TECH vs. WAT: Bio-Techne vs. Waters Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Bio-Techne (TECH) 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

Bio-Techne (TECH) 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 Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Profile Item	TECH	WAT
Name	Bio-Techne Corp.	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	11.43 billion USD	44.93 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	February 9, 1989	November 17, 1995
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

TECH

WAT

GSPC

Bio-Techne (TECH) 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 Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
Total Return (1Y)	27.56%	27.70%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.11%	23.32%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-9.91%	6.27%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

TECH

WAT

GSPC

Bio-Techne (TECH) 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 Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.08%	35.45%
Beta (5Y)	1.26	1.13
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-65.87%	-36.47%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.81M	816.72K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

TECH 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 Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.54	0.66
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.82	0.98

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Bio-Techne (TECH) at 8.33% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Waters (WAT) at 1.12% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for TECH.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

8.33%

Max: 109.18%
TECH: 8.33%
Q3: 6.23%
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%

Bio-Techne (TECH) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their ROE against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Bio-Techne (TECH) at 14.00% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Waters (WAT) at 1.76%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

14.00%

Max: 18.05%
TECH: 14.00%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Bio-Techne (TECH) at 12.21% and Waters (WAT) at 11.38% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

12.21%

Max: 83.12%
Q3: 14.77%
TECH: 12.21%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
ROE (TTM)	8.33%	1.12%
ROA (TTM)	6.38%	2.36%
Net Margin (TTM)	14.00%	1.76%
Operating Margin (TTM)	12.21%	11.38%
Gross Margin (TTM)	66.23%	49.83%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Bio-Techne (TECH) at -0.38% and Waters (WAT) at 6.99% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Bio-Techne (TECH) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Bio-Techne (TECH) at 152.17% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Waters (WAT) at 0.47% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for TECH.

Bio-Techne (TECH) vs. Waters (WAT): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-0.38%	6.99%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	2.25%	2.12%
EPS Growth (YoY)	152.17%	0.47%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-12.97%	-2.84%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Short-term liquidity can only be read on one side of this pairing: Bio-Techne (TECH) shows current ratio of 2.28 against its industry benchmark, while Waters (WAT) has no reading this period.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

2.28

Max: 25.13
Q3: 12.13
Median: 5.52
Q1: 2.47
TECH: 2.28
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: --

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Bio-Techne (TECH) at 0.13 and Waters (WAT) at 0.34 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.13

Max: 1.42
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.15
TECH: 0.13
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

Bio-Techne (TECH) 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 Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.28	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.13	0.34
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.20	3.23

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Waters (WAT) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Bio-Techne (TECH) reports a yield of 0.44%, ranking against industry peers normally.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.44%

TECH: 0.44%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Waters (WAT) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Bio-Techne (TECH) reports a payout of 27.59%, ranking against industry peers normally.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

27.59%

TECH: 27.59%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.44%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	27.59%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: Bio-Techne (TECH) at 62.74 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and Waters (WAT) at 191.46 is richer still, above its industry range.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

62.74

Max: 85.34
TECH: 62.74
Q3: 43.46
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Bio-Techne (TECH) at 9.31 and Waters (WAT) at 8.01 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

9.31

Max: 58.18
Q3: 25.77
TECH: 9.31
Median: 7.30
Q1: 3.01
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

Bio-Techne (TECH) 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 Bio-Techne (TECH) at 5.28 and Waters (WAT) at 2.94 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

TECH

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

5.28

Max: 13.53
Q3: 6.54
TECH: 5.28
Median: 3.25
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Bio-Techne (TECH) and Waters (WAT)
Metric	TECH	WAT
P/E Ratio (TTM)	62.74	191.46
P/S Ratio (TTM)	9.31	8.01
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	5.28	2.94
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.39%	--