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Waters (WAT) to Report Q1 Earnings: A Beat in the Cards?

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Waters Corporation (WAT - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2021 results on May 5.

For the first quarter, Waters expects non-GAAP earnings between $1.50 and $1.60 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $1.57 per share, suggesting growth of 36.5% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Further, the consensus mark for first-quarter revenues stands at $522.24 million, implying a 12.3% improvement from the prior-year period’s reported number.

Notably, the company’s earnings beat estimates thrice in the last four quarters and missed the same once. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.63%, on average.

Waters Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Waters Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Waters Corporation price-eps-surprise | Waters Corporation Quote

Factors to Consider

Proper execution of Waters’ five-point value-creation model, which emphasizes on its unique specialty positioning, organic innovation, operating excellence, disciplined capital deployment and a strong focus on people and culture, is likely to get reflected in its first-quarter results.

Further, the company’s growing efforts toward normalizing the operating spend and its growth investments might have acted as tailwinds in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

Additionally, the company’s growing momentum across biomedical research applications is likely to have benefited its performance in the first quarter.

Moreover, Waters’ product introductions are likely to have contributed well to its third-quarter performance. Growing momentum across new product lines like BioAccord and Cyclic IMS is also likely to have remained positive in the quarter under review.

Further, BioAccord, which is the company’s robust liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry solution, is expected to have benefited Waters segmental performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

Additionally, the launch of Arc HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) is likely to have strengthened the company’s position in the core liquid chromatography market during the quarter.

We believe, the company’s solid investments in liquid chromatography instruments, mass spectrometers and chemistries are likely to have contributed to its performance in the large molecule market during the quarter under review.

However, coronavirus-related uncertainties are anticipated to have persisted as major headwinds.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Waters this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Waters has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are some other stocks worth considering as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.

AMETEK, Inc. (AME - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.49% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (VSH - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.22% and is Zacks #2 Ranked.

Square, Inc. (SQ - Free Report) presently has an Earnings ESP of +16.14% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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