Updated on July 10th, 2026 by Bob Ciura
Water is one of the basic necessities of human life. Life as we know it cannot exist without water. For this simple reason, water may be the most valuable commodity on Earth.
It is only natural for investors to consider purchasing water stocks. There are many different companies that can give investors exposure to the water business, such as water utilities. Some other companies are engaged in water purification.
In all, we have compiled a list of over 40 stocks that are in the business of water. The list was derived from two of the top water industry exchange-traded funds:
- Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO)
- First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (FIW)
You can download a spreadsheet with all 43 water stocks (along with metrics that matter like price-to-earnings ratios and dividend yields) by clicking on the link below:
In addition to the Excel spreadsheet above, this article covers our top 10 water stocks today, that we cover in the Sure Analysis Research Database.
The top water stocks are ranked according to their annual expected returns over the next five years, in order of lowest to highest.
Table of Contents
- Water Stock #10: Roper Technologies (ROP)
- Water Stock #9: A.O. Smith (AOS)
- Water Stock #8: Pentair plc (PNR)
- Water Stock #7: Agilent Technologies (A)
- Water Stock #6: H2O America (HTO)
- Water Stock #5: Jacobs Solutions (J)
- Water Stock #4: Tetra Tech (TTEK)
- Water Stock #3: Badger Meter Inc. (BMI)
- Water Stock #2: Stantec Inc. (STN)
- Water Stock #1: Mueller Industries (MLI)
Water Stock #10: Roper Technologies (ROP)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 12.3%
Roper Technologies is a specialized industrial company that manufactures products such as medical and scientific imaging equipment, pumps, and material analysis equipment.
The company also develops software solutions for the healthcare, transportation, food, energy, and water industries. It generated $7.9 billion in revenue last year, and is based in Sarasota, Florida.
On April 23rd, 2026, Roper posted its Q1 results for the period ending March 31st, 2026. Quarterly revenues and adjusted EPS were $2.10 billion and $5.16, up 11% and 8% year-over-year, respectively.
Organic growth was 6%, with acquisitions contributing 5%, reflecting continued strength across Roper’s diversified software and technology portfolio.
During the quarter, the company continued to actively deploy capital, repurchasing $1.5 billion of shares and expanding its share repurchase authorization by $3.0 billion.
They also continued to advance AI-driven innovation across its businesses. Management raised full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $21.80 to $22.05.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ROP (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #9: A.O. Smith (AOS)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 12.5%
A.O. Smith is a leading manufacturer of residential and commercial water heaters, boilers and water treatment
products. It generates two-thirds of its sales in North America, and most of the rest in China.
A.O. Smith has raised its dividend for over 30 years in a row, making the company a Dividend Aristocrat. The company was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.
When A.O. Smith reported its first quarter earnings results on April 30th, the company showed revenues of $946 million, which was down 2% compared to the prior year’s quarter.
Revenues were up by 1% in North America, while the international business saw a revenue decline of 11% compared to the previous year’s quarter, mainly due to China sales being down.
A.O. Smith generated earnings-per-share of $0.85 during the first quarter, which fell 11% on a year-over-year basis.
Slightly lower revenues and some margin compression outweighed the positive impact of share repurchases over the last year.
A.O. Smith also revised its guidance for 2026. The company is forecasting earnings-per-share in a range of $3.70 to $4.00, and now implies a roughly flat EPS result for the year.
Management also reduced the revenue growth forecast for this year to around 3% from 4% earlier.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on AOS (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #8: Pentair plc (PNR)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 13.6%
Pentair plc is a pure-play water solutions company that operates in 3 segments: Aquatic Systems, Filtration Solutions, and Flow Technologies.
Pentair was founded in 1966. Pentair has increased its dividend for almost five decades in a row, when adjusted for spin-offs, which makes Pentair a member of the Dividend Aristocrat.
Pentair reported its first quarter earnings results on April 28th. The company was able to generate revenues of $1.04 billion during the quarter, which was up 4% compared to the company’s revenues during the previous year’s quarter, a result that beat estimates slightly, by $10 million.
Core sales, which exclude the impact of currency rate movements, acquisitions, and dispossessions, were up 1% year over year, which was a little weaker than the core revenue growth rate during the previous quarter.
