Agilent Technologies, Inc. A
Agilent Technologies earns a buy following Q3 FY2026 results that beat consensus EPS by 8.7% ($1.62 actual vs. $1.49 estimated) on revenue of $1.878B (+8.06% YoY), with management raising full-year guidance on improving lab tools demand. The stock has cooled from overbought conditions (RSI 52.8, down from 67.1 at the prior hold call) while trading at a 10.5% PE discount to the peer median (29.5x vs. 32.9x), and quarterly revenue growth has been accelerating across FY2026 with Q1 at +7.0% and Q2 at +10.0% YoY.
Free cash flow declined to $1.152B in FY2025 from $1.474B in FY2023, but the combination of strengthening top-line momentum, raised guidance, and reduced technical stretch supports upgrading from hold to buy.
What could go wrong
- Free cash flow deterioration. FY2025 free cash flow of $1.152B is down from $1.474B in FY2023, with FCF margin compressing to 16.58% from 21.57%, partly driven by capex rising to $407M from $298M over the same period.
- EV/EBITDA premium to peers. At 22.6x EV/EBITDA, Agilent trades at a 28.6% premium to the peer median of 17.6x, limiting upside if growth disappoints or if peers re-rate.
- Gross margin compression. FY2025 gross margin of 52.43% is below FY2024's 54.30% and FY2022's 54.35%, and continued cost pressure could offset revenue growth benefits.
- Insider selling pattern. Over the trailing 24 months, insiders recorded 58 dispositions versus 33 acquisitions with net value of -$2.35M, including CEO McDonnell selling 418 shares at $137.40 in June 2026.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: FMP quarterly_results, quarter ended 2026-07-31 · FMP earnings_surprises, period ending 2026-08-26 · FMP technicals as of 2026-09-01; prior verdict · FMP peer_relative. Orin's read on A; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All A filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Capital Management | $2.5B | 0.1% of fund |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $1.9B | 0.1% of fund |
| State Street | $1.7B | 0.1% of fund |
| Massachusetts Financial Services /Ma/ | $1.4B | 0.4% of fund |
| Geode Capital Management | $1.0B | 0.1% of fund |
| Wellington Management Group Llp | $990.2M | 0.2% of fund |
102 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 93 Form 4 filings, net −$2.3M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 4 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about A
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Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 32.5× | 31.8× | 26.4× |
| EV/EBITDA | 24.8× | 22.6× | — |
| P/S | 6.33× | 5.96× | — |
| P/B | 6.3× | 6.4× | — |
Its P/E sits 60th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.18σ from its own mean).
17.3%
free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $1.2B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.
What Wall Street published
$170
$150 – $185 · +2% against today's price
- 33 buy or overweight
- 7 hold
- 1 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAgilent Technologies, Inc. | $47B | 32.5× | 24.8× | 53.7% | 19.5% | 20% |
| BDXBecton, Dickinson and Company | $50B | 55.0× | 17.0× | 46.1% | 4.5% | 4% |
| CAHCardinal Health, Inc. | $52B | 30.4× | 16.4× | 3.8% | 0.7% | -60% |
| EWEdwards Lifesciences Corporation | $50B | 49.9× | 31.0× | 78.0% | 15.4% | 10% |
| IQVIQVIA Holdings Inc. | $44B | 32.9× | 16.6× | 26.2% | 8.1% | 22% |
| MTDMettler-Toledo International Inc. | $30B | 33.5× | 24.7× | 58.4% | 21.9% | -1200% |
| RMDResMed Inc. | $32B | 21.3× | 14.7× | 61.2% | 26.9% | 24% |
| WATWaters Corporation | $41B | 104.6× | 51.4× | 50.8% | 3.6% | 2% |
The median is of the 7 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 3.1% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Discounted cash flow
| Model | Fair value | Against | Computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard DCF | $75 | $132.83 · −43% | 2026-06-10 |
| Levered DCF | $74 | $132.83 · −44% | 2026-06-10 |
The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.