ECL
Ecolab
$286.77
▲ 1.2%Updated Today 11:30 AM ET
ECL at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
Overall: Neutral · 46/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
▲ Up 3.4% over the last 12 months
Market Cap
$79.75B
P/E
37.73x
Forward P/E (est.)
37.53x
ROE
21.7%
Revenue Growth
4.9%
EPS Growth
0.6%
Profit Margin
12.8%
FCF Yield
2.8%
Debt / Equity
0.84x
ROIC
12.0%
Interest Coverage
8.94x
Current Ratio
0.99x
Dividend Yield
1.1%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
6.5%
Rating Score
46/100
Ecolab (ECL) is a large-cap company in the Specialty Chemicals industry, part of the Materials sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $79.75B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $16.08B in revenue and $2.08B in net profit.
Our model rates ECL Neutral (46/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (10 years of history).
Some durable-advantage evidence, but not across the board — dig into which ingredient is weak and whether it's cyclical or structural.
15.9% average over the last 3 years
±2.0 pts around 14.0% across 10 years
grew in 7 of the last 9 year-over-year periods
positive in 10 of 10 years
12.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what ECL's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. ECL trades near $286.77, above its 50-day average ($261.98) and 200-day average ($270.48). Price above both averages, with the shorter one above the longer, is the textbook definition of an uptrend — momentum favours buyers.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 74 it is overbought — the recent rally is stretched and can cool off.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. ECL's is $6.72 (~2.3% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. Over the last month ECL found buyers near $254.00 (support) and sellers near $283.95 (resistance); its 52-week range is $243.15–$309.27. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 0.7× the 20-day average — lighter than usual, so the move carries less conviction. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. It updates daily as the price and indicators change.
4Y CAGR
6.0%
Revenue moved from $13.15B in 2016 to $16.08B in 2025, a 2.3% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year was roughly flat (4.9%) year over year. Slower, mature growth is common for established