Waters Raises 2026 Revenue Outlook as Q3 Organic Growth Hits 10%

Waters Corporation raised its 2026 revenue guidance by $43 million after third-quarter organic revenue increased 10% in constant currency, supported by growth in analytical instruments, chemistry consumables and materials-testing applications. The company also reported early progress on initiatives intended to improve growth at the Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions businesses acquired from Becton, Dickinson and Company in February.

Third-quarter total revenue was $1.767 billion, including $896 million from the acquired businesses. Organic revenue was $871 million, up 9% as reported and 10% in constant currency from a year earlier. Revenue for Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions increased 1% on a prior-year comparable basis.

Adjusted earnings per share rose 21% to $4.10 from $3.40. Adjusted operating margin was 30.1%, compared with a GAAP operating margin of 7.2%. GAAP earnings per share declined to $0.82 from $2.50, reflecting adjustments that included purchased-intangible and acquisition step-up amortization, acquisition-related costs, restructuring expenses and ERP implementation costs.

Analytical Sciences leads organic growth

Analytical Sciences revenue rose 8% as reported and 9% in constant currency to $703 million. Instrument revenue increased 10% in constant currency to $282 million, while chemistry revenue advanced 12% to $157 million and service revenue grew 8% to $265 million.

Waters said pharmaceutical demand grew at a double-digit rate, driven by instrument replacement, GLP-1-related activity, generic-drug demand in India and large-molecule applications. Non-pharmaceutical revenue recorded mid-single-digit growth, with strength across industrial, food and environmental testing markets.

Materials Sciences revenue increased 7% as reported and 9% in constant currency to $93 million. Growth was led by electronics testing for semiconductor and data-center applications, alongside continued demand for thermal analysis in aerospace and defense. Revenue in China grew more than 30%.

Acquired businesses show mixed performance

Biosciences generated $396 million of revenue, up 2% from the prior-year comparable period. Flow Research revenue increased 1% to $214 million, while Flow Clinical revenue rose 4% to $182 million. Reagents delivered high-single-digit growth across research and clinical applications, and the company cited demand for the FACSDiscover A7 flow cytometer, which launched near the end of the quarter.

Advanced Diagnostics revenue was $575 million, up 2%. The division included $500 million from Diagnostic Solutions, which was flat, and $75 million from the Clinical Business Unit, up 17% as reported and 18% in constant currency.

Within Diagnostic Solutions, microbiology revenue increased 4% to $346 million. Excluding China, microbiology grew 6%, led by high-single-digit growth in the Americas. Molecular Diagnostics and Point of Care revenue declined 6% to $154 million, with performance shaped by lower respiratory testing. The company reported continued broad-based regional strength in mass-spectrometry diagnostics.

Waters said execution initiatives were already supporting mid-single-digit growth across Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions. Net price realization reached 120 basis points in the third quarter after the establishment of a central pricing team and deal desks, and management expects realization of at least 150 basis points in coming periods. A dedicated reagent-rental compliance program is expected to begin recapturing revenue in the fourth quarter, while local Biosciences manufacturing in China helped the business return to growth there during the third quarter.

Based on third-quarter performance and the midpoint of its fourth-quarter guidance, management expects Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions to produce 5% constant-currency growth in the second half of 2026. Waters also remains on track for more than $50 million of revenue synergies this year through cross-selling, instrument replacement, increased service-plan attachment and digital commerce.

2026 outlook

Waters now expects full-year total reported revenue of $6.479 billion to $6.497 billion. That range includes a $3.050 billion contribution from acquired businesses and organic reported revenue of $3.429 billion to $3.447 billion. Full-year organic constant-currency growth is projected at 9.1% to 9.7%, with foreign exchange expected to reduce reported growth by 0.7 percentage point.

Adjusted EPS is forecast at $14.60 to $14.70, while adjusted EBIT margin is expected to be 28.2%. The company projects net interest expense of $196 million, a 15.4% tax rate and an average diluted share count of 94.5 million.

For the fourth quarter, Waters expects total reported revenue of $1.801 billion to $1.819 billion, including $817 million from acquired operations. Organic constant-currency revenue growth is forecast at 7% to 9%, and adjusted EPS is expected to range from $4.58 to $4.68.

Management also presented preliminary 2027 assumptions, which do not constitute formal guidance. The framework indicated potential organic growth of 9% for the legacy Waters business, 5% for the acquired BD operations and 7% overall, along with a potential adjusted operating margin of 29.2% and low-teens adjusted EPS growth. The company identified execution initiatives, revenue synergies, reshoring, artificial-intelligence-driven demand and semiconductor testing as possible contributors.

The outlook remains subject to integration and execution risks related to the BD acquisition, including the timing of integration and Waters’ ability to achieve expected revenue and cost synergies. The company also cited economic, environmental, regulatory, trade and political uncertainty. Prior-year comparisons for the acquired businesses are based on results reported under BD ownership and may not reflect the cost structure or operating model of those businesses within Waters.