Ecolab Inc.ECL
NYSE•Basic Materials•Specialty Chemicals
Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. 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.
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) reported trailing twelve months revenue of $16.45B as of March 2026, a 4.9% increase year-over-year. Quarterly revenue reached $4.07B, reflecting continued top-line momentum.
Ecolab Inc. generated $2.11B in TTM net income, with quarterly EBITDA of $885.10M. The operating margin expanded from 15.0% to 15.3%, suggesting improving cost efficiency and pricing discipline.
The spread between operating margin (15.3%) and net margin (10.6%) indicates tight cost control with minimal non-operating drag. Net margin has narrowed from 10.9% a year ago, reflecting increased costs or interest expense.
ECL trades at a P/E of 35.2x (a premium multiple) and a P/S of 4.5x. The price-to-book ratio of 7.4x indicates a significant premium over book value.
The company generated $97.40M in free cash flow over the trailing twelve months, a 25.9% decrease year-over-year, indicating cash generation ability. The balance sheet shows $25.04B in total assets with $6.92B in long-term debt against $10.00B in stockholders equity for a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.7. Data based on the most recent quarterly reports.
Competitive analysis based on 21 quarters of fundamental data
Operating margins are positive at ~17.5% on average, but show some variability — pricing power may be sensitive to market conditions.
Consistently high ROE averaging 22.3% suggests a durable competitive advantage and efficient capital allocation.
Free cash flow is consistently positive and growing — a hallmark of a capital-light business that can self-fund growth.
TTM revenue has grown consistently (6 of 7 quarters up), with ~5.2% growth over the period. Strong demand durability.
Data-driven red flags and warnings across 21 quarters
Operating margins declined 5.6% — watch for continued compression, which may signal competitive or cost pressure.
FCF covers net income by 0.8x on average — earnings are well-supported by cash generation.
D/E ratio is 0.7 — conservative capital structure with low financial risk.
Revenue is stable or growing over recent quarters — demand appears durable.
Free cash flow is consistently positive — the business self-funds without external capital reliance.
Share count is stable — no significant dilution or buyback activity.
Quarterly standardized metrics.
Stock price and market valuation
Revenue and earnings growth across quarters
Assets, cash, debt, and leverage
Price multiples and return ratios
Operating efficiency and return metrics
Free cash flow, earnings quality, and capital allocation