Pentair recorded adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.22 for the first quarter, which was up by 10% year-over-year.
Earnings-per-share beat the analyst consensus by $0.05. Pentair also updated its guidance for the current year during the earnings report: For fiscal 2026, Pentair is forecasting earnings-per-share of around $5.35.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PNR (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #7: Agilent Technologies (A)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 14.3%
Agilent Technologies offers instruments, software, and services to life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemicals markets.
It is a global company with operations in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe.
The company is separated into three segments: Life Sciences & Diagnostics Markets Group (LDG), Agilent CrossLab Group (ACG), and Applied Markets Group (AMG).
ACG makes up nearly half of its total revenue (42%), with LDG (38%) and AMG (20%) making up the remainder.
Its end markets are primarily Chemicals and Advanced Materials, and Pharma, with Diagnostics and Clinical, Environmental & Forensics, Food, and Academia & Govt making up the remainder.
On May 27th, 2026, Agilent reported second quarter 2026 results for the period ending April 30th, 2026. For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $1.83 billion, representing a 10% increase from the previous year.
Adjusted net income was $423 million, or $1.49 per share, reflecting a 14% rise compared to Q2 2025. The company’s ACG, LDG, and AMG segments saw revenue increases of 6%, 12%, and 14% year-over-year, respectively.
Leadership updated its 2026 full-year outlook, now projecting revenue between $7.39 billion and $7.49 billion, which indicates an increase of 6.3% to 7.8% compared to FY 2025. Adjusted EPS is now projected between $6.00 and $6.10.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on A (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #6: H2O America (HTO)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 16.1%
H2O America, formerly known as SJW Group, is a water utility company that produces, purchases, stores, purifies and distributes water to consumers and businesses in the Silicon Valley area of California, the area north of San Antonio, Texas, Connecticut, and Maine.
It also has a small real estate division that owns and develops properties for residential and warehouse customers in California and Tennessee. The company generates about $670 million in annual revenues.
On January 26th, 2026, H2O America raised its quarterly dividend 4.8% to $0.44, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 58 consecutive years.
On April 28th, 2026, H2O America reported first quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2026. For the quarter, revenue grew 3.7% to $183.2 million, which topped expectations by $6.9 million. Earnings-per-share of $0.50 matched results in prior year, but was $0.01 ahead of estimates.
Growth for the quarter was driven by an $11.8 million increase in rates and a $2 million contribution from higher customer usage.
H2O America expects to invest more than $2.7 billion in capital from 2026 to 2030 in its wastewater operations, including $483 million in 2026.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on HTO (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #5: Jacobs Solutions (J)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 16.2%
Jacobs Solutions Inc. provides clients with end-to-end services in energy, life sciences, environmental, transportation and water, and advanced manufacturing.
The company operates the following two operating segments: Infrastructure & Advanced Facilities and PA Consulting.
On May 5th, J shared its earnings report for the fiscal second quarter ended March 27th, 2026. Adjusted net revenue surged 8.8% year-over-year to $2.33 billion during the quarter.
Top-line growth in the quarter was driven by a combination of a 400% year-over-year spike in the AI infrastructure pipeline and the completion of the acquisition of the remaining stake in PA Consulting.
Adjusted EPS jumped 22.4% over the year-ago period to $1.75 for the quarter. This topped the analyst consensus during the quarter by $0.12.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on J (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #4: Tetra Tech (TTEK)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 16.8%
Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting and engineering services, specializing in water, environment, sustainable infrastructure, and renewable energy.
The company operates through two business segments: Government Services Group (GSG) and Commercial/International Services Group (CIG).
GSG offers consulting and engineering solutions to federal, state, and local governments, while CIG serves private sector clients and international development agencies.
On April 27th, 2026, Tetra Tech raised its dividend by 10.8% to a quarterly of $0.072.
On April 29th, 2026, Tetra Tech reported its FQ2 results for the period ending March 29th, 2026. Net revenue for the quarter was $1.05 billion, up 8% year-over-year excluding USAID / DOS and disasters, while operating income was $132 million. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.34, marking a 3% year-over-year increase.
