Waters Corporation (New York Stock Exchange ticker: WAT) announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2026 on November 3rd, and stated that it would provide a growth framework starting from 2027 during the earnings conference call on the same day.
Highlights of the third quarter include: reported revenue of $1.767 billion, which is $14 million higher than the midpoint of the guidance; organic revenue increased by 9% year-over-year and by 10% when calculated at a fixed exchange rate, and acquisition business revenue was slightly higher than the guidance. Calculated using GAAP, earnings per share were $0.82; adjusted earnings per share were $4.10, up 21% year-over-year and also higher than the guidance.
The Analysis Science Division (Analytical Sciences Division, ASD) reported an 8% increase in revenue, which is 9% when calculated using a fixed exchange rate. The growth was mainly driven by double-digit increases in instruments and chemicals, due to strong execution, new product innovation, and an increase in the volume of customer testing.
In the Biological Sciences Division ( Biosciences Division , WBD ), the reagent business achieved high single-digit growth on a comparable basis, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 400 basis points; both research and clinical reagents saw high single-digit growth. In the Advanced Diagnostics Division ( Advanced Diagnostics Division , ADx ), the microbiology business achieved moderate single-digit growth on a comparable basis.
The company stated that it has raised all components of its guidance for the entire year 2026, with the median value of the total reported revenue guidance increasing by $43 million, due to new growth drivers being added on top of a solid existing demand base.
Waters CEO Udit Batra stated: "Our team has delivered outstanding results, with both the consumables businesses in the Analytical Sciences and Life Sciences divisions achieving leading growth in the industry. Strong execution, new product innovation, and an increase in customer testing volumes have driven this accelerated growth." He also mentioned that the LC-MS instrumentation business has further strengthened, achieving double-digit growth on a fixed exchange rate basis. The driving factors include a steady trend of instrument replacement, GLP-1, PFAS, and special growth factors in areas such as Indian generic drugs, as well as the company's leading solutions in the field of complex biologics, which have led to continuous outperformance relative to the market.
Batra added, "Thanks to the hard work of our team, we are progressing ahead of schedule in terms of the coordination and integration of the acquired businesses. As the conditions in the end-market environment improve and the growth momentum of the merged company accelerates, we are raising the mid-range forecast for our revenue for the entire year of 2026 by $43 million. The forecast for the fourth quarter indicates that both our core organic business and the acquired businesses will achieve double-digit growth when adjusted on a daily basis."
The Analysis Science Division (formerly known as Waters Division, excluding clinical business units) reported revenue of $703 million this quarter, compared to $649 million in the same period last year.
The Bioscience Division (WBD, formerly known as BD Biosciences) reported revenue of $396 million this quarter, compared to $387 million in the same period last year.
The Advanced Diagnosis Division (ADx) is composed of the original BD Diagnostic Solutions business, as well as the clinical business units that were previously reported under the Waters Division.
The revenue from the Diagnostic Solutions business this quarter was $500 million, compared to $498 million in the same period last year. The revenue from the Clinical Business Unit this quarter was $75 million, whereas it was $64 million in the same period last year.
The Materials Science Division (Materials Sciences Division, MSD, formerly known as TA Division) reported revenue of $93 million this quarter, compared to $87 million in the same period last year.
The company stated that the explanations and adjustment tables for GAAP versus non-GAAP results are provided in the table below, and can also be found in the investor relations section of the company's website at www.waters.com.
For the entire year of 2026, the company has raised its guidance for organic fixed exchange rate revenue growth to 9.1% to 9.7%. After considering the impact of exchange rate conversions, the organic reported revenue for 2026 is expected to be between $3.429 billion and $3.447 billion.
The company has also raised its expectations for acquisition business revenue, currently anticipating that the reported revenue from acquisition business for the full year of 2026, calculated based on the holding period, will be approximately $3.05 billion.
The total annual report revenue for the company in 2026 is expected to be between $6.479 billion and $6.497 billion.
The company has updated its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share guidance to $14.60 to $14.70, which represents a year-over-year increase of 11% to 12%, and an increase of 13% to 14% when calculated using a fixed exchange rate.
For the fourth quarter of 2026, the company expects organic fixed exchange rate revenue to grow by 7.0% to 9.0%. After considering the impact of exchange rate conversions, organic reported revenue for the fourth quarter is expected to be between $984 million and $1002 million.
The company expects the revenue from acquisition business in the fourth quarter of 2026 to be approximately $817 million.
The total report revenue for the fourth quarter of 2026 is expected to be between $1.801 billion and $1.819 billion.
The company expects adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter to be between $4.58 and $4.68, representing a year-over-year increase of 1% to 3%.
The company stated that management will provide a growth framework starting from 2027 during the earnings conference call at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on the same day, explaining how the return to manufacturing, synergies, and demand drivers related to artificial intelligence are expected to shape next year's growth.
Waters also announced the acquisition of MOBILion Systems, Inc. MOBILion is a pioneer in SLIM's high-resolution ion migration separation technology, which can separate complex molecules based on molecular size, shape, and charge in milliseconds. This acquisition will complement Waters's industry-leading mass spectrometry product portfolio and is expected to expand the company's capabilities in entering the proteomics market. For more details, please refer to another announcement released by the company earlier on the same day.
