Thermo Fisher Scientific vs Waters
TMO and WAT side by side, both in laboratory apparatus and analytical, optical, measuring, and controlling instruments. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How TMO and WAT compare
Thermo Fisher Scientific is the larger company, worth 5.7 times as much as Waters ($266B against $46.3B).
On earnings, Thermo Fisher Scientific is cheaper: it trades at 37.9× trailing earnings, against 202× for Waters.
Waters grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (80.7% versus 8.3% for Thermo Fisher Scientific).
Thermo Fisher Scientific keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 14.9% compared with 1.8% at Waters.
Thermo Fisher Scientific pays a dividend yielding 0.26%; Waters does not pay one.
Thermo Fisher Scientific scores higher on the StockData Score (10 against 8 for Waters), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | TMO | WAT |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $266B | $46.3B |
| Share price | $717.71 | $470.90 |
| Change, 1 year | 24.5% | 25.0% |
| Change, 5 years | 12.8% | 34.7% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.82 | 0.93 |
| Employees | 125K | 7,600 |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 10 (better) | 8 |
| Valuation score | 0 | 1 (better) |
| Growth score | 0 | 2 (better) |
| Performance score | 2 (better) | 1 |
| Health score | 4 | 4 |
| Dividend score | 4 (better) | 0 |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 37.9× (better) | 202× |
| P/S | 5.6× (better) | 8.2× |
| P/B | 4.9× | 3.0× (better) |
| EV/EBITDA | 35.6× (better) | 189× |
| P/FCF | 35.0× (better) | 159× |
| PEG | 182.48 | – |
| FCF yield | 2.9% (better) | 0.63% |
| Fair value | $531.79 | $54.03 |
| Margin of safety | −35.0% (better) | −772% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 8.3% | 80.7% (better) |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 6.7% (better) | 6.0% |
| Net income growth (TTM) | 7.6% (better) | −84.8% |
| EPS growth (TTM) | 9.5% (better) | −78.6% |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | 2.1% | 5.2% (better) |
| Profitability | ||
| Operating margin | 17.9% (better) | 4.7% |
| Net margin | 14.9% (better) | 1.8% |
| FCF margin | 16.0% (better) | 5.2% |
| Return on equity | 13.4% (better) | 1.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 8.9% (better) | 2.2% |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 0.76 | 0.29 (better) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.17 (better) | 14.65 |
| Interest coverage | 5.5× (better) | 1.5× |
| Current ratio | 1.81 | 1.89 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 4.24 (better) | 4.11 |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 (better) | 4 |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | 0.26% | – |
| Payout ratio | 9.5% | – |
| Years of dividend growth | 8 | – |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | 14.3% | – |
| Buyback yield | 1.5% (better) | 0.03% |
| Shareholder yield | 1.8% (better) | 0.03% |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 90.7% | 101% |
| Held by insiders | 0.13% | 0.10% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$129M | −$992K (better) |
| Superinvestors holding | 7 (better) | 3 |
| Short interest, % of float | 1.3% | 3.4% |
Go deeper
- TMO stock overview
- TMO income statement
- TMO valuation and score
- WAT stock overview
- WAT income statement
- WAT valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.