Waters Stock Leads S&P 500 Gains Friday as Earnings Top Estimates

Key Takeaways

• Shares of Waters Corp., which supplies lab instruments and software, notched the top performance in the S&P 500 Friday.
• The life sciences firm topped third-quarter sales and profit estimates, boosted by growth across all its regions and end markets.
• Waters CEO Dr. Udit Batra said new product adoption and improved customer spending trends contributed to the strong results.

Shares of Waters Corp. (WAT) surged nearly 20% on Friday, delivering the top daily performance in the S&P 500 after the company reported third-quarter sales and earnings that topped analysts’ projections.

The provider of analytical laboratory instruments and software reported third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $2.71, up over 19% from a year ago, while revenue rose 4% to $740 million. Both figures exceeded analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Waters Lifts Its Outlook as Sales Rise Across Regions

Waters reported sales growth in all the regions and end markets in which it operates. Notable revenue gains came from the industrial market, where sales jumped 9%, and the pharmaceutical market, which saw growth of 2%. Sales to the academic and government markets also advanced 2%.

Waters CEO Dr. Udit Batra said new product adoption and “improved customer spending trends” contributed to the strong quarter.

The company said it expects sales growth of 5% to 7% in the fourth quarter, and lifted its full-year outlook. Waters projected full-year sales to decline between 0.2% and 0.8%, compared to a drop of 0.7% to 2.2% previously, with adjusted EPS of $11.67 to $11.87, up from $2.60 to $2.70.

Shares of Waters finished 19.8% higher at $387.21 Friday following the release, bringing their year-to-date gain close to 18%.