How Does WATERS CORP /DE/ Sit in Its SEC Industry Classification?
WATERS CORP /DE/ files under SEC standard industrial classification 3826, Laboratory Analytical Instruments. Among the 20 companies Swoopr covers under SIC 3826, its latest reported revenue of $3.2 billion ranks 6th. The comparison uses each company's own latest fiscal year, which can differ by up to a year across the group.
| Measure | WATERS CORP /DE/ (FY2025) | Peer reference |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.2 billion | 6th of 20 |
| Operating margin | 25.4% | 7.2% (median of 7 peers with a quarter to four times its revenue) |
| Revenue growth | +7.0% | +2.1% (median of 7 peers with a quarter to four times its revenue) |
Companies of similar size in the same classification: BRUKER CORP ($3.4 billion), REVVITY, INC. ($2.9 billion), BIO-RAD LABORATORIES, INC. ($2.6 billion), METTLER TOLEDO INTERNATIONAL INC/ ($4.0 billion), ILLUMINA, INC. ($4.3 billion).
A classification code groups companies by how they describe their main business to the SEC, so two companies with the same code can still differ in customers, geography and cost structure. Treat the comparison as a starting point for the questions below.
Where value can be captured
The health-care chain may include research, clinical development, regulators, manufacturing, distributors, providers, payers, pharmacies, and patients. Economic power depends on clinical differentiation, intellectual property, reimbursement, and access to distribution.
For Waters Corporation, name suppliers, channels, customers and infrastructure dependencies only when a reliable source establishes the relationship. The goal is to show where the company sits, what it depends on, and where bargaining power resides.
Industry drivers
- Procedure Or Patient Volume: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
- New Product Adoption: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
- Pricing And Reimbursement: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
- Clinical Pipeline Progress: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
- Prescription Volume: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
- Installed Base: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
- Service Utilization: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
- Research And Development Productivity: connect this driver to a disclosed KPI and to the financial statement line it influences.
Macro connections
- Health-Care Utilization: document the transmission mechanism rather than assuming correlation.
- Employment And Insurance Coverage: document the transmission mechanism rather than assuming correlation.
- Government Reimbursement Policy: document the transmission mechanism rather than assuming correlation.
- Interest Rates For Provider Capital Budgets: document the transmission mechanism rather than assuming correlation.
- Demographics: document the transmission mechanism rather than assuming correlation.
- Biopharma Research Spending: document the transmission mechanism rather than assuming correlation.
Peer map
A starting peer group from the current S&P 500 classification is Agilent Technologies, Bio-Techne, Charles River Laboratories, Danaher Corporation, IQVIA, Mettler Toledo. Some may be adjacent rather than direct competitors. The latest Waters Corporation filing and credible industry sources should refine the map.
Questions for the supply-chain map
- Which inputs are scarce, concentrated, regulated, or difficult to substitute?
- Which layer has the highest switching costs?
- Where can capacity expand quickly, and where does it take years?
- Which participants bear inventory, credit, commodity, or utilization risk?
- Is Waters Corporation's advantage located in intellectual property, physical assets, licenses, distribution, brand, data, or customer integration?
- Which dependency could become a bottleneck under stress?
References
The evergreen analysis above is anchored to verified index metadata and a filing-first research workflow. Time-sensitive financial figures are refreshed from the latest primary filings.
- S&P Dow Jones Indices: S&P 500
- SEC EDGAR company filings for Waters Corporation
- SEC submissions JSON for CIK 1000697
Source-review rule: Check any statement about current revenue, margins, management, products, segment mix, guidance, market share or capital allocation against the latest 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, proxy statement, earnings release or official investor-relations material before relying on it.