ILMN vs WAT
Illumina, Inc. (ILMN) and Waters Corp /de/ (WAT) are both filed with the SEC under Laboratory Analytical Instruments. WAT is 1.2× ILMN's size by market cap ($41.4B against $34.4B); ILMN trades at the higher fiscal-year P/E (41.8× against 39.2×); WAT reports the higher net margin (20.3% against 19.6%); WAT grew sales faster over three years (+2.1% against -1.8%); and over the past year ILMN returned +117.4% against WAT's +39.3%.
| ILMN | WAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Last close | $215.59 | $414.69 |
| Market cap | $34.4B | $41.4B |
| P/E (FY) | 41.8× | 39.2× |
| P/S | 7.9× | 13.1× |
| Gross margin | 66.1% | — |
| Operating margin | 18.6% | 25.4% |
| Net margin | 19.6% | 20.3% |
| Return on equity | 33.4% | 29.3% |
| Sales growth (3y) | -1.8% | +2.1% |
| EPS growth (3y) | — | -2.8% |
| 1-year return | +117.4% | +39.3% |
Screener snapshot — prices as of 2026-08-28. Each side's last close is the most recent session the snapshot holds for that company, which can be an earlier one, and its 1-year return is measured to that close. Market caps struck on 2026-08-27. Last close, market cap and the 1-year return are price figures; every other row is computed over the company's latest filed fiscal year, and the two differ: ILMN FY2025 (ended 2025-12-28); WAT FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31). — not published for this company. A ratio goes unpublished for more than one reason: a component the calculation needs is not on file, the filing does not tag the line it is read from, or the calculation is not defined on the filed basis — EV/EBITDA is not printed on non-positive EBITDA, and return on equity is not computed on a zero or negative equity base.
Who holds them, and who has traded them
| ILMN | WAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional holders (13F) | 840 | 1,166 |
| Insider buyers − sellers (180d) | -5 | +2 |
| Congressional trades disclosed (180d) | 0 | 2 |
| Executive-branch officials on file — trades disclosed (180d) | 2 | 4 |
Counts only. The congressional figures count transactions dated in the trailing 180 days and disclosed in STOCK Act periodic transaction reports; amounts are filed as ranges and are never summed. The executive-branch figures count the same window of transactions, and they are scoped to one roster. The officials OGE posts for direct download. Insider buyers − sellers counts distinct people filing open-market Form 4 purchases minus distinct people filing open-market sales over the trailing 180 days, capped at ±5.
ILMN vs WAT: common questions
- Is ILMN bigger than WAT?
- WAT carries the larger market cap — $41.4B against $34.4B, both struck on 2026-08-27.
- Which trades at a higher P/E, ILMN or WAT?
- ILMN, at a fiscal-year 41.8× against 39.2× for WAT. Both are price ÷ latest full-year diluted earnings per share, not a trailing-twelve-month P/E.
- How have ILMN and WAT performed over the past year?
- ILMN returned +117.4% and WAT +39.3%, measured on the trailing calendar year to the last close.
- How many institutions hold ILMN and WAT?
- 840 13F filers report a position in ILMN and 1,166 in WAT, on the latest quarter in the panel.
- Are ILMN and WAT in the same industry?
- Both are filed with the SEC under Laboratory Analytical Instruments, which is the classification this pairing is built on.
ILMN overview → · WAT overview → · ILMN institutional ownership → · WAT institutional ownership → · Congress and WAT → · Executive branch and ILMN → · Executive branch and WAT →
More in Laboratory Analytical Instruments: A vs BIO · A vs ILMN · A vs RVTY · A vs WAT
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Source: SPZCO — https://spzco.com/vs/ilmn-vs-wat