# Agilent Technologies
**Agilent Technologies, Inc.** is an American company headquartered in [Santa Clara, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-clara-california), that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for laboratory work in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. It was created in 1999 as a spin-off of Hewlett-Packard Company's test and measurement, chemical analysis, healthcare, and semiconductor businesses, and its stock trades on the [New York Stock Exchange](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-stock-exchange) under the ticker symbol "A".[1](https://www.investor.agilent.com/overview/default.aspx?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Aarticle%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link) • [2](https://www.agilent.com/about/features/en/20th-anniversary.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed from HP's test and measurement and related divisions; incorporated in Delaware in May 1999[3](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/timeline_1999.html) • [4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001090872/000119312526040293/a-ars-fy25_10-k.pdf) |
| IPO | November 18, 1999; raised US $2.1 billion at $30 per share, the largest IPO in Silicon Valley history at the time[5](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/index.html) • [6](https://www.investor.agilent.com/faq/default.aspx) |
| Full independence | June 2, 2000, when HP distributed its Agilent shares to HP shareholders[7](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/timeline_2000s.html) |
| Scale (fiscal 2025) | Net revenue of $6.95 billion; approximately 18,000 employees; customers in 110 countries[1](https://www.investor.agilent.com/overview/default.aspx?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Aarticle%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link) • [8](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/index.html) |
| Segments | Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets, Agilent CrossLab, and Applied Markets, effective after a November 2024 reorganization[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001090872/000119312526040293/a-ars-fy25_10-k.pdf) |
| Keysight spin-off | Electronic measurement business separated on November 1, 2014; Agilent shareholders received one Keysight share for every two Agilent shares[9](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/pr-archive/2014/03nov-gp14029.html) |
| Diagnostics | PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx companion diagnostic has 6 FDA-approved indications, with over 1 million patients tested globally[10](https://www.agilent.com/en/companion-diagnostics) |
## Origin within Hewlett-Packard
Agilent's lineage runs to the founding of [Hewlett-Packard](https://www.edgepedia.org/hewlett-packard) in 1939 by [Bill Hewlett](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-hewlett) and Dave Packard in a one-car garage in [Palo Alto, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/palo-alto-california), where the two began with $538 in working capital in 1938.[5](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/index.html) • [2](https://www.agilent.com/about/features/en/20th-anniversary.html) HP focused first on test and measurement products, then branched into medical electronics and analytical instrumentation in the 1960s, launching its first gas chromatography instruments in that decade.[11](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/Agilent-history-timeline.pdf) The 1965 acquisition of F&M Scientific Corporation, a Pennsylvania maker of gas chromatographs, brought HP into chemical analysis and became the basis for much of Agilent's later life sciences business.[2](https://www.agilent.com/about/features/en/20th-anniversary.html) • [12](https://www.agilent.com/cag/aboutapg/abouthistory.html) HP entered the mass spectrometry market in 1970 and the HPLC market in 1973, and in 1984 introduced the 5890 Series, described by the company as the best-selling gas chromatograph in history.[12](https://www.agilent.com/cag/aboutapg/abouthistory.html)
## The 1999 spin-off
In 1999 HP announced a strategic realignment that split the company in two: an independent measurement company composed of the test and measurement, chemical analysis, and medical businesses, and a computing and imaging company that kept the Hewlett-Packard name.[3](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/timeline_1999.html) The name Agilent Technologies, derived from the word "agile", was unveiled at a brand-identity launch event in San Jose on July 28, 1999, announced by Agilent President and CEO Ned Barnholt; the design firm Landor Associates of San Francisco developed the corporate identity.[13](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/pr-archive/1999/28jul99.html)
The initial public offering on November 18, 1999 raised $2.1 billion at $30 per share, breaking records as the largest IPO in [Silicon Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/silicon-valley) history.[5](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/index.html) • [6](https://www.investor.agilent.com/faq/default.aspx) Agilent became fully independent on June 2, 2000, when HP distributed its Agilent shares to HP shareholders.[7](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/timeline_2000s.html) Agilent Research Laboratories was formed at the same time, carrying on a research program whose legacy dated to 1967 under the HP Labs name.[11](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/Agilent-history-timeline.pdf)
## Transformation and the Keysight separation
**Diversification into life sciences.** After the IPO, Agilent acquired Varian, Inc. in 2010, adding nuclear magnetic resonance and other product lines, and in 2012 acquired Dako, a Danish cancer diagnostics company. The Dako purchase was the largest acquisition in Agilent's history and brought roughly 1,000 employees into the company, establishing its oncology diagnostics business.[11](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/Agilent-history-timeline.pdf)
**The Keysight spin-off.** On September 19, 2013, Agilent announced plans to separate into two publicly traded companies, saying its businesses had evolved into two distinct investment opportunities: a life sciences, diagnostics, and applied markets company that would keep the Agilent name, and an electronic measurement company.[14](https://investor.keysight.com/investor-news-and-events/financial-press-releases/press-release-details/2013/Agilent-Technologies-to-Separate-into-Two-Industry-Leading-Public-Companies/default.aspx) The separation was completed on November 1, 2014 through a tax-free spin-off in which Agilent shareholders received one share of Keysight Technologies common stock for every two Agilent shares held as of October 22, 2014; Keysight began trading on the NYSE under the symbol KEYS.