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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Graco vs Waters: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Graco holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. Waters still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup is currently leaning toward Waters, which does not confirm the structural lead. That leaves a split case: the structural lead stays with Graco, but the market is not currently confirming it.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-07-05

On growth, the clearer edge sits with Waters Corporation, while the overall score remains tighter and points the other way.

Trajectory Similarity
0.72
Similar
Peer-set rank: #14
within Graco Inc.'s functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

A solid similarity means the pair shares a clearly comparable long-term financial profile, even if individual dimensions still differ.

The strongest overlap appears in revenue growth trajectory and margin consistency.

Similarity drivers
revenue growth trajectorymargin consistency
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
GGG
Graco Inc.
50
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
WAT
Waters Corporation
34
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: GGG vs WAT Profitability 44 0 Stability 63 48 Valuation 76 39 Growth 9 62 GGG WAT
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +53
#2 Profitability +44
#3 Valuation +37
#4 Stability +15
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for GGG and WAT Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer GGGWAT Relative valuation Structural strength

Structure stays fairly close here, while current pricing still looks more supportive for Graco Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where GGG and WAT each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY GGG Neutral · below norm 0th 50th 100th 45 pct gap WAT Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 43rd 88th
Today GGG sits in the lower-middle of its own 5-year history (43rd percentile), while WAT sits higher in its own history (88th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, GGG is at a historically more favourable entry position than WAT. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
On growth, Waters Corporation is positioned higher in the group, while Graco Inc. is closer to the middle.
Profitability
Graco Inc. holds the stronger peer position on profitability.
Growth — Dominant Gap
GGG
9
WAT
62
Gap+53in favour of WAT

The main growth separation is very wide, driven by a meaningfully stronger expansion profile.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

The market setup is mixed for both, so the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and profitability — though growth still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the GGG vs WAT comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how GGG and WAT each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.