.93B | $14.64B | $15.57B | $10.94B |
| Enterprise value | $23.58B | $23.47B | $21.56B | $21.85B | $24.08B | $16.38B | $18.85B | $14.06B | $14.18B | $9.96B |
| P/E ratio | 35.3 | 34.6 | 30.4 | 29.2 | 33.4 | 29.6 | 26.9 | 24.7 | 766.7 | 21.0 |
| Price / sales | 7.2 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 8.3 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 5.0 |
| Price / book | 8.9 | 12.1 | 17.0 | 41.0 | 62.9 | 66.5 | — | 9.3 | 7.0 | 4.8 |
| Price / free cash flow | 42.0 | 35.7 | 44.1 | 48.3 | 39.9 | 25.0 | 33.2 | 30.7 | 25.6 | 20.5 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 34.8 | 29.0 | 32.4 | 33.8 | 30.9 | 19.5 | 24.8 | 24.2 | 22.3 | 17.4 |
| EV / sales | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 8.6 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 4.6 |
| EV / EBITDA | 23.3 | 22.6 | 26.4 | 21.5 | 24.5 | 20.9 | 22.7 | 16.7 | 17.6 | 13.4 |
| EV / free cash flow | 43.7 | 37.9 | 48.8 | 51.0 | 41.6 | 26.5 | 39.3 | 29.5 | 23.3 | 18.6 |
| Earnings yield | 2.8% | 2.9% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 4.1% | 0.1% | 4.8% |
| Free cash flow yield | 2.4% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 4.0% | 3.0% | 3.3% | 3.9% | 4.9% |
| Dividend yield | — | — | 8.0% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.3% | — | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 0.1% | 0.1% | 8.4% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 1.7% | 15.8% | 9.0% | 2.1% | 3.0% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $379.83 | $370.98 | $329.23 | $342.58 | $372.60 | $247.42 | $233.65 | $188.65 | $193.19 | $134.39 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $53.01 | $49.68 | $49.88 | $49.26 | $44.91 | $37.90 | $35.30 | $31.18 | $28.65 | $26.62 |
| Earnings per share | $10.76 | $10.71 | $10.84 | $11.73 | $11.17 | $8.36 | $8.69 | $7.65 | $0.25 | $6.41 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $10.93 | $12.80 | $10.17 | $10.14 | $12.05 | $12.67 | $9.43 | $7.79 | $8.66 | $7.73 |
| Free cash flow per share | $9.04 | $10.41 | $7.46 | $7.10 | $9.33 | $9.90 | $7.03 | $6.14 | $7.53 | $6.56 |
| Cash per share | $9.85 | $5.46 | $6.68 | $7.98 | $9.18 | $7.10 | $4.95 | $22.36 | $42.10 | $34.55 |
| Book value per share | $42.90 | $30.70 | $19.41 | $8.36 | $5.93 | $3.72 | −$3.17 | $20.19 | $27.71 | $28.27 |
| Tangible book value per share | $11.10 | −$0.59 | −$13.23 | −$2.54 | −$5.04 | −$7.54 | −$11.92 | $12.43 | $20.42 | $21.41 |
| Dividends per share | — | — | $26.31 | $0.71 | $0.90 | $1.06 | $0.79 | — | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Capex per share | $1.89 | $2.39 | $2.71 | $3.04 | $2.71 | $2.76 | $2.40 | $1.64 | $1.12 | $1.17 |
| Debt per share | $24.97 | $28.59 | $41.21 | $27.57 | $24.86 | $22.18 | $47.85 | $14.79 | $24.79 | $22.44 |
| Shares outstanding | 59.7M | 59.6M | 59.3M | 60.3M | 62.0M | 62.4M | 68.2M | 77.6M | 80.6M | 81.4M |
| Change in shares outstanding | +0.3% | +0.5% | −1.8% | −2.7% | −0.6% | −8.4% | −12.2% | −3.7% | −1.0% | −2.0% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 29.3% | 42.8% | 77.6% | 162.3% | 231.1% | — | — | 31.2% | 0.9% | 23.9% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 22.8% | 21.8% | 29.2% | 48.8% | 56.2% | 28.4% | 33.5% | 70.8% | 30.7% | 41.1% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 13.3% | 13.9% | 16.2% | 22.2% | 23.3% | 19.3% | 18.8% | 13.1% | 0.4% | 11.7% |
