AVTR vs. WAT: Avantor vs. Waters Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT) are both classified in the Life Sciences Tools & Services sub-industry within the broader Life Sciences Tools & Services industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Profile Item	AVTR	WAT
Name	Avantor, Inc.	Waters Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences	Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences
GICS Industry	Life Sciences Tools & Services	Life Sciences Tools & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Life Sciences Tools & Services	Life Sciences Tools & Services
Market Capitalization	10.48 billion USD	44.93 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	May 17, 2019	November 17, 1995
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AVTR

WAT

GSPC

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
Total Return (1Y)	36.41%	27.70%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-5.02%	23.32%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-16.62%	6.27%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AVTR

WAT

GSPC

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.39%	35.45%
Beta (5Y)	0.94	1.13
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-82.42%	-36.47%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.56M	816.72K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AVTR and WAT are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.74	0.66
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.17	0.98

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Avantor (AVTR) at 5.91% and Waters (WAT) at 1.12% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

5.91%

Max: 109.18%
Q3: 6.23%
AVTR: 5.91%
Median: -26.66%
Q1: -64.05%
Min: -167.77%

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.12%

Max: 109.18%
Q3: 6.23%
WAT: 1.12%
Median: -26.66%
Q1: -64.05%
Min: -167.77%

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their ROE against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Avantor (AVTR) at 5.08% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Waters (WAT) at 1.76%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

5.08%

Max: 18.05%
AVTR: 5.08%
Q3: 4.78%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -4.14%
Min: -17.05%

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.76%

Max: 18.05%
Q3: 4.78%
WAT: 1.76%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -4.14%
Min: -17.05%

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their net margin against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Avantor (AVTR) at 8.19% and Waters (WAT) at 11.38% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

8.19%

Max: 83.12%
Q3: 14.77%
AVTR: 8.19%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -78.82%
Min: -207.40%

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

11.38%

Max: 83.12%
Q3: 14.77%
WAT: 11.38%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -78.82%
Min: -207.40%

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their operating margin against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
ROE (TTM)	5.91%	1.12%
ROA (TTM)	2.83%	2.36%
Net Margin (TTM)	5.08%	1.76%
Operating Margin (TTM)	8.19%	11.38%
Gross Margin (TTM)	31.59%	49.83%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Waters (WAT) at 6.99% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Avantor (AVTR) at -3.41% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Waters (WAT) at 0.47% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Avantor (AVTR) at -175.00% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-3.41%	6.99%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-4.46%	2.12%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-175.00%	0.47%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-2.84%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Short-term liquidity can only be read on one side of this pairing: Avantor (AVTR) shows current ratio of 1.89 against its industry benchmark, while Waters (WAT) has no reading this period.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.89

Max: 25.13
Q3: 12.13
Median: 5.52
Q1: 2.47
AVTR: 1.89
Min: 0.10

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

Max: 25.13
Q3: 12.13
Median: 5.52
Q1: 2.47
Min: 0.10
WAT: --

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): WAT does not report current ratio, so it has no value marker; AVTR is benchmarked against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Avantor (AVTR) at 0.63 and Waters (WAT) at 0.34 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.63

Max: 1.42
Q3: 0.65
AVTR: 0.63
Median: 0.15
Q1: 0.02
Min: 0.00

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.34

Max: 1.42
Q3: 0.65
WAT: 0.34
Median: 0.15
Q1: 0.02
Min: 0.00

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.89	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.63	0.34
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.40	3.23

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Avantor (AVTR) nor Waters (WAT) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

AVTR: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

WAT: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither Avantor (AVTR) nor Waters (WAT) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

AVTR: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

WAT: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Avantor (AVTR) at 30.94 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Waters (WAT) at 191.46 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for WAT’s trailing earnings.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

30.94

Max: 85.34
Q3: 43.46
AVTR: 30.94
Median: 26.69
Q1: 13.30
Min: 0.07

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

191.46

WAT: 191.46
Max: 85.34
Q3: 43.46
Median: 26.69
Q1: 13.30
Min: 0.07

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Avantor (AVTR) at 1.58 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Waters (WAT) at 8.01 prices around its industry’s middle — AVTR costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.58

Max: 58.18
Q3: 25.77
Median: 7.30
Q1: 3.01
AVTR: 1.58
Min: 0.01

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

8.01

Max: 58.18
Q3: 25.77
WAT: 8.01
Median: 7.30
Q1: 3.01
Min: 0.01

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Avantor (AVTR) at 1.80 and Waters (WAT) at 2.94 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

AVTR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.80

Max: 13.53
Q3: 6.54
Median: 3.25
AVTR: 1.80
Q1: 1.69
Min: -5.59

WAT

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

2.94

Max: 13.53
Q3: 6.54
Median: 3.25
WAT: 2.94
Q1: 1.69
Min: -5.59

Avantor (AVTR) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Avantor (AVTR) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	AVTR	WAT
P/E Ratio (TTM)	30.94	191.46
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.58	8.01
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.80	2.94
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.21%	--