Ecolab Inc (ECL)
NYSE:ECL
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Ecolab
(NYSE:ECL)
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Rating:74Outperform
Price Target:
$299.00
▲(14.01% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:02/26/26
Score is driven primarily by strong financial performance and constructive 2026 guidance (margin expansion, EPS growth, and increased cost-savings targets). Technicals support the uptrend but are stretched (overbought signals), while valuation meaningfully detracts due to the high P/E and low dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Recurring services & diversified end markets
Ecolab’s core model is recurring: consumable chemistries plus on-site services create stable, repeat demand and high customer switching costs. Broad end‑market exposure (foodservice, healthcare, industrial, high‑tech) supports durable revenue streams and cross‑sell opportunities over multi‑year contracts.
Negative Factors
High absolute debt level
While leverage ratios have improved, the sizable absolute debt balance limits strategic optionality and increases sensitivity to rate moves. Paydown will require sustained FCF; elevated nominal debt can constrain acquisition flexibility and raise financing cost risk if macro conditions deteriorate.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Recurring services & diversified end markets
Ecolab’s core model is recurring: consumable chemistries plus on-site services create stable, repeat demand and high customer switching costs. Broad end‑market exposure (foodservice, healthcare, industrial, high‑tech) supports durable revenue streams and cross‑sell opportunities over multi‑year contracts.
Read all positive factors
Ecolab (ECL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$73.95B
Dividend Yield1.01%
Average Volume (3M)1.60M
Price to Earnings (P/E)35.8
Beta (1Y)0.63
Revenue Growth1.38%
EPS Growth-2.54%
CountryUS
Employees48,000
SectorBasic Materials
Sector Strength58
IndustryChemicals - Specialty
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.08
Shares Outstanding281,969,450
10 Day Avg. Volume1,699,594
30 Day Avg. Volume1,596,603
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-26.62
Price to Book (P/B)7.61
Price to Sales (P/S)4.62
P/FCF Ratio39.05
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.12
Enterprise Value/Revenue5.15
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit11.58
Enterprise Value/Ebitda23.75
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$323.76Price Target Upside23.45% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering20
EPS Forecast (FY)8.45
Revenue Forecast (FY)$17.49B
Ecolab Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences ...
How the Company Makes Money
Ecolab primarily makes money by selling consumable chemical and cleaning products and bundling them with recurring service programs delivered by field representatives. Revenue is generated through a mix of (1) product sales—such as detergents, san...
Ecolab Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Segment
Breaks down sales across various business areas, indicating which segments are performing well and contributing most to overall revenue growth.
Breaks down sales across various business areas, indicating which segments are performing well and contributing most to overall revenue growth.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyEcolab Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 10, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 28, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized strong momentum across core businesses and growth engines, record financial results in 2025, clear margin expansion levers (pricing, mix, One Ecolab savings), and aggressive 2026 guidance. Several manageable near-term headwinds were identified — notably underperformance in paper/basic industries, a temporary distributor inventory drag on institutional volumes, investment-driven timing effects in life sciences, and below-the-line items (higher tax rate, ~$30M other income headwind, and Ovivo amortization). On balance the positive operational momentum, upgraded cost savings target, digital and high‑tech opportunities, and constructive outlook materially outweigh the transitory and known headwinds.Positive Updates
Record Financial Performance in 2025
Company reported a record year with record-breaking sales margins, earnings per share, and free cash flow; Q4 adjusted EPS grew 15% and full-year operating income margin reached 18%, up 150 basis points year-over-year.