| Return on tangible assets | 20.2% | 23.7% | 23.9% | 27.0% | 28.7% | 24.4% | 30.2% | 19.0% | 0.4% | 12.7% |
| Free cash flow margin | 17.1% | 20.9% | 15.0% | 14.4% | 20.8% | 26.1% | 19.9% | 19.7% | 26.3% | 24.6% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 1.02 | 1.19 | 0.94 | 0.86 | 1.08 | 1.52 | 1.09 | 1.02 | 34.35 | 1.21 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $1.49B | $1.70B | $2.44B | $1.66B | $1.54B | $1.38B | $3.26B | $1.15B | $2.00B | $1.83B |
| Cash & short-term investments | $587.8M | $325.4M | $396.0M | $481.4M | $569.3M | $443.1M | $337.1M | $1.74B | $3.39B | $2.81B |
| Net debt | $903.3M | $1.38B | $2.05B | $1.18B | $972.5M | $941.1M | $2.92B | −$586.9M | −$1.40B | −$985.8M |
| Debt / equity | 0.58 | 0.93 | 2.12 | 3.30 | 4.19 | 5.96 | — | 0.73 | 0.89 | 0.79 |
| Debt / assets | 0.29 | 0.37 | 0.53 | 0.51 | 0.50 | 0.49 | 1.28 | 0.31 | 0.37 | 0.39 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.89 | 1.33 | 2.50 | 1.16 | 0.99 | 1.20 | 3.51 | −0.70 | −1.74 | −1.33 |
| Current ratio | 1.73 | 2.11 | 2.22 | 2.24 | 2.26 | 1.64 | 0.74 | 5.93 | 7.04 | 6.99 |
| Quick ratio | 1.27 | 1.51 | 1.57 | 1.66 | 1.74 | 1.26 | 0.55 | 5.28 | 6.60 | 6.48 |
| Interest coverage | 12.8 | 9.2 | 9.9 | 17.9 | 18.3 | 13.2 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 11.7 | 13.9 |
| Working capital | $908.1M | $879.4M | $963.3M | $978.2M | $857.5M | $515.8M | −$435.7M | $2.21B | $3.66B | $3.12B |
| Invested capital | $3.46B | $3.21B | $3.20B | $1.69B | $1.34B | $1.17B | $2.71B | $980.4M | $837.9M | $1.32B |
| Tangible asset value | $663.0M | −$35.1M | −$784.3M | −$153.2M | −$312.7M | −$470.9M | −$812.6M | $964.7M | $1.65B | $1.74B |
| Net current asset value | −$367.7M | −$1.06B | −$1.72B | −$1.01B | −$1.19B | −$1.29B | −$1.53B | $503.0M | $1.16B | $1.28B |
| Graham number | $101.92 | $86.02 | $68.79 | $46.98 | $38.59 | $26.45 | — | $58.95 | $12.53 | $63.83 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$17.08 | −$27.06 | −$38.73 | −$25.29 | −$24.51 | −$25.35 | −$26.92 | $1.89 | $10.22 | $11.68 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | — | — | $1.56B | $42.8M | $55.6M | $66.0M | $53.7M | — | $0 | $0 |
| Share buybacks (net) | $14.7M | $13.5M | $70.3M | $626.1M | $648.9M | $196.4M | $2.47B | $1.32B | $332.5M | $325.8M |
| Dividend payout ratio | — | — | 242.8% | 6.0% | 8.0% | 12.7% | 9.1% | — | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 2.7% | 2.2% | 368.5% | 156.2% | 121.7% | 42.5% | 526.4% | 275.8% | 54.8% | 61.0% |
| Capex / revenue | 3.6% | 4.8% | 5.4% | 6.2% | 6.0% | 7.3% | 6.8% | 5.3% | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 17.3% | 18.7% | 26.6% | 30.0% | 22.5% | 21.8% | 25.5% | 21.1% | 13.0% | 15.1% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.55 | 0.74 | 0.97 | 1.41 | 1.28 | 1.38 | 1.56 | 1.18 | 0.85 | 0.98 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.9% |
| R&D / revenue | 6.2% | 6.2% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.8% |
| SG&A / revenue | 22.7% | 23.3% | 24.9% | 22.1% | 22.5% | 23.4% | 22.2% | 22.2% | 23.6% | 23.7% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 90.1 | 88.6 | 88.0 | 82.0 | 77.7 | 89.6 | 87.7 | 83.1 | 80.9 | 80.6 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 143.3 | 151.1 | 148.4 | 118.7 | 104.2 | 113.3 | 110.5 | 103.3 | 102.7 | 107.7 |
