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Mettler-Toledo International vs Waters: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Mettler-Toledo International holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and valuation. Waters still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

Profitability still does most of the heavy lifting in this comparison. The overall score gap is 26 points in favour of Mettler-Toledo International Inc..

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Diagnostics & Research

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. MTD and WAT share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how MTD and Waters each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
MTD
Mettler-Toledo International Inc.
60
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
WAT
Waters Corporation
34
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

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

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: MTD vs WAT Profitability 80 4 Stability 42 45 Valuation 65 40 Growth 43 60 MTD WAT
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +76
#2 Valuation +25
#3 Growth +17
#4 Stability +3
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for MTD and WAT Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer MTDWAT Relative valuation Structural strength

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY MTD Lower · below norm 0th 50th 100th 48 pct gap WAT Neutral · near norm 0th 50th 100th 2nd 50th
Today MTD sits in the lower portion of its own 5-year history (2nd percentile), while WAT sits higher in its own history (50th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, MTD 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
Profitability
Mettler-Toledo International Inc. ranks near the top of the group on profitability; Waters Corporation sits in the weaker half.
Valuation
On valuation, the edge is clear — both rank well, but Mettler-Toledo International Inc. sits noticeably higher.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
MTD
80
WAT
4
Gap+76in favour of MTD

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 20.5-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Waters still pushes back on growth by a very wide margin, which keeps the read from becoming one-way.

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Similar profitability-driven comparisons

Explore how MTD 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.