[9](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/pr-archive/2014/03nov-gp14029.html) After the separation, Agilent was classified by Standard and Poor's as a healthcare company.[11](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/Agilent-history-timeline.pdf)
## Business today
Agilent describes itself as a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied markets, serving laboratories with instruments, services, consumables, applications, and expertise. It focuses on six key markets: food, environmental and forensics, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, chemicals and advanced materials, and research.[8](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/index.html) Its product lines include gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry systems such as triple quadrupole and quadrupole time-of-flight LC/MS, spectroscopy, vacuum technologies, and the Dako pathology and companion diagnostics portfolio.[15](https://www.agilent.com/en/products) • [16](https://www.agilent.com/en/product/liquid-chromatography-mass-spectrometry-lc-ms)
In November 2024 the company announced a new organizational structure built around three reportable segments: Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets, Agilent CrossLab, and Applied Markets. The former Diagnostics and Genomics segment was combined with the liquid chromatography and LC/MS instrument platforms, while chemistries and supplies, laboratory automation, and software and informatics divisions moved into Agilent CrossLab.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001090872/000119312526040293/a-ars-fy25_10-k.pdf)
## Financial record
Agilent's fiscal year ends October 31. Net revenue was $6,833 million in fiscal 2023, $6,510 million in fiscal 2024 (a 5 percent decline driven largely by lower pharmaceutical customer capital spending), and $6,948 million in fiscal 2025, a 7 percent increase.[17](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090872/000109087225000087/a-20251031.htm) In fiscal 2025 the three segments contributed $2,726 million (Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets), $2,908 million (Agilent CrossLab), and $1,314 million (Applied Markets), with the Americas accounting for $2,806 million of total revenue, Europe $1,923 million, and Asia Pacific $2,219 million.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001090872/000119312526040293/a-ars-fy25_10-k.pdf) The company pays a quarterly cash dividend, most recently 24.8 cents per share, and repurchased 3,397,220 shares of common stock during fiscal 2025.[18](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel.html?cat=corporate&page=1&start=1) • [17](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090872/000109087225000087/a-20251031.htm)
## Companion diagnostics
Through its Dako subsidiary, Agilent develops and commercializes companion diagnostics, tests that identify patients eligible for specific therapies, in collaboration with biopharmaceutical companies. Its PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx test, a companion diagnostic for the immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab), has obtained 6 total FDA-approved indications, with over 1 million patients tested globally for PD-L1 expression using Agilent diagnostic kits.[10](https://www.agilent.com/en/companion-diagnostics) In August 2025 the FDA approved the company's MMR IHC Panel pharmDx (Dako Omnis) as a companion diagnostic for colorectal cancer, identifying mismatch repair deficient patients eligible for treatment with Opdivo (nivolumab) alone or with Yervoy (ipilimumab).[19](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel/2025/20aug-25026.html)
## References
1. [Agilent Technologies, Inc. – Investor Overview](https://www.investor.agilent.com/overview/default.aspx?source=content_type%3Areact%7Cfirst_level_url%3Aarticle%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link)
2. [Honoring a 20-year quest to advance the quality of life, Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/about/features/en/20th-anniversary.html)
3. [Company History Timeline – 1999, Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/timeline_1999.html)
4. [Agilent Technologies, Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year ended October 31, 2025 (ARS), SEC EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001090872/000119312526040293/a-ars-fy25_10-k.pdf)
5. [Company History, Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/index.html)
6. [Agilent Technologies, Inc. – Shareholder Resources FAQ](https://www.investor.agilent.com/faq/default.aspx)
7. [Company History Timeline – 2000s, Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/timeline_2000s.html)
8. [Agilent – Who We Are](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/index.html)
9. [Agilent Technologies Spins Off Its Electronic Measurement Business, Keysight Technologies, November 3, 2014](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/pr-archive/2014/03nov-gp14029.html)
10. [Companion Diagnostics, Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/en/companion-diagnostics)
11. [Agilent history/timeline (PDF), Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/about/companyinfo/history/Agilent-history-timeline.pdf)
12. [About the Analytical Group – History, Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/cag/aboutapg/abouthistory.html)
13. [HP Unveils Agilent Technologies at Historic Launch Event, July 28, 1999](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/pr-archive/1999/28jul99.html)
14. [Agilent Technologies to Separate into Two Industry-Leading Public Companies, September 19, 2013, Keysight investor relations](https://investor.keysight.com/investor-news-and-events/financial-press-releases/press-release-details/2013/Agilent-Technologies-to-Separate-into-Two-Industry-Leading-Public-Companies/default.aspx)
15. [All Products, Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/en/products)
16. [Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS), Agilent](https://www.agilent.com/en/product/liquid-chromatography-mass-spectrometry-lc-ms)
17. [Agilent Technologies, Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year ended October 31, 2025, SEC EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090872/000109087225000087/a-20251031.htm)
18. [Press Releases, Agilent Newsroom](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel.html?cat=corporate&page=1&start=1)
19. [Agilent MMR IHC Panel pharmDx (Dako Omnis) Receives FDA Approval as a Companion Diagnostic Test for Colorectal Cancer, August 20, 2025](https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel/2025/20aug-25026.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Physical world and mathematics › Chemistry › Chemical principles and methods › Laboratory techniques and equipment › Laboratory equipment manufacturers and suppliers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license