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Ecolab Inc.

Rank #286ValueWatchlistCompare with other stocks

ECL · NYSE · Basic Materials

Ecolab Inc. (ECL) — Rank #286 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.24) · ROE 20.6% · Piotroski F-Score N/A.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000031462 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally.

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The company operates through four segments: Global Water, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Pest Elimination, and Global Life Sciences. The Global Water segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, primary metals and mining, power generation, global refining, petrochemical, pulp and paper industries. The Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, healthcare, hospitality, lodging, government, education and retail industries. The Global Pest Elimination segment provides pest elimination services to detect, prevent, and eliminate pests comprising rodents and insects in full-service and quick-service restaurants, food and beverage processors, hotels, grocery operations, and other commercial segments, including education, life sciences, and healthcare. The Global Life Sciences segment provides cleaning and contamination control solutions to pharmaceutical and personal care manufacturers. It offers its products under the Ecolab, Kay, Purolite, and Bioquell brand names. The company sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. Ecolab Inc.

was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Industry
Specialty Chemicals
Sector
Basic Materials
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31
Website
ecolab.com

Company Snapshot

P/E and dividend yield are the primary valuation lenses for mature businesses.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

48,000

Industry

Specialty Chemicals

Exchange

NYSE

10/12

Flags passed

ECL fails 2 critical flags

Passes 10 of 12 quality flags

  • FAIL
    Operating margin declining

    Operating margin lower than prior year

  • FAIL
    Balance sheet deteriorating

    Net cash collapsed with receivables or inventory outpacing revenue

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Deferred revenue growing · RPO outpacing revenue · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.24
Return on equity
20.6%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.97
Current ratio
1.84×
Net cash
$3.86B

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.8%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
2.2%
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
Share dilution
-0.5%

Dividend yield and payout ratio are the primary reads at this stage (trailing P/E — see valuation above).

Profitability

Does it make money well?

Warning: Operating margin declining · GP/assets 61st percentile of 39 SIC 28 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.24

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

61st pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Return on equity

20.6%

Gross margin

44.5%

50th pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

2.2%

RPO growth (YoY)

69.6%

Remaining performance obligations growth — RPO > revenue = forward demand building.

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

4.3%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

6.4%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

23.9%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

21.0%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 8% below net income

Free cash flow

$1.90B

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

-8.3%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.8%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

Warning: Balance sheet deteriorating · net cash $3.86B

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.97

0th pctl of 35 SIC 28 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.84×

29th pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Quick ratio

1.43×

Net cash

$3.86B

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

N/A

Only 8/9 components determinable.

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

4.0 / 5

Strong
Payout ratio
36.3%4/5 Strong
FCF coverage
2.53×4/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
10 yr5/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 1.97 · IC 8.94×3/5 Good

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.3 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-0.5%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
10 yr5/5 Strong
Net debt trajectory
-3.5%2/5 Fair

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Decline
Capital Return
Value

Price History

ECL+27.0% · +4.9% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR

View full financial statements →

Source filings on SEC EDGAR: 10-K annual reports · 10-Q quarterly reports