Waters Corporation (WAT)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2024	Sep 30, 2024	Jun 30, 2024	Mar 31, 2024	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
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	754,868	715,485	675,063	685,926	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
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	2,909,141	2,825,198	2,766,143	2,798,644	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
Pretax margin		25.95%	25.33%	24.40%	24.51%	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%

December 31, 2024 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $754,868K ÷ $2,909,141K
= 25.95%

The pretax margin of Waters Corporation has exhibited some fluctuations over the analyzed period. It started at 26.83% in March 2020 and experienced slight ups and downs but generally remained above 25% until March 2021. There was a notable increase in the pretax margin from March 2021 to September 2021, reaching a peak of 30.14%. Subsequently, the pretax margin remained relatively stable around the high 20% range until December 2022.

However, from March 2023 onwards, there was a declining trend in the pretax margin, dropping to 24.51% by March 2024. Despite a slight improvement in June 2024, the pretax margin continued to decrease to 25.33% by September 2024. It then slightly recovered to 25.95% by December 2024.

Overall, the pretax margin of Waters Corporation showed variability over time, with periods of both growth and decline. It is essential for the company to focus on managing costs effectively and optimizing revenue generation to enhance profitability in the future.