Waters Corporation (WAT)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	736,243	774,139	804,325	816,324	837,846	814,670	813,964	819,104	806,193	811,124	778,886	726,835	610,914	578,051	592,352	618,724	678,239	651,657	656,149	658,975
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	2,857,555	2,913,395	2,928,280	2,913,876	2,923,159	2,904,113	2,856,130	2,822,850	2,740,936	2,690,971	2,625,688	2,463,034	2,316,295	2,242,766	2,225,719	2,306,467	2,357,906	2,359,178	2,359,942	2,356,755
Pretax margin		25.76%	26.57%	27.47%	28.02%	28.66%	28.05%	28.50%	29.02%	29.41%	30.14%	29.66%	29.51%	26.37%	25.77%	26.61%	26.83%	28.76%	27.62%	27.80%	27.96%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $736,243K ÷ $2,857,555K
= 25.76%

The pretax margin of Waters Corp. has shown a decreasing trend over the past eight quarters. Starting at 28.56% in Q1 2022, it gradually declined to 24.90% in Q4 2023. This suggests that the company's profitability before taxes has been decreasing over time. Despite some fluctuations, the general trend indicates a decline in the company's ability to generate profits relative to its revenue. The management may need to focus on cost control measures or revenue growth strategies to improve the company's profitability in the future.