Waters Beats Q1 Expectations and Raises 2021 Outlook; Shares Remain Rich

Wide-moat Waters reported outstanding first-quarter operating results that handily beat FactSet consensus, and management increased its outlook for 2021 mildly above our expectations. We may raise our 2021 expectations slightly, but at first glance, we do not expect to materially change our fair value estimate, which we just raised in February and is driven by much longer-term expectations. The shares look rich to us at roughly 30 times forward earnings for a firm that is likely to increase adjusted EPS in the low double digits in the long run.