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Agilent Technologies

To provide trusted answers that advance quality of life by bringing trusted answers to our customers’ most critical questions.

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Agilent Technologies SWOT Analysis

Updated: October 2, 2025 • 2025-Q4 Analysis

The Agilent SWOT analysis reveals a company at a strategic inflection point. Its formidable brand, installed base, and growing recurring revenue provide a stable foundation. However, cyclical market pressures, particularly in China, and intense competition from larger rivals expose vulnerabilities. The path forward is clear: Agilent must aggressively pivot towards the higher-growth biopharma and diagnostics arenas, transforming its business model to be more software and subscription-driven. The core challenge is execution—integrating its disparate software assets into a cohesive, intelligent lab platform. Success demands a relentless focus on these priorities to build a more resilient, faster-growing business and fully realize its mission of advancing the quality of life.

To provide trusted answers that advance quality of life by bringing trusted answers to our customers’ most critical questions.

Strengths

  • RECURRING: Revenue base is robust at ~59%, providing stability
  • BRAND: Reputation for quality & reliability drives customer loyalty
  • INSTALLED: Large base of instruments creates a consumables moat
  • SERVICES: CrossLab Group is a key differentiator and growth engine
  • DIVERSE: Broad portfolio serves pharma, environmental, and food

Weaknesses

  • CYCLICALITY: Instrument sales vulnerable to macro-economic downturns
  • CHINA: Recent market softness highlights significant geographic risk
  • INTEGRATION: Complex portfolio of software creates usability gaps
  • SCALE: Smaller than key competitors like Thermo Fisher and Danaher
  • INNOVATION: Pace of breakthrough hardware innovation has slowed

Opportunities

  • BIOPHARMA: High growth in cell/gene therapy and biologics markets
  • DIAGNOSTICS: Expand companion diagnostics (CDx) partnerships
  • SOFTWARE: Increase software attachment and subscription revenue
  • CROSS-SELL: Leverage installed base to sell more services/consumables
  • SUSTAINABILITY: Growing demand for PFAS and microplastics testing

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Intense pressure from larger, highly acquisitive rivals
  • MACRO: Cautious customer spending delays large capital expenditures
  • GEOPOLITICAL: US-China tensions could disrupt sales & supply chain
  • PRICING: Competitors using aggressive pricing to gain market share
  • SUPPLY-CHAIN: Lingering risks of component shortages and inflation

Key Priorities

  • DOMINATE: The high-growth biopharma and diagnostics market segments
  • ACCELERATE: The shift to a recurring revenue model via services/SaaS
  • INTEGRATE: Software platforms to create a seamless customer experience
  • MITIGATE: China market volatility via geographic diversification

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Agilent Technologies Market

  • Founded: 1999 (spinoff from Hewlett-Packard)
  • Market Share: Leading positions in GC, LC; strong player in MS and cell analysis.
  • Customer Base: Pharma, biotech, academia, environmental, chemical, diagnostics labs.
  • Category:
  • SIC Code: 3826 Laboratory Analytical Instruments
  • NAICS Code: 334516 Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
  • Location: Santa Clara, California
  • Zip Code: 95051 San Jose, California
    Congressional District: CA-17 SAN JOSE
  • Employees: 18100
Competitors
Thermo Fisher Scientific logo
Thermo Fisher Scientific View Analysis
Danaher logo
Danaher View Analysis
Waters Corporation logo
Waters Corporation Request Analysis
PerkinElmer logo
PerkinElmer Request Analysis
Bruker logo
Bruker View Analysis
Products & Services
No products or services data available
Distribution Channels

Agilent Technologies Product Market Fit Analysis

Updated: October 2, 2025

Agilent Technologies empowers labs to get trusted answers faster. Its integrated ecosystem of reliable instruments, intelligent software, and proactive services accelerates scientific discovery, maximizes lab productivity, and ensures data integrity for the world's leading pharma, biotech, and research organizations. This drives faster breakthroughs in medicine and ensures a safer world for everyone.

1

ACCELERATE DISCOVERY with reliable, high-performance instruments.

2

MAXIMIZE UPTIME with our global CrossLab services and support.

3

ENSURE COMPLIANCE with our industry-leading software solutions.



Before State

  • Siloed instruments, manual data analysis
  • Unpredictable instrument downtime, slow R&D
  • Fragmented lab workflows, compliance risks

After State

  • Integrated, automated lab ecosystems
  • Predictive maintenance, accelerated insights
  • Streamlined workflows, assured compliance

Negative Impacts

  • Delayed drug discovery, costly lab errors
  • Lost productivity, missed project deadlines
  • Higher operational costs, regulatory issues

Positive Outcomes

  • Faster time-to-market for new therapies
  • Increased lab productivity and asset uptime
  • Lower cost per sample, robust data integrity

Key Metrics

Customer Retention Rates
>90% for service contracts
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
~50-60 range, varies by product line
User Growth Rate
Tied to instrument placements & software adoption
Customer Feedback/Reviews
~200 reviews on G2 for software
Repeat Purchase Rates
High; consumables tied to instrument use

Requirements

  • Unified software platform across instruments
  • Smart, connected instruments with IoT/AI
  • Comprehensive service and support contracts

Why Agilent Technologies

  • Develop OpenLab & SLIMS software platforms
  • Embed diagnostics in all new instruments
  • Expand CrossLab service & consumable offerings

Agilent Technologies Competitive Advantage

  • Decades of instrument & application expertise
  • Global scale of service & support engineers
  • Massive proprietary dataset from installed base

Proof Points

  • Top 10 pharma companies are Agilent clients
  • Thousands of peer-reviewed scientific papers
  • FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance solutions
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Agilent Technologies Market Positioning

Strategic pillars derived from our vision-focused SWOT analysis

Unify hardware, software, AI for seamless workflows

Dominate cell analysis & nucleic acid solutions

Lead in precision oncology & pathology tools

Drive growth in PFAS, renewables, microplastics

What You Do

  • Provide instruments, software, services for labs to get trusted answers.

Target Market

  • Scientists, researchers, and lab technicians in critical industries.

Differentiation

  • Reputation for instrument reliability and data quality.
  • Global service and support network (CrossLab Group).

Revenue Streams

  • Instrument sales (capital equipment)
  • Recurring consumables & services
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Agilent Technologies Operations and Technology

Company Operations
  • Organizational Structure: Three core business groups: LSAG, DGG, ACG.
  • Supply Chain: Global manufacturing with sites in US, Germany, Singapore, China.
  • Tech Patents: Extensive portfolio in analytical instrumentation & diagnostics.
  • Website: https://www.agilent.com
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Agilent Technologies Competitive Forces

Threat of New Entry

LOW: High barriers to entry due to significant R&D investment, established brand reputation, global sales/service networks, and intellectual property protection.

Supplier Power

LOW-MODERATE: Agilent uses many suppliers for electronic components and raw materials, mitigating power of any single one, though some specialized components can be single-sourced.

Buyer Power

MODERATE: Large pharma customers have significant purchasing power, but high switching costs for validated instruments and workflows limit their ability to dictate terms.

Threat of Substitution

LOW: While workflows can be altered, there are few viable substitutes for the core analytical technologies (e.g., mass spectrometry) that Agilent provides for regulated testing.

Competitive Rivalry

HIGH: Intense rivalry with larger, well-funded competitors like Thermo Fisher and Danaher, who compete across price, innovation, and M&A.

AI Disclosure

This report was created using the Alignment Method—our proprietary process for guiding AI to reveal how it interprets your business and industry. These insights are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.

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