Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) reported first-quarter results on Tuesday that exceeded analyst expectations, pushing its shares up 5.2% in premarket trading as investors responded to solid performance following a recent acquisition.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.70, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Revenue totaled $1.27 billion, coming in above the $1.2 billion forecast.
First Quarter Including New Acquisition
This quarter marked the first set of results to include contributions from the Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions businesses acquired from Becton, Dickinson and Company on February 9, 2026.
Organic revenue increased 13% on a reported basis and 11% in constant currency, exceeding the top end of the company’s guidance range by 200 basis points.
The newly acquired Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions units generated $520 million in revenue, outperforming guidance by $40 million. Compared with $662 million in total revenue reported in the first quarter of 2025, Waters’ core business delivered 13% year-on-year organic growth.
CEO Highlights Integration Progress
“Thanks to the hard work of our teams, we delivered an excellent first quarter as a combined company,” said Udit Batra. “Our Biosciences and Advanced Diagnostics Divisions are off to a strong start with a significant improvement in growth rates versus pre-close trends, due to increased execution discipline, a sharper focus on upcoming new product launches, and superb collaboration with our Analytical Sciences Division.”
Outlook for Q2 and Full Year
For the second quarter of 2026, Waters expects adjusted EPS in the range of $2.95 to $3.05, with the midpoint of $3.00 in line with analyst estimates. The company forecasts organic revenue between $814 million and $829 million for the quarter.
Waters also raised its full-year 2026 guidance, now projecting adjusted EPS of $14.40 to $14.60, with a midpoint of $14.50—slightly above the $14.38 consensus.
In addition, the company increased its outlook for organic constant-currency revenue growth to a range of 6.5% to 8.0%, and expects total annual revenue of between $6.405 billion and $6.455 billion.