For FY2026, management raised guidance for net revenue to range from $4.25 billion to $4.40 billion and adjusted EPS to range from $1.50 to $1.58. We now expect adjusted EPS of $1.54 for FY2026.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on TTEK (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #3: Badger Meter (BMI)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 20.9%
Badger Meter manufactures and markets meters and valves that are used to measure and control the flow of liquids, such as water, oil and various chemicals.
The company’s products are also used to control the flow of air and other gases. Badger Meter generates ~$917 million in annual revenues.
On April 17th, 2026, Badger Meter reported first quarter earnings results for the period ending March 31st, 2026. For the quarter, revenue decreased 9.0% to $202.3 million, which was $29 million less than expected.
Earnings-per-share of $0.93 compared unfavorably to earnings-per-share of $1.30 in the prior year and was $0.26 below estimates.
The utility water business was down 10% for the quarter as a result of project timing and softer short-cycle municipal customer ordering.
Offsetting these weaker results were strength in SaaS, SmartCover, water quality and network monitoring.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on BMI (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #2: Stantec Inc. (STN)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 23.2%
Stantec Inc. provides professional consulting services in the field of infrastructure and facilities internationally.
This includes services in engineering, architecture, interior design, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics.
The company also undertakes water provision, transportation, and public works such as transportation planning and traffic engineering. Finally, it serves the urban regeneration, infrastructure, education, and waste industries.
Stantec generated $4.73 billion in revenues last year and is based in Edmonton, Canada. All figures in this report have been converted to U.S. dollars.
On February 25th, 2026, Stantec raised its dividend by 8.9% to a quarterly rate of C$0.245.
On May 13th, 2026, Stantec reported its Q1 results for the period ending March 31st, 2026. For the quarter, net revenue was about $1.24 billion, up 9.1% year-over-year, driven by 3.6% organic growth and 7.2% acquisition growth.
Adjusted net income rose to about $111.1 million, an increase of 14.6%, with project margins at 54.0%. On a per-share basis, adjusted EPS was about $0.97, up 14.7% year-over-year.
Stantec’s contract backlog reached about $6.57 billion at March 31st, 2026, up 13.2% year-over-year, representing roughly 13 months of work.
Backlog growth included 9.1% acquisition growth and 5.4% organic growth, with notable contributions from the Buildings business following the Page acquisition and strong momentum in the Global region, where organic backlog growth reached 21.8%.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on STN (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Water Stock #1: Mueller Industries (MLI)
- 5-year expected annual returns: 26.7%
Mueller Industries, Inc. (MLI) manufactures and sells metal and plastic products worldwide through its three segments: Piping Systems, Industrial Metals, and Climate.
In February, MLI boosted its quarterly dividend per share by 40% to $0.35. This marked its sixth consecutive year of dividend growth.
On April 21st, MLI shared its earnings report for the first quarter ended March 28th, 2026. The company’s total net sales surged 19.3% higher over the year-ago period to $1.19 billion during the quarter.
This was fueled by higher copper prices, which MLI passed to customers through higher selling prices in the quarter.
Strong end market demand (particularly in the Industrial & Electric and Commercial & Mechanical end markets) was another factor for the quarter.
Finally, strengthened demand for higher-margin products due to shifts in construction patterns and the effects of tariffs also played a role during the quarter. MLI’s diluted EPS soared 55.4% higher year-over-year to $2.16 in the quarter.
That topped the analyst consensus for the quarter by $0.64. Stripping out a $41.4 million gain on the sale of its Sherwood Valve business ($0.37 per share), the company still handily beat expectations.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on MLI (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Final Thoughts
Water could be one of the biggest investing themes over the next several decades. An increasing global population is only going to cause demand for water to rise in the future.
And, given the fact that water is a necessity of human life, demand for water should hold up extremely well, even during the worst recessions.
These factors make water stocks appealing for risk-averse investors looking for stability from their stock investments.
Additional Resources
It may be useful to browse through the following databases of dividend growth stocks:
- The Dividend Aristocrats List: S&P 500 stocks with 25+ years of dividend increases.
- The Dividend Kings List is even more exclusive than the Dividend Aristocrats. It is comprised of 58 stocks with 50+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
- The High Dividend Stocks List: stocks that appeal to investors interested in the highest yields of 5% or more.
- The Monthly Dividend Stocks List: stocks that pay dividends every month, for 12 dividend payments per year.