Waters (WAT) Q4 FY2023 earnings: revenue $819 million, down 4.5% on the year

Waters Corp. (WAT) reported revenue of $819 million for Q4 FY2023, the quarter ended 31 December 2023, down 4.5% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $216 million, down 4.8% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $3.65. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-K it filed with the SEC on 27 February 2024.

Revenue

$819 million

-4.5% on the year · +15.1% on the quarter

Q1 FY2022Q4 FY2023

Operating margin

32.2%

33.3% a year earlier

Q1 FY2022Q4 FY2023

Net income

$216 million

-4.8% on the year · +60.7% on the quarter

Q1 FY2022Q4 FY2023

Diluted EPS

$3.65

-4.2% on the year · +60.8% on the quarter

Q1 FY2022Q4 FY2023

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ million	Q4 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2022	On the quarter	On the year
Revenue	819	712	859	+15.1%	-4.5%
Cost of revenue	318	291	348	+9.2%	-8.6%
Gross profit	501	420	510	+19.2%	-1.8%
Gross margin	61.2%	59.1%	59.4%
Research and development	44.4	42.0	48.3	+5.7%	-8.1%
Selling, general and administrative	180	187	174	-3.4%	+3.5%
Operating income	264	179	286	+47.3%	-7.7%
Operating margin	32.2%	25.2%	33.3%
Interest expense	30.7	30.4	13.9	+0.9%	+120.9%
Pre-tax income	238	153	275	+55.1%	-13.8%
Income tax	21.4	18.6	48.4	+14.8%	-55.8%
Effective tax rate	9.0%	12.2%	17.6%
Net income	216	135	227	+60.7%	-4.8%
Net margin	26.4%	18.9%	26.4%
Diluted EPS	$3.65	$2.27	$3.81	+60.8%	-4.2%

$ million except per share.

Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ million	Q4 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2022	On the quarter	On the year
Operating cash flow	230	158	199	+45.8%	+15.8%
Capital expenditure	41.6	38.0	62.2	+9.3%	-33.1%
Free cash flow	189	120	137	+57.4%	+38.1%
Free cash flow margin	23.0%	16.8%	15.9%
Cash from investing	-37.9	-37.4	-62.2
Cash from financing	-130	-114	-111
Depreciation and amortisation	47.4	48.1	30.7	-1.4%	+54.4%
Share-based compensation	4.6	8.5	11.6	-45.3%	-60.1%
Buybacks	-0.2	0.7	149
Diluted shares, weighted	59m	59m	60m	+0.1%	-0.6%
Shares outstanding at period end	59m	59m	59m	+0.1%	+0.1%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ million	Q4 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2022	On the quarter	On the year
Shareholders' equity	1,150	906	504	+27.0%	+128.0%
Debt	2,360	2,505	1,580	-5.8%	+49.4%
Operating lease liabilities	58.9	60.2	62.1	-2.1%	-5.1%
Other liabilities	1,058	1,026	1,135	+3.1%	-6.8%
Total liabilities and equity	4,627	4,497	3,281	+2.9%	+41.0%
Fixed assets	639	617	582	+3.6%	+9.8%
Goodwill	1,305	1,308	430	-0.2%	+203.4%
Intangible assets	629	631	227	-0.3%	+176.7%
Investments	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.0%	+4.2%
Cash and equivalents	395	336	481	+17.4%	-17.8%
Receivables	702	631	723	+11.2%	-2.9%
Inventory	516	544	456	-5.2%	+13.3%
Other assets	439	428	382	+2.5%	+15.0%
Total assets	4,627	4,497	3,281	+2.9%	+41.0%

Questions

What was Waters' revenue in Q4 FY2023?

Waters (WAT) reported revenue of $819 million for Q4 FY2023, the quarter ended 31 December 2023, down 4.5% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Waters earn in Q4 FY2023?

Net income for Q4 FY2023 was $216 million, down 4.8% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $3.65.

When did Waters report Q4 FY2023 results?

Waters filed its 10-K for the quarter ended 31 December 2023 with the SEC on 27 February 2024.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q3 FY2021	Q4 FY2021	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022	Q1 FY2023	Q2 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2023	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024	Q1 FY2025	Q2 FY2025	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026
Revenue	659	836	691	714	709	859	685	741	712	819	637	709	740	873	662	771	800	932	1,267	1,645
Cost of revenue	271	351	286	307	307	348	284	301	291	318	262	288	302	349	277	321	328	363	679	911
Gross profit	388	485	405	407	401	510	400	440	420	501	375	420	439	524	385	450	472	569	588	734
Gross margin	59%	58%	59%	57%	57%	59%	58%	59%	59%	61%	59%	59%	59%	60%	58%	58%	59%	61%	46%	45%
R&D	42.0	43.3	40.5	44.0	43.4	48.3	42.7	45.9	42.0	44.4	44.6	46.2	45.3	46.9	46.6	48.5	53.6	46.9	96.0	122
SG&A	153	173	157	162	164	174	182	187	187	180	175	173	169	173	175	201	214	240	387	405
Operating income	192	262	195	200	192	286	174	200	179	264	134	189	211	292	152	188	192	271	-47.0	-86.0
Operating margin	29%	31%	28%	28%	27%	33%	25%	27%	25%	32%	21%	27%	29%	33%	23%	24%	24%	29%	-4%	-5%
Interest expense	11.1	10.9	11.1	11.4	12.4	13.9	14.4	23.3	30.4	30.7	25.5	23.7	21.4	19.0	14.3	14.4	26.6	14.3	48.0	60.0
Pre-tax income	183	252	187	192	183	275	165	180	153	238	115	169	194	277	143	178	170	264	-88.0	-141
Tax rate	12%	14%	14%	14%	15%	18%	15%	16%	12%	9%	11%	16%	17%	16%	15%	17%	12%	15%	n/a	n/a
Net income	161	216	160	165	156	227	141	151	135	216	102	143	162	231	121	147	149	225	-72.0	-136
Net margin	24%	26%	23%	23%	22%	26%	21%	20%	19%	26%	16%	20%	22%	27%	18%	19%	19%	24%	-6%	-8%
Diluted EPS	$2.60	$3.52	$2.62	$2.72	$2.60	$3.81	$2.38	$2.55	$2.27	$3.65	$1.72	$2.40	$2.71	$3.88	$2.03	$2.47	$2.50	$3.77	-$0.87	-$1.39
Operating cash flow	168	218	198	56.9	158	199	197	18.1	158	230	n/a	n/a	n/a	240	n/a	n/a	n/a	165	-3.0	201
Capital expenditure	39.7	44.7	27.8	47.0	39.0	62.2	34.4	46.6	38.0	41.6	n/a	n/a	n/a	52.1	n/a	n/a	n/a	39.0	39.0	48.0
Free cash flow	128	173	170	9.9	119	137	162	-28.5	120	189	n/a	n/a	n/a	188	n/a	n/a	n/a	126	-42.0	153
Buybacks	151	156	170	152	155	149	69.5	0.2	0.7	-0.2	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.1	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.1	12.0	2.0
Shares outstanding	61m	61m	60m	60m	60m	59m	59m	59m	59m	59m	59m	59m	59m	n/a	98m	98m	98m	60m	98m	98m
Filing	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-K	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-K for the period ended 31 December 2023, filed 27 February 2024: the filing.