Rockwell Automation, Inc. vs Waters Corporation, two Scientific Instruments stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Rockwell automates factories; Waters instruments laboratories, and this year the factory vendor is the one earning like itself, a 23.7% operating margin against Waters' negative 3.7%, a franchise mid-repair with an 11.9% net margin hinting the damage is transitory. The market prices both for better days, 49.5 and 47.4 times earnings, nearly identical multiples for one business at cruising altitude and one climbing back to it. Rockwell's 30.4% return on equity carries a turn of leverage; Waters' 3% needs no footnote, just patience. Free cash favors Rockwell, 2.5% against 1.1%, and only Rockwell pays a dividend. Same price per dollar of earnings; very different confidence in what next year's dollar looks like.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | ROK | WAT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $476.45 | $374.11 |
| Market cap | $53.6B | $30.7B |
| Sector | Scientific Instruments | Scientific Instruments |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 49.5 | 47.4 |
| P/B | 15.00 | 2.01 |
| P/S | 6.09 | 8.09 |
| EV/EBITDA | 50.7 | 54.6 |
| Revenue growth | +10.5% | +28.6% |
| Gross margin | 50.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 23.7% | -3.7% |
| Net margin | 12.4% | 11.9% |
| Return on equity | 30.4% | 3.0% |
| Return on assets | 9.7% | 1.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 10.6% | 2.4% |
| FCF yield | 2.5% | 1.1% |
| Dividend yield | 1.1% | — |
| Debt / equity | 1.03 | 0.32 |
| Current ratio | 1.09 | 1.79 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.69 | 2.82 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 3 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.