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Waters (WAT) to Report Q2 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Waters Corporation (WAT - Free Report) is scheduled to report second-quarter 2023 results on Aug 2.

For the second quarter, Waters anticipates net sales growth of 1%-3% on a constant-currency basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales is pegged at $733.51 million, indicating a fall of 2.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

WAT expects non-GAAP earnings between $2.52 and $2.62 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $2.59 per share, suggesting a decline of 5.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. The estimate has been revised downward by 0.8% over the past 30 days.

Waters’ earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters while missing the same once, the average being 1.43%.

Waters Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Waters Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Waters Corporation price-eps-surprise | Waters Corporation Quote

Factors to Consider

Waters’ strong investments in liquid chromatography instruments, mass spectrometers and chemistries are anticipated to have contributed to its performance in the large molecule market during the to-be-reported quarter.

Waters’ robust liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry solution, named BioAccord, is expected to have continued benefiting its quarterly performance. Its strength in Arc HPLC and ACQUITY Premier instruments and MAX peak premier columns might have been a positive.

The latest acquisition of Wyatt Technology, which has bolstered Waters’ bioanalytical characterization capabilities, might have contributed well.

These factors are expected to have driven growth in the Waters segment during the second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Waters’ revenues is pegged at $649 million, indicating growth of 2.2% from the year-ago reported figure.

The company’s second-quarter results are likely to reflect benefits from solid momentum across the pharmaceutical, industrial, academic and government end markets.

Growing efforts toward expanding the product portfolio across instruments, consumables and informatics are expected to have driven WAT’s performance in the highlighted quarter.

The company’s strength in its thermal analyzer product line is likely to have continued benefiting the TA segment’s performance. The consensus mark for TA revenues is pinned at $83 million, reflecting growth of 5.1% from the reported figure in the prior-year quarter.

However, uncertainties in the global economy, rising inflationary pressure, unfavorable foreign exchange fluctuations and supply-chain constraints are expected to have negatively affected WAT’s quarterly performance.

Also, softness in the demand environment and market dynamics might have been concerns.

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, which is exactly the case here.

Waters has an Earnings ESP of -0.60%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

WAT carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks to Consider

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

Itron (ITRI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +7.61% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.  

Itron is scheduled to release second-quarter 2023 results on Aug 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ITRI’s earnings is pegged at 31 cents per share, suggesting a jump from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure of 7 cents.

CACI International (CACI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.36% and a Zacks Rank #2.

CACI is set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Aug 9. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CACI’s earnings is pinned at $4.85 per share, suggesting growth of 6.8% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

Docebo (DCBO - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +6.67% and has a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

Docebo is set to report its second-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Aug 10. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DCBO’s earnings is pegged at 8 cents per share. The company reported a loss of 5 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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