The takeaway
Waters Corporation shows a moderate seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in July (+4.6%) and softest in April (−2.2%).
Right now
In July, the stock has risen 70% of years, averaging +4.6%, about +2.5 pts better than the S&P 500.
The full picture
Waters Corporation's most dependable month has been July, higher in 7 of 10 years; April has been its least reliable, up just 30% of the time.
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Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in January (+2.8 pts); it has trailed the market most in April (−3.9 pts).
“vs S&P” is Waters Corporation’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Waters Corporation’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, July has closed higher 80% of the time versus 70% across the last 10 years — the pattern is strengthening.
Figures are the typical (median) July return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
The seasonal story is really one month's story — July. It has closed higher in 7 of 10 Julys, a concentration the rest of the calendar can't touch.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+4.6%) and median (+6.2%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. That reliability comes with real swings, mind — even July ranges by 11.1% from year to year, so any single year can land far from the average. Better still, that strength is the stock's own and not just a buoyant market — July has outpaced the S&P 500 by +2.5 points on average. Some of that is a strong month market-wide, mind — July rises for about 61% of stocks — so the tendency is real if not unique.
July anchors a run, too: the May-through-August window has been the stock's reliable season. The weaker half of the year is plainer: April has been the soft spot — the weakest of 4 months that average a loss (−2.2%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in April, February, and September.
One run worth flagging just ended: a 5-year streak of positive Julys was snapped by a −19.1% close in 2025. If anything it has sharpened recently — the last five Julys run ahead of the earlier years.
For a stock this dependable in July, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on.
Short answers on the stock's best month (July), its worst (April), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a moderate degree. Since 2016 its best month (July, +4.6%) has run well ahead of its worst (April, −2.2%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
July has been the strongest, averaging +4.6% and closing higher in 7 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −2.2% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade