Ecolab (ECL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $75.75B
• Dividend Yield: 0.97%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.27M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 35.7
• Beta (1Y): 0.75
• Revenue Growth: 0.57%
• EPS Growth: 25.50%
• Country: US
• Employees: 48,000
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 58
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 1.89
• Shares Outstanding: 283,624,900
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,468,355
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,268,227
• PEG Ratio: 0.58
• Price to Book (P/B): 7.61
• Price to Sales (P/S): 4.23
• P/FCF Ratio: 36.61
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.11
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 5.34
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 12.15
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 21.27
• 1Y Price Target: $295.86
• Price Target Upside: 10.71% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 16

• Rating: 72 Outperform
• Price Target: $297.00 ▲(11.13% Upside)

Ecolab's overall stock score is driven by its strong financial performance and positive earnings call sentiment. While technical analysis and valuation suggest caution, the company's robust growth and strategic execution in key segments provide a solid foundation. The absence of significant corporate events further emphasizes the focus on financial and operational strengths.

Positive Factors

Revenue Growth

Strong revenue growth indicates Ecolab's effective market strategies and expanding customer base, enhancing its competitive position in the specialty chemicals industry.

Operational Efficiency

Sustained healthy margins reflect Ecolab's operational efficiency and ability to manage costs, supporting long-term profitability and financial stability.

Cash Generation

Solid cash generation supports Ecolab's ability to fund strategic initiatives and investments, ensuring continued growth and resilience in its operations.

Negative Factors

Commodity Cost Increases

Rising commodity costs can pressure margins and increase operational expenses, potentially impacting profitability if not managed effectively.

Challenges in Basic Industries

Uneven demand in key segments like paper and basic industries could hinder revenue growth and require strategic adjustments to maintain overall performance.

Pricing Pressure

Pricing pressure in the Water division may affect revenue and margin growth, necessitating strategic pricing adjustments to sustain profitability.

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 segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. The Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. Its Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. The company's Other segment offers pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, educational and healthcare facilities, hotels, quick service restaurant and grocery operations, and other institutional and commercial customers. This segment also provides colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

How the Company Makes Money

Ecolab generates revenue through multiple streams, primarily by offering a wide array of products and services tailored to various industries, including food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. The company's revenue model consists of direct sales of chemical products and equipment, as well as recurring revenue from service contracts and maintenance agreements. Significant partnerships with large corporations and government entities further enhance its earnings potential. Ecolab also invests in innovation and technology to develop new solutions that meet evolving customer needs, thereby driving growth through improved customer retention and expanded market reach.

Ecolab Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Ecolab demonstrates strong financial performance with consistent revenue growth and robust profitability margins. The balance sheet reflects a stable capital structure with manageable leverage, while the cash flow position underscores efficient cash generation capabilities. Potential risks include the high debt level, but the company's growth trajectory and profitability trends are promising.

Income Statement

Ecolab's income statement reflects strong profitability with a consistent increase in gross profit margin from 41.4% in 2020 to 43.7% in TTM 2025. The net profit margin has also improved, reaching 13.4% in TTM 2025, indicating efficient cost management. Revenue growth has been steady, with a notable 21.0% increase from 2020 to 2021 and continued growth across subsequent years, though slightly declining in TTM 2025. EBIT and EBITDA margins have shown robust performance, reflecting operational efficiency. Overall, Ecolab demonstrates solid revenue growth and profitability metrics.

Balance Sheet

Ecolab's balance sheet shows a stable financial position with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93 in TTM 2025, highlighting moderate leverage. The return on equity has improved from 15.9% in 2020 to 23.7% in TTM 2025, indicating effective use of shareholder equity. The equity ratio remains reasonable at 39.7%, suggesting a balanced capital structure. However, the company's total debt level, while stable, remains significant, which could pose a risk in adverse economic conditions.

Cash Flow

Ecolab's cash flow statement reveals a healthy free cash flow generation, with a growth rate of 27.5% from 2022 to TTM 2025. The operating cash flow to net income ratio is strong at 1.03 in TTM 2025, indicating solid cash generation relative to net income. However, the decline in free cash flow from 2024 to TTM 2025 suggests potential volatility in cash flow despite overall positive performance. The company maintains a focus on capital investments, supporting future growth.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	15.72B	15.74B	15.32B	14.19B	12.73B	11.79B
Gross Profit	6.91B	6.84B	6.18B	5.42B	5.22B	4.90B
EBITDA	3.95B	3.85B	3.03B	2.55B	2.47B	2.22B
Net Income	2.14B	2.11B	1.37B	1.09B	1.13B	-1.21B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	23.74B	22.39B	21.85B	21.46B	21.21B	18.13B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.92B	1.26B	919.50M	598.60M	359.90M	1.26B
Total Debt	8.97B	8.28B	8.73B	9.03B	9.16B	7.11B
Total Liabilities	14.39B	13.60B	13.77B	14.21B	13.95B	11.92B
Stockholders Equity	9.32B	8.76B	8.04B	7.24B	7.22B	6.17B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	1.57B	1.82B	1.64B	1.08B	1.42B	1.37B
Operating Cash Flow	2.62B	2.81B	2.41B	1.79B	2.06B	1.86B
Investing Cash Flow	-436.80M	-433.80M	-990.50M	-716.80M	-4.58B	-414.50M
Financing Cash Flow	-632.70M	-2.02B	-1.05B	-837.30M	1.60B	-341.80M

Ecolab Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 267.25
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ECL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 267.25 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 270.24, below the 50-day MA of 271.52, and above the 200-day MA of 256.64, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -2.12 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 44.19 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 28.76 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for ECL.

Ecolab Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
STE	79 Outperform	24.23B	37.30	9.29%	0.96%	2.47%	63.68%
ECL	72 Outperform	$75.75B	35.72	24.26%	0.97%	0.57%	25.50%
RPM	71 Outperform	15.18B	22.11	23.87%	1.76%	0.51%	17.21%
APD	66 Neutral	60.60B	39.14	9.98%	2.68%	-0.38%	-39.53%
PPG	63 Neutral	23.81B	18.70	13.34%	2.65%	-10.59%	-7.79%
DD	61 Neutral	31.74B	-159.74	-0.84%	2.16%	4.55%	-130.25%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$10.43B	7.12	-0.05%	2.87%	2.86%	-36.73%