Ecolab, Inc.

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics

ECLStrong11 of 11 basics passed

$281.83

+0.05%

Market cap $79.0B

$281.83

+0.05%

Market cap $79.0B

Ecolab produces and markets cleaning and sanitation products for the industrial manufacturing, data center, hospitality, healthcare, and life sciences markets.

It is a $79.0B consumer staples company. Revenue grew 7.1% over the last year, it keeps 13¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and its net debt equals ~4.0 years of free cash flow. It trades at 37.3× earnings — in the cheapest third of its own history.

Website: ecolab.com
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Employees: 48 000
Sector: Consumer Defensive
Founded: 1956

Share price · 3 years

$169.13 → $281.83+66.6%

price only — dividends excluded

Key facts · TTM

Revenue: total sales; $16.8B
Profit: keeps 13¢ of every $1 sold; $2.12B
Free cash flow: cash left after running the business; $1.87B
Net debt: debt minus cash on hand; $7.59B
P/E: years of profit in the price; 37.3
EPS: earnings per share, TTM; $7.42
Dividend: pays out 38% of profit · 43% of FCF; 1.01%
Shares: down 4% since 2016 — buybacks; 285.2M
Volatility: beta vs the market — under 1 swings less; 0.88

Revenue, last 10 years

52-week range

Low $245.73$281.83High $308.35

Today's price is 58% of the way from the year's low to its high.

P/E vs its history5y

37.3×median 40.3×

Higher than 32% of past days — in the cheapest third of its own history.

Valuation vs own history

P/E

37.3×

68%

P/S

4.7×

26%

EV/EBITDA

29.5×

75%

P/B

7.8×

42%

FCF yield

2.4%

45%

Share of the last ~5 years that was pricier than today (in line with its own history). Based on the daily valuation record.

Standing in Consumer Defensive

Size$79.0Btop 23%
Revenue growth+4%top 38%
Net margin13%top 23%
Return on equity21%top 45%
P/E37.3×top 79%
Dividend yield1.01%top 83%

Ranked against 41 Consumer Defensive companies with a full CV — for P/E, lower ranks higher.

Skills

Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.

Strong quality; Moat lags behind.

Valuation57

P/E vs own history32th pct · 20/25
FCF yield2.4% · 5/25
P/S4.7x · 20/25
EV/EBITDA24.5x · 12/25

Growth52

Revenue CAGR6.0% · 12/25
Net income CAGR16.4% · 20/25
EPS CAGR ~5Yn/a · 0/25
Fwd implied growth22.1% · 20/25

Profitability72

ROIC12.0% · 12/25
ROE21.4% · 20/25
Net margin12.6% · 20/25
Operating margin16.9% · 20/25

Health73

Altman Z3.67 · 25/25
Current ratio1.84 · 18/25
Interest coverage11.6x · 25/25
Net cash / debtD/A 31% · 5/25

Quality87

Piotroski F5/9 · 15/25
Beneish M-2.66 · 25/25
FCF conversion89% · 22/25
Margin stabilityσ 2.6% · 25/25

Moat38

ROIC >12% years2/10 yrs · 0/25
Median gross margin41.5% · 13/25
FCF-positive years10/10 yrs · 25/25
Worst-year net marginworst -10.2% · 0/25

How the scores work →

Experience

The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.

2026Acquisition
Ecolab announced the acquisition of CoolIT Systems, a direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology…
FY2024Financial
Best year on record
$2.11B net income
2021Acquisition
Ecolab acquired Purolite, a provider of ion-exchange resins for biopharmaceutical purification for…
FY2016Financial
First recorded profitable year
$1.23B net income
FY2016Financial
Revenue already above $10B
$13.2B in first reported year
FY2016Financial
Positive free cash flow every year since
10-year streak
2016Acquisition
Ecolab acquired the assets of UltraClenz, a developer of electronic hand hygiene compliance…
2014Product
Ecolab, working with Trucost, launched the Water Risk Monetizer, an algorithm to help companies…
2013Acquisition
Ecolab acquired Champion Technologies and its related company Corsicana Technologies for $2.3 billion
2011Acquisition
Ecolab acquired Nalco Water for $8.3 billion
1996Acquisition
Ecolab acquired Huntington Laboratories, Incorporated
1986IPO
The company changed its name from Economics Laboratory to Ecolab Inc
1984Acquisition
Ecolab acquired Lystads, thereby launching its pest elimination division
1956Founded
Its first overseas subsidiary, Soilax AB, was established in Sweden in 1956

Achievements

Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.

#10 largest of 41 Consumer Defensive companies by market cap

$10 000 invested in 2021 would be worth ~$12 479 today — price return only

$16.1B revenue in FY2025

Revenue up 7.1% year over year

Profitable 5 years in a row

Positive free cash flow 10 years in a row

48 000 employees

Strengths & watch-outs

What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.

