Overview
Waters Corporation is a global life-sciences and laboratory technology company. Its businesses provide analytical instruments, consumables, software and services used in pharmaceutical research, clinical testing, and food, environmental and materials science. Its longstanding technologies include liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis; following its combination with BD’s Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions businesses, it also operates in biosciences and advanced diagnostics. Waters describes its purpose as accelerating the benefits of pioneering science.[1][2][3]
The company operates through Waters Analytical Sciences, Waters Biosciences, Waters Advanced Diagnostics and Waters Materials Sciences, serving customers internationally. It reports approximately 16,000 employees worldwide. Waters recorded $3.17 billion in 2025 revenue before the February 2026 combination, so that figure does not represent the scale of the expanded company.[4][5][6][2] [1][2][3][4][6][5]
Products & services
Waters’ analytical products include high-performance and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC and UPLC) systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography consumables, and software. Its ACQUITY UPLC system uses small, uniform packing particles and an instrument designed for the resulting higher pressures and narrower chromatographic bands. The Alliance iS HPLC system combines with Empower chromatography software and eConnect columns to detect common testing errors; waters_connect System Monitoring Software provides real-time instrument monitoring. Waters also sells HPLC columns for its own and competing LC systems, while ACQUITY UPLC columns are principally used with ACQUITY systems.[1][7][8][9] [1][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][15][15][15][15][15][15][15]
Geographic presence
Waters sells across the Americas, Asia and Europe. In 2024, the Americas accounted for $1.12 billion, or about 37.7% of net sales; Asia for $969 million, or 32.8%; and Europe for $873 million, or 29.5% [16]. The United States contributed $934 million, about 31.6% of total sales, while China contributed $397 million, about 13.4% [16]. Approximately 68% of net sales were outside the United States [17].
Waters lists principal facilities in the United States and in China, England, France, Germany, Ireland, India, the Netherlands, Romania and Singapore [18]. Its manufacturing footprint includes substantial operations in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and it uses significant subcontractors in Singapore [17]. In addition to sales offices at its principal facilities, the company maintains nine U.S. field offices and 55 field offices abroad [19]. [16][16][16][16][16][17][18][18][18][18][18][18][18][18][18][18][19]
Business segments
Waters reports three business segments: Analytical & Materials Sciences, Biosciences, and Advanced Diagnostics. Analytical & Materials Sciences combines two operating segments. Analytical Sciences supplies liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry instruments, columns and precision-chemistry consumables; Materials Sciences supplies instruments for thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry. These businesses were previously known as the Waters and TA divisions, respectively.[20][21]
Biosciences supplies instruments, reagents and informatics for cell analysis and life-sciences research, including drug discovery and development. Advanced Diagnostics supplies diagnostic instruments, assays, consumables, automation and informatics, particularly for infectious-disease testing; it also includes the former Waters Clinical business.[22][23] In the quarter ended July 4, 2026, Analytical & Materials Sciences accounted for approximately 46% of net sales, Biosciences 22% and Advanced Diagnostics 32%. These percentages describe that quarter’s sales mix, not a fixed long-term allocation.[24] [20][21][22][23][24][24][24][24]
Company history
James L. “Jim” Waters founded Waters Associates in 1958. The company initially developed analytical instruments and expanded into liquid chromatography, introducing its ALC-100 system in the late 1960s as an early commercial high-performance liquid chromatography instrument.[25][26]
Millipore announced its acquisition of Waters Associates in 1980. In 1994, Millipore sold the Waters business to Waters Holding; Waters Corporation became publicly traded through an initial public offering in November 1995. It then broadened its analytical-instrument portfolio by acquiring TA Instruments in 1996 and Micromass, a mass-spectrometry business, in 1997.[27][28][29] [29][25][26][27][28]
Sources
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