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what it is
Agilent sells lab machines, software, and service that test drugs, chemicals, and diagnostics samples.
how it gets paid
Last year Agilent Tech. made $6.95B in revenue. CrossLab was the main engine at about $2.91B, or roughly 42% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 6.7% last year. Life Sciences and Diagnostics benefited from strong demand for liquid chromatography and LC/MS instruments.
what just happened
Agilent reported quarterly non-GAAP EPS of $1.59. Consensus comparisons did not line up cleanly across public sources, so this page now anchors to the reported number.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
95/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
24.3x trailing p/e — priced about right
0.8% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
15.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 62/100 — average
What they do
Agilent sells lab machines, software, and service that test drugs, chemicals, and diagnostics samples.
You buy the instrument once, then keep paying for service and software. CrossLab is about 42% of revenue, so the sale is only the first bill. CrossLab is the people-and-parts business that keeps your machines running, and that recurring base is the main reason the business feels steadier than most hardware stories.
How they make money
$6.95B
annual revenue · their business grew +6.7% last year
CrossLab
$2.91B
Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets
$2.7B
Applied Markets
$1.3B
The products that matter
service contracts and lab consumables
CrossLab
$2.91B revenue · about 42% of sales
it produced about $2.91B last year and is the recurring service-and-consumables engine inside the model. In plain English: once the machine is in the lab, Agilent keeps getting paid to keep it useful.
recurring
pharma and diagnostics instruments
Life Sciences & Diagnostics
$2.7B revenue · 39% of sales
this $2.7B segment grew 11%, well ahead of the company's 6.7% pace. That's the part of the story doing the heavy narrative lifting right now.
growth engine
industrial and environmental testing tools
Applied Markets
$1.3B revenue · 19% of sales
it brought in $1.3B and grew 4%. Useful diversification, yes. The main growth answer, no.
stabilizer
Key numbers
$6.55
fy2027 eps est
$8B
fy2027 rev est
24.3x
trailing p/e
0.8%
dividend yield
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $3.03B senior notes outstanding
- net profit margin 24.5% — keeps 24 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity about 20% — derived from FY2025 GAAP net income and year-end equity
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in A 3 years ago → it's now worth $17,720.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Agilent reported quarterly non-GAAP EPS of $1.59 on roughly $1.8B of revenue.
Revenue still rose about 7% in the quarter. Public consensus figures were not aligned cleanly across sources, so this page now anchors to the reported company numbers rather than an unstable beat-or-miss percentage.
$1.8B
revenue
$1.59
eps
7.0%
revenue growth
the number that mattered
The $1.59 EPS mattered most because it showed the quarter stayed profitable while revenue still grew.
-
agilent technologies finished fiscal 2025 on a fairly solid note. (year ends october 31st.) for the fourth quarter, the california-based maker of sophisticated lab equipment earned an adjusted $1.59 a share, which was near the high end of management’s $1.57–$1.60 target range and up 9% from the prior year’s $1.46 tally.
-
among the highlights was the performance of the life sciences and diagnostics markets group (ldg), which posted revenue growth on a core basis (stripping out the effects of currency changes and m&a activity) of 11%, versus roughly 7% for the company, as a whole.ldg benefited from strong demand for its liquid chromatography (lc) and its lc/mass spectrometry instruments, as well as from robust results within its contract development and manufacturing organization.
-
the near-term outlook is generally favorable.
-
to wit, leadership recently expected agilent’s earnings to rise 5%–7%, to between $5.86 and $6.00 a share, in fiscal 2026.
-
what’s more, excluding a onetime step-up in the tax rate, bottom-line growth should approximate 8%–10%.
source: EDGAR filing and Wall Street consensus, latest quarter
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What could go wrong
the main risk is simple: Agilent looks steady because CrossLab is steady, but the stock still needs lab budgets to keep moving. If pharma and biotech spending stalls, the calmer revenue mix stops being enough on its own.
med
pharma and biotech lab spending slowing again
roughly 60% of revenue comes from pharma and biotech labs. When those customers trim R&D budgets, instrument orders usually feel it before service revenue does.
this risk reaches most of the business and directly pressures the $2.7B Life Sciences & Diagnostics segment.
med
new instrument placements cooling
CrossLab looks sticky because it is sticky. But it also depends on the installed base getting refreshed and expanded. If placements slow, tomorrow's recurring revenue pool grows more slowly too.
CrossLab is 42% of revenue today. If the funnel feeding that base weakens, the market will stop treating it like a compounding buffer.
low
margin pressure from mix and compliance costs
Agilent runs at a 23.7% net margin, which gives it room. It also gives the market a high standard. Any shift toward slower-growth businesses or higher compliance costs chips away at that advantage.
when a stock already carries a premium multiple, even modest margin pressure can matter more than a few points of revenue growth.
Agilent's appeal is steady, profitable lab spending. If that cycle slips, you are left paying a premium multiple for a business growing closer to the mid-single digits. What would change our mind: Life Sciences & Diagnostics cooling toward the 4% pace of Applied Markets while guidance slips below the $5.86–$6.00 EPS band.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
FY2026 EPS guidance holding at $5.86–$6.00
management framed the tax hit as one-time. If future updates start walking down the range, the cleaner "underlying 8–10%" argument weakens fast.
trend
Life Sciences & Diagnostics staying above company growth
this segment grew 11% versus 6.7% for the company. If that gap narrows, the premium part of the story narrows with it.
metric
CrossLab remaining near 42% of revenue
the recurring engine matters because it makes the business more predictable. You want this segment stable and still growing from its roughly $2.91B base.
calendar
the next quarter's mix between instruments and services
revenue growth is useful. Mix is better. If service and consumables lead, the quality of revenue is usually better than the headline alone suggests.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak, analysts see a normal setup here, not a near-term breakout.
risk profile
average
stability score 3. You are not buying a high-drama stock, but you are not hiding in a utility either.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2. The chart looks better than the fundamental story looks exciting.
earnings predictability
95 / 100
management usually lands near guidance. For you, that means fewer nasty surprises and a narrower range of plausible outcomes.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
457 buyers vs. 434 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.3B shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$111
$228
$136
current price
$170
target midpoint · +25% from current · 3-5yr high: $255 (+90% · 18% ann'l return)
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