Strengths

High gross margin (44.2%)
Interest covered 11.6× by operating earnings
Altman Z-Score 3.67 — low bankruptcy-risk zone

Watch-outs

Loss-making in 1 of the recent years

Qualifications

The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.

11 of 11 checks passed

Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+7.1% YoY
Profitable — makes more than it spends$2.12B TTM
Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year+24.1% YoY
Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$1.87B TTM
Debt under control — could handle its obligations~4.0y of cash flow to repay
Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$79.0B market cap
Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-1.8% shares over ~5y
Proven track record — years of profitability behind it9/10 profitable years
Financially stable — balance sheet not near distressAltman Z 3.7 — safe
Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersyield 1.01%
Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 37.3

Peer comparisonEcolab, Inc. vs 6 largest consumer defensive peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾

Company	Market cap	P/E	Revenue growth	Net margin	Profile
ECL this company	$79.0B	37.3	+7.1%	12.6%	Strong
WMT Walmart Inc.	$882.9B	40.8	+6.2%	3.0%	Strained
COST Costco Wholesale Corp	$419.2B	45.5	+10.1%	3.0%	Mixed
KO Coca-Cola Company	$379.3B	26.5	+6.5%	28.6%	Mixed
PG Procter & Gamble Company	$351.2B	21.9	+3.3%	18.4%	Solid
PM Philip Morris International Inc.	$313.6B	28.8	+8.9%	25.6%	Strained
PEP PepsiCo, Inc.	$171.8B	16.5	+6.4%	11.1%	Strained

Head-to-head: ECL vs WMT · ECL vs COST · ECL vs KO

References

What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.

Strong buy 9Buy 15Hold 6

Appendix · Financial records

The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2025. For readers who want to check the numbers.

Profit & lossRevenue $16.8B · net income $2.12B (TTM)Open ▾

Profit & loss

Revenue and profit over the company's career — the income statement, visualised.

How FY2025 revenue flows to profit

RevenueNet income

Revenue (TTM)

$16.8B

YoY 7.1%

Net income (TTM)

$2.12B

Margin 12.6%

Gross margin

44.2%

Operating margin

16.9%

P/E ratio

37.3

Dividend yield

1.01%

Income statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions · EPS in USD

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Revenue	11.8	12.7	14.2	15.3	15.7	16.1
Gross profit	4.9	5.1	5.4	6.2	6.8	7.2
Operating income (EBIT)	1.4	1.6	1.6	2.0	2.8	2.7
Net income	-1.2	1.1	1.1	1.4	2.1	2.1
EPS (diluted)	-4.15	3.91	3.81	4.79	7.37	7.28

Cash flowFree cash flow $1.87B · operating cash flow $3.06B (TTM)Open ▾

Cash flow statement

Cash generated by the business and what is left after investment — year by year.

Operating cash flowFree cash flow

Free cash flow (TTM)

$1.87B

Margin 11.1%

Operating cash flow (TTM)

$3.06B

FCF margin

11.1%

Cash flow statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Operating cash flow	1.9	2.1	1.8	2.4	2.8	3.0
Capital expenditure	-0.5	-0.6	-0.7	-0.8	-1.0	-1.0
Free cash flow	1.4	1.4	1.1	1.6	1.8	1.9
FCF margin	11.6%	11.1%	7.6%	10.7%	11.6%	11.8%

Balance sheetAssets $24.7B · net debt $7.59B (FY2025)Open ▾

Balance sheet

How the balance sheet is built — what it owns versus how it is financed.

How $24.7B of assets is financed

60%

40%

Liabilities $14.9B — borrowed moneyEquity $9.77B — owners' stake

Cash vs debt

Total debt $8.24B − cash $646M = net debt $7.59B

Cash on hand covers 8% of debt.

Altman Z-Score

3.67

Safe zone

Debt repayment

4.7 yrs

Years of free cash flow to clear net debt

Interest coverage

11.6x

EBIT ÷ interest expense

ROE

21.4%

Profit per $1 of equity

Balance sheet — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Cash & equivalents	1.3	0.4	0.6	0.9	1.3	0.6
Total assets	18.1	21.2	21.5	21.8	22.4	24.7
Total liabilities	11.9	14.0	14.2	13.8	13.6	14.9
Total debt	6.7	8.8	8.6	8.2	7.6	8.2
Equity	6.2	7.2	7.2	8.0	8.8	9.8
Net debt	5.4	8.4	8.0	7.3	6.3	7.6

Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?

Deeper analysis of ECL on PreMarketPrice

Figures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $281.83 · market cap $79.0B.