| Days payables outstanding | 27.8 | 28.1 | 27.2 | 27.8 | 26.7 | 22.0 | 21.2 | 24.4 | 25.5 | 28.3 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 205.6 | 211.6 | 209.2 | 172.9 | 155.2 | 180.9 | 177.0 | 162.0 | 158.1 | 160.0 |
| Receivables turnover | 4.05 | 4.12 | 4.15 | 4.45 | 4.70 | 4.07 | 4.16 | 4.39 | 4.51 | 4.53 |
| Payables turnover | 13.12 | 13.00 | 13.43 | 13.13 | 13.69 | 16.61 | 17.25 | 14.96 | 14.32 | 12.89 |
| Inventory turnover | 2.55 | 2.42 | 2.46 | 3.08 | 3.50 | 3.22 | 3.30 | 3.53 | 3.55 | 3.39 |
| Asset turnover | 0.66 | 0.64 | 0.75 | 0.93 | 0.94 | 0.88 | 0.77 | 0.53 | 0.46 | 0.49 |
| Average receivables | $781.1M | $717.8M | $712.5M | $667.8M | $593.0M | $580.5M | $578.0M | $551.1M | $511.6M | $478.8M |
| Average payables | $101.9M | $92.3M | $89.0M | $95.1M | $84.5M | $60.6M | $58.6M | $66.4M | $66.1M | $69.2M |
| Average inventory | $524.8M | $496.7M | $486.0M | $405.9M | $330.2M | $312.4M | $306.1M | $280.9M | $266.5M | $263.0M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 37.4% | 40.9% | 41.8% | 20.0% | 22.0% | 24.8% | 23.3% | 16.2% | 11.0% | 12.0% |
Computed from WAT's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed February 23, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
WAT valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), Waters traded at 35.3 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 30.0. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 110.6 and the forward P/E is 24.8. Waters earned a return on equity of 29.3% and a return on invested capital of 22.8% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $1.5 billion of debt and $587.8 million in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $903.3 million. It returned $14.7 million to shareholders: $0 in dividends and $14.7 million in share buybacks, 3% of free cash flow. The share count fell 26.7% from 81.4M to 59.7M over 9 years.
See the WAT income statement, the WAT chart for price history, or the WAT stock overview for the latest quote and news.
WAT key metrics FAQ
What is Waters's P/E ratio?
Waters's trailing P/E ratio is 110.6 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 24.8. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 35.3, compared with a 10-year median of 30.0.
What is Waters's EV/EBITDA?
Waters's enterprise value was 23.3 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $23.6 billion, EBITDA $1.0 billion); the current EV/EBITDA is 47.8.
What is Waters's return on equity?
Waters's return on equity (ROE) was 29.3% in fiscal 2025: net income of $642.6 million on average shareholders' equity of $2.2 billion.
What is Waters's ROIC?
Waters's return on invested capital was 22.8% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Waters have?
Waters had total debt of $1.5 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58 and $903.3 million of net debt (0.89 times EBITDA).
Does Waters buy back its shares?
Yes. Waters spent $14.7 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025 Shares outstanding changed +0.3% over the year, to 59.7M..
What is Waters's free cash flow yield?
Waters generated $539.8 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of 2.4% on its market value at year-end ($22.7 billion).
What is Waters's current ratio?
Waters's current ratio was 1.73 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 1.73 times current liabilities.