Negative Updates
Paper and Basic Industries Underperformance
Paper and basic industries were cited as the primary underperformers and a drag on overall results (management expects progressive improvement in 2026), and these cyclical end markets reduced consolidated growth relative to core business trends.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Financial Performance in 2025
Company reported a record year with record-breaking sales margins, earnings per share, and free cash flow; Q4 adjusted EPS grew 15% and full-year operating income margin reached 18%, up 150 basis points year-over-year.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Ecolab guided to 2026 organic sales growth of 3%–4% (with 2%–3% value pricing), reported sales growth of 7%–9% including the Ovivo Electronics acquisition, and operating income margin expansion of 100–150 basis points to above 19% (driving 14%–16% OI growth); they expect EPS growth of 12%–15% (which already factors in Ovivo non‑cash amortization), volume recovering to about 1% as they exit Q1 and accelerating thereafter, growth engines (now ~20% of the portfolio) to grow double‑digit, One Ecolab cost savings raised to $325M by 2027 with >$100M delivered in 2025, and underlying margin drivers split roughly as 75–100 bps gross‑margin improvement plus 25–50 bps SG&A leverage; FX was assumed roughly neutral and other below‑OI items (e.g., ~$30M pension/other income headwind) were noted.Ecolab Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
83
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
72
Positive
Cash Flow
76
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 16.08B | 15.74B | 15.32B | 14.19B | 12.73B |
| Gross Profit | 7.16B | 6.84B | 6.18B | 5.42B | 5.22B |
| EBITDA | 3.46B | 3.85B | 3.03B | 2.55B | 2.47B |
| Net Income | 2.08B | 2.11B | 1.37B | 1.09B | 1.13B |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 24.70B | 22.39B | 21.85B | 21.46B | 21.21B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 646.20M | 1.26B | 919.50M | 598.60M | 359.90M |
| Total Debt | 9.43B | 8.28B | 8.73B | 9.03B | 9.16B |
| Total Liabilities | 14.89B | 13.60B | 13.77B | 14.21B | 13.95B |
| Stockholders Equity | 9.77B | 8.76B | 8.04B | 7.24B | 7.22B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 1.90B | 1.82B | 1.64B | 1.08B | 1.42B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 2.95B | 2.81B | 2.41B | 1.79B | 2.06B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -2.71B | -433.80M | -990.50M | -716.80M | -4.58B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -853.30M | -2.02B | -1.05B | -837.30M | 1.60B |
Ecolab Technical Analysis
Negative
262.26
Price Trends
283.39
Negative
274.20
Negative
271.48
Negative
Market Momentum
-5.52
Negative
43.46
Neutral
70.88
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ECL, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 262.26 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 267.89, below the 50-day MA of 283.39, and below the 200-day MA of 271.48, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -5.52 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 43.46 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 70.88 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for ECL.
Ecolab Risk Analysis
Ecolab disclosed 24 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Ecolab reported the most risks in the "Legal & Regulatory" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Ecolab Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $73.95B | 35.83 | 22.03% | 1.01% | 1.38% | -2.54% | |
69 Neutral | $21.50B | 32.31 | 10.21% | 0.94% | 5.15% | 60.30% | |
68 Neutral | $23.21B | 14.71 | 33.60% | 2.71% | -12.98% | -11.34% | |
65 Neutral | $12.39B | 21.09 | 22.70% | 1.96% | 3.09% | 12.25% | |
61 Neutral | $10.43B | 7.12 | -0.05% | 2.87% | 2.86% | -36.73% | |
57 Neutral | $65.10B | 20.29 | -2.20% | 2.92% | -0.52% | -110.29% | |
56 Neutral | $18.62B | ― | -3.77% | 1.74% | 2.42% | -196.54% |
* Basic Materials Sector Average
ECL
Ecolab
262.26
38.93
17.43%
APD
Air Products and Chemicals
292.39
50.28
20.77%
PPG
PPG Industries
102.24
12.93
14.48%
RPM
RPM International
96.71
1.58
1.66%
STE
Steris
219.22
12.73
6.17%
DD
DuPont de Nemours
45.53
22.94
101.52%
Ecolab Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Ecolab Restructures Leadership, Splits Chief Operating Role
Positive
Feb 25, 2026
On Feb. 20, 2026, Ecolab’s board approved a restructuring of its senior leadership, appointing chairman and CEO Christophe Beck as president while naming Darrell R. Brown Co-Chief Operating Officer – Global Markets and Greg B. Cook Co-...
Executive/Board Changes
Ecolab Director Victoria Reich to Step Down
Neutral
Feb 23, 2026
On February 18, 2026, Ecolab director Victoria J. Reich informed the board that she will not stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting scheduled for May 7, 2026. The company emphasized that her decision was not due to any disagre...
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackFinancial Disclosures
Ecolab Expands One Ecolab Restructuring, Targets Higher Savings
Positive
Feb 10, 2026
Ecolab reported record results for 2025, with fourth-quarter net sales up 5% to about $4.2 billion and organic sales up 3%, led by strong growth in Food Beverage, Pest Elimination, Life Sciences, Specialty and Global High-Tech, while basic indust...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.