The company stated that it is unable to provide a adjustment table for the forward-looking adjusted earnings per share guidance that is directly comparable to the GAAP indicator, as such adjustments cannot be prepared without making unreasonable efforts. The reason lies in the difficulty of predicting and quantifying certain necessary items, including acquisition-related amortization, acquisition and restructuring costs, as well as potential legal, advisory, and tax costs or other expenses. These amounts may be significant and could have a substantial impact on the company's future GAAP financial results. Except for percentages and earnings per share data, all amounts are presented in millions of US dollars. Due to rounding, some totals and percentages may not add up exactly.
For the acquired bioscience and diagnostic solutions business (“BDS business”), the comparable period data from the same time last year was Becton, Dickinson, and, Company. The performance for the three months ending September 30, 2025, is disclosed in Annex 99.1 of the current 8-K report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 6, 2025 (BDX). This historical financial information reflects the operating results of these businesses under the management of BDX and in compliance with U.S. GAAP regulations. Therefore, this historical financial information does not necessarily reflect the results of these businesses if they were operated as part of Waters during the stated period, nor does it reflect the changes that have occurred since the completion of the acquisition on Waters, including changes in financing, cash management, operations, cost structure, and staffing requirements, or differences in accounting policies. For example, prior to the acquisition, BDX provided legal, financial, information technology, human resources, and other infrastructure support to the BDS business. The costs of such services were allocated to the operating results of the BDS business based on a proportion of revenue or number of employees, as determined by BDX in accordance with GAAP. If the BDS business had been operated as part of Waters during the stated period, these allocated costs may not be indicative or necessary, and may not represent future costs that could arise.
Waters Corporation will hold a webcast of its third-quarter 2026 financial results conference at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on November 3, 2026. Investors can visit www.waters.com, select Investor Relations under the About Waters section, enter Events & Presentations, and click Webcast to listen to the conference and view the accompanying slides. The replay will be available until at least December 1, 2026.
Waters Corporation is a global leader in the fields of life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits brought by cutting-edge science through analytics technology, informatics, and services. The company focuses on regulated, high-throughput testing environments, and its innovative product portfolio combines deep scientific expertise in chemistry, physics, and biology. It collaborates with customers worldwide to facilitate the launch of effective, high-quality drugs, ensure the safety of food and water, and improves patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing common infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. With a shared culture of continuous innovation, the company's approximately 15,000 employees transform scientific challenges into breakthroughs that enhance lives around the world.
This press release contains several non-GAAP financial indicators, such as organic fixed exchange rate growth rate, fixed exchange rate growth rate, comparable income from the same period last year, and adjusted earnings calculated on a diluted per share basis. These indicators are considered "non-GAAP" financial indicators under the applicable SEC rules and regulations. Non-GAAP indicators should be viewed as supplementary information and not as a substitute for the financial information prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The company's definition of these non-GAAP indicators may differ from those used by other companies. The non-GAAP indicators in this press release have been adjusted for certain items that are subject to significant fluctuations or are difficult to predict. The company typically uses these non-GAAP indicators to assist management in making financial and operational decisions, including evaluating historical operating results, comparing the operating results of competitors, and determining management incentive compensation. These non-GAAP indicators provide another way to observe the company's operating conditions, and when combined with the GAAP results and the corresponding adjustment tables, they may help to more fully understand the factors and trends that affect the company's business. Since non-GAAP indicators exclude the impact of items that could increase or decrease the company's reported operating results, management strongly recommends that investors review the company's consolidated financial statements and publicly submitted reports in their entirety. The definitions of the non-GAAP indicators and the adjustment tables relating to the most directly comparable GAAP indicators are provided in the appendices of this press release.
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements regarding future results and events. For purposes of this statement, any statement that is not a historical fact may be considered a forward-looking statement. In addition to the above, terms such as “feels”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “expects”, “intends”, “suggests”, “appears”, “estimates”, “projects”, etc., whether in negative form or not, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For various reasons, the company’s actual results may differ significantly from those contained in this press release’s forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks or uncertainties associated with the company’s acquisition of the bioscience and diagnostic solutions business from BDX, including the failure to achieve the expected benefits from such acquisition, or the inability to integrate the BDS business into the company within the expected time frame, or even at all; the company’s ability to implement its business strategy and achieve revenue and cost synergies; the expected benefits of the projects and Inc acquisitions; the expected progress of research projects; the development of new analytical instruments and related software or consumables; manufacturing development and capacity; the company’s future financial and operational performance; future economic and market conditions, including the company’s expectations for certain market growth rates; the company’s strategic initiatives, including instrument replacement plans; the company’s ability to respond to and adapt to global dynamic changes, including the potential impact of tariffs and supply chain challenges; the company’s ability to retain and attract customers in different regions and segments of the market; market size and growth opportunities; competitive position; estimated costs; technical capabilities and plans; management objectives; and other risk factors detailed from time to time in reports submitted by Waters to SEC.The aforementioned factors and other information are discussed in more detail in the company's annual report 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2025, in the sections “Forward - Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors”. These discussions have been incorporated into this press release by reference and will be updated in the documents subsequently submitted by the company to SEC. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent the company's estimates or opinions as of the date of issuance and should not be considered as representing its estimates or opinions on any subsequent date. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Contact person: Caspar Tudor, Director of Investor Relations, Phone: (508) 482-3448
