Buffett Brain · Research note
Score updated 27 Oct 2026 · analysis from 18 May 2026
A· Healthcare
Agilent Technologies
Agilent runs a solid lab-instruments franchise but the price tag and modest 2.4% revenue growth blunt the appeal.
Buffett fit
Partial fit
Owner
53
Durability
84
Management
53
Price
31
Score updated 27 Oct 2026 · analysis from 18 May 2026
Buffett's checklist
Each number against Buffett's bar, and where it ranks among Healthcare stocks in our database.
How much profit the business makes on each dollar invested in it. Higher is better.
What is left of each sale after the cost of making the product. A high number often means pricing power.
The cash the business earns for its owners, compared with the price of the whole company.
How fast sales grew each year over the last five years.
How many years of today's profit you pay for at today's price. Lower means cheaper.
How much the company owes compared with what it owns outright. Lower is safer.
The four pillars
How the business measures up on each of Buffett's four tests.
Owning Agilent privately for a decade looks like owning a high-quality but slow-growing toll road.
The full reasoning comes with a free account.
Switching costs on lab platforms are durable, once a method is validated on Agilent hardware, the cost to recertify on a competitor's is steep.
The full reasoning comes with a free account.
Net debt to EBITDA of 0.875 and a 0.49 ratio show a conservative balance sheet, exactly Buffett's preference.
The full reasoning comes with a free account.
At 24.7x earnings and a 3.5% owner-earnings yield, the price assumes Agilent earns its keep through duration, not surprise.
The full reasoning comes with a free account.
Free account
Read the full Agilent Technologies analysis free
- The full reasoning behind all four pillars
- Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt on the same stock
3 full analyses a week · no card needed
For and against
The strongest points on each side, with the numbers behind them.
In its favor
6- 152.2% reflects pricing on proprietary consumables and high-end instruments
- 2 of 20.6% shows the razor-and-blade model converts efficiently
- 35-year average of 14.3% demonstrates durable capital efficiency
- 4Net debt/EBITDA of just 0.88 leaves ample balance-sheet flexibility
Concerns
4- 1 of 24.7 paired with 2.4% revenue CAGR leaves no
- 2 yield of just 3.5% trails Treasury yields
- 3TTM of 12.1% slipped from the 14.3% 5-year average, reinvestment returns are fading
- 4EV/ of 24.0 prices Agilent like a growth name despite slow top-line
Price history
$176+11.7%· 5-year return
Weekly closing prices. Touch or hover the line for a date.
The business
How the business works
Agilent sells analytical instruments, consumables, and lab software to pharma, chemical and academic labs, a razor-and-blade setup where installed boxes drive recurring consumable orders. of 20.6% on a 52.2% gross line shows the model converts, but 5-year revenue CAGR of just 2.4% says end markets are mature, not expanding. has slid from a 5-year average of 14.3% to a TTM of 12.1%, suggesting reinvestment is meeting diminishing returns. The franchise is real; the growth runway less so.
What other investors would say
The same company, judged by three other documented playbooks.
Keep researching
Similar companies in Healthcare
Free weekly email
Liked the read on A? Get the next ones on Monday.
Every Monday: the stocks most of the seven investors newly agree on. One email, unsubscribe any time.
Research, not investment advice.
See the Buffett analysis of Agilent Technologies
The score, the checklist and the full reasoning open with a free account. You get 3 full analyses a week, and this stock is the first one. No card needed.
Create a free account3 full analyses a week · no card needed
Already have an account? Sign in