Which has the lower trailing P/E, ILMN or WAT?

ILMN has the lower trailing P/E: ILMN trades at 50.94 and WAT at 106.04. P/E is one valuation measure and does not by itself establish which business is cheaper.

Which has grown faster, ILMN or WAT?

Over the past five years, WAT grew revenue faster — ILMN at a 5.04% CAGR versus WAT at 11.70%.

Is ILMN or WAT more profitable?

ILMN runs the higher net margin — ILMN at 18.36% versus WAT at 3.58%.

How have ILMN and WAT total returns compared?

Over the past 10 years, ILMN delivered 4.17% and WAT delivered 10.38% annualized total return. Past performance doesn't predict future results.

Illumina, Inc. (ILMN) vs Waters Corporation (WAT)

A side-by-side comparison of Illumina, Inc. and Waters Corporation across valuation, profitability, dividends, and growth — built entirely from reported fundamentals, as of October 2, 2026. Differences are shown without an overall score or investment verdict.

ILMN

Illumina, Inc.

$41.31B

$273.04HealthcareDelayed quote: Oct 2, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT

WAT

Waters Corporation

$41.75B

$425.21HealthcareDelayed quote: Oct 2, 2026, 3:59 PM EDT

Total return — ILMN vs WAT

growth of $100 · dividends reinvested · last 10y

ILMN +48.2% (+4.0%/yr)WAT +172.2% (+10.5%/yr)WAT compounded faster over this window

ILMN WAT

ILMN vs WAT: by the numbers

•WAT is the larger company ($41.75B vs $41.31B market cap).
•ILMN trades at the lower trailing earnings multiple (50.94 vs 106.04 P/E), one valuation lens rather than an overall verdict.
•ILMN converts more revenue to profit (18.36% vs 3.58% net margin).
•WAT grew revenue faster over the past five years (11.70% vs 5.04% CAGR).

Metrics side by side

Valuation

Metric	ILMN	WAT
P/E ratio	50.94	106.04
Forward P/E	51.00	29.18
PEG ratio	11.99	20.47
P/S ratio	9.19	8.99
P/B ratio	14.56	2.75
EV / EBITDA	35.22	50.07
FCF yield	2.27%	0.95%

Profitability

Metric	ILMN	WAT
Gross margin	66.79%	50.78%
Operating margin	20.97%	28.22%
Net margin	18.36%	3.58%
ROE	29.07%	1.09%
ROIC	13.74%	1.34%

Growth (annualized)

Metric	ILMN	WAT
Revenue CAGR (5Y)	5.04%	11.70%
EPS CAGR (5Y)	4.22%	5.16%
FCF CAGR (5Y)	1.03%	-9.10%
Total return CAGR (5Y)	-7.09%	3.65%

Frequently asked

Which has the lower trailing P/E, ILMN or WAT?: ILMN has the lower trailing P/E: ILMN trades at 50.94 and WAT at 106.04. P/E is one valuation measure and does not by itself establish which business is cheaper.
Which has grown faster, ILMN or WAT?: Over the past five years, WAT grew revenue faster — ILMN at a 5.04% CAGR versus WAT at 11.70%.
Is ILMN or WAT more profitable?: ILMN runs the higher net margin — ILMN at 18.36% versus WAT at 3.58%.
How have ILMN and WAT total returns compared?: Over the past 10 years, ILMN delivered 4.17% and WAT delivered 10.38% annualized total return. Past performance doesn't predict future results.

Go deeper

Full ILMN analysis Full WAT analysis Interactive comparison tool

Dig into the metrics

Illumina P/E ratio Waters P/E ratio Illumina ROE Waters ROE Illumina operating margin Waters operating margin Illumina revenue growth Waters revenue growth Illumina free cash flow Waters free cash flow

Illumina & Waters appear in these rankings

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Figures are sourced from reported fundamentals and the latest end-of-day price. This comparison is informational only and is not investment advice. Past performance does not predict future results. See our methodology. Compiled by TGMCharts Research · data verified October 2, 2026.