William Blair opened coverage of Xylem Inc. with an Outperform rating, according to the firm’s report released on Monday. The water-technology specialist is valued at $34.39 billion and, based on InvestingPro data, its shares have gained 17.56% over the trailing 12 months.
The research house described Xylem as "the world’s largest pure-play water company," pointing to a comprehensive product and service portfolio that touches nearly every phase of the water and wastewater lifecycle. Over the last twelve months, Xylem recorded $8.89 billion in revenue and holds a financial health score of 2.87 on InvestingPro, a score labeled as "GOOD."
William Blair analyst Brian Drab underscored the critical nature of Xylem’s offerings, saying the company’s solutions are "often mission critical" to its utility and industrial customer base. The firm highlighted Xylem’s edge in having trusted brands throughout a large global installed base, supported by thousands of service professionals who help maintain and service deployed equipment.
Xylem’s business covers equipment and services that address the full cycle of water - from collection and distribution through use and the eventual return of water to the environment. That end-to-end scope was central to William Blair’s positive view.
Recent company-reported results and credit developments were also cited in the coverage note. For the third quarter of 2025, Xylem reported earnings per share of $1.37, ahead of the $1.23 consensus forecast. Revenue for the quarter came in at $2.3 billion, exceeding the projected $2.22 billion.
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Xylem to positive from stable while affirming a 'BBB' credit rating. S&P noted Xylem’s strong credit metrics and reported adjusted leverage of 0.9 times as of September 30, 2025. In a shareholder-facing move, Xylem’s Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, payable on December 23, 2025, to shareholders of record as of November 25, 2025.
Taken together, the initiation by William Blair, the company’s recent quarter that beat expectations, and the improved outlook from S&P reflect favorable momentum in both operating and credit performance, as presented in the firm’s coverage note.