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Side-by-side financial comparison of LANDSTAR SYSTEM INC (LSTR) and Waters Corporation (WAT). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

LANDSTAR SYSTEM INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.2B vs $932.4M, roughly 1.3× Waters Corporation). Waters Corporation runs the higher net margin — 24.2% vs 3.4%, a 20.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Waters Corporation posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (6.8% vs 1.6%). Over the past eight quarters, Waters Corporation's revenue compounded faster (21.0% CAGR vs -2.2%).

Landstar System, Inc. is an American transportation services company specializing in logistics and, more specifically, third-party logistics. Landstar utilizes an extensive network of over 8,800 independent owner-operators, referred to internally as business capacity owners (BCOs), over 1,000 independent freight agents, and over 70,000 vetted carriers. Landstar provides services principally throughout the United States and to a lesser extent in Canada and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, ...

Waters Corporation is an American company headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts that provides analytical instruments and software used for chromatography, mass spectrometry, laboratory informatics, and rheometry by the life sciences, materials, and food industries.

LSTR vs WAT — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
LSTR
LSTR
1.3× larger
LSTR
$1.2B
$932.4M
WAT
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
WAT
WAT
+5.2% gap
WAT
6.8%
1.6%
LSTR
Higher net margin
WAT
WAT
20.8% more per $
WAT
24.2%
3.4%
LSTR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
WAT
WAT
Annualised
WAT
21.0%
-2.2%
LSTR

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Revenue
$1.2B
$932.4M
Net Profit
$39.4M
$225.2M
Gross Margin
9.6%
61.1%
Operating Margin
4.5%
29.0%
Net Margin
3.4%
24.2%
Revenue YoY
1.6%
6.8%
Net Profit YoY
32.3%
-2.7%
EPS (diluted)
$1.16
$3.76

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$1.2B
Q4 25
$1.2B
$932.4M
Q3 25
$1.2B
$799.9M
Q2 25
$1.2B
$771.3M
Q1 25
$1.2B
$661.7M
Q4 24
$1.2B
$872.7M
Q3 24
$1.2B
$740.3M
Q2 24
$1.2B
$708.5M
Net Profit
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$39.4M
Q4 25
$23.9M
$225.2M
Q3 25
$19.4M
$148.9M
Q2 25
$41.9M
$147.1M
Q1 25
$29.8M
$121.4M
Q4 24
$46.2M
$231.4M
Q3 24
$50.0M
$161.5M
Q2 24
$52.6M
$142.7M
Gross Margin
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
9.6%
Q4 25
61.1%
Q3 25
59.0%
Q2 25
58.3%
Q1 25
58.2%
Q4 24
60.1%
Q3 24
59.3%
Q2 24
59.3%
Operating Margin
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
4.5%
Q4 25
2.5%
29.0%
Q3 25
2.2%
24.0%
Q2 25
4.6%
24.4%
Q1 25
3.4%
22.9%
Q4 24
4.8%
33.5%
Q3 24
5.2%
28.5%
Q2 24
5.6%
26.7%
Net Margin
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
3.4%
Q4 25
2.0%
24.2%
Q3 25
1.6%
18.6%
Q2 25
3.5%
19.1%
Q1 25
2.6%
18.3%
Q4 24
3.8%
26.5%
Q3 24
4.1%
21.8%
Q2 24
4.3%
20.1%
EPS (diluted)
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$1.16
Q4 25
$0.70
$3.76
Q3 25
$0.56
$2.50
Q2 25
$1.20
$2.47
Q1 25
$0.85
$2.03
Q4 24
$1.30
$3.88
Q3 24
$1.41
$2.71
Q2 24
$1.48
$2.40

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$411.0M
$587.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$26.1M
$1.4B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$799.0M
$2.6B
Total Assets
$1.6B
$5.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.03×
0.55×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$411.0M
Q4 25
$452.2M
$587.8M
Q3 25
$434.4M
$459.1M
Q2 25
$426.2M
$367.2M
Q1 25
$473.4M
$382.9M
Q4 24
$566.6M
$325.4M
Q3 24
$531.3M
$331.5M
Q2 24
$504.0M
$327.4M
Total Debt
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$26.1M
Q4 25
$0
$1.4B
Q3 25
$0
Q2 25
$0
Q1 25
$0
Q4 24
$0
$1.6B
Q3 24
$0
Q2 24
$0
Stockholders' Equity
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$799.0M
Q4 25
$795.7M
$2.6B
Q3 25
$888.7M
$2.3B
Q2 25
$921.8M
$2.2B
Q1 25
$930.8M
$2.0B
Q4 24
$972.4M
$1.8B
Q3 24
$1.0B
$1.6B
Q2 24
$1.0B
$1.4B
Total Assets
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$1.6B
Q4 25
$1.6B
$5.1B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$4.9B
Q2 25
$1.7B
$4.7B
Q1 25
$1.7B
$4.6B
Q4 24
$1.8B
$4.6B
Q3 24
$1.8B
$4.5B
Q2 24
$1.8B
$4.4B
Debt / Equity
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
0.03×
Q4 25
0.00×
0.55×
Q3 25
0.00×
Q2 25
0.00×
Q1 25
0.00×
Q4 24
0.00×
0.89×
Q3 24
0.00×
Q2 24
0.00×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$164.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.73×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$72.7M
$164.6M
Q3 25
$89.3M
$187.3M
Q2 25
$7.1M
$41.1M
Q1 25
$55.7M
$259.6M
Q4 24
$61.1M
$240.1M
Q3 24
$83.1M
$204.6M
Q2 24
$48.1M
$54.5M
Free Cash Flow
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$70.5M
Q3 25
$86.0M
Q2 25
$4.7M
Q1 25
$53.8M
Q4 24
$54.4M
Q3 24
$75.6M
Q2 24
$40.6M
FCF Margin
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
6.0%
Q3 25
7.1%
Q2 25
0.4%
Q1 25
4.7%
Q4 24
4.5%
Q3 24
6.2%
Q2 24
3.3%
Capex Intensity
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.2%
Q3 25
0.3%
Q2 25
0.2%
Q1 25
0.2%
Q4 24
0.6%
Q3 24
0.6%
Q2 24
0.6%
Cash Conversion
LSTR
LSTR
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
3.04×
0.73×
Q3 25
4.61×
1.26×
Q2 25
0.17×
0.28×
Q1 25
1.87×
2.14×
Q4 24
1.32×
1.04×
Q3 24
1.66×
1.27×
Q2 24
0.91×
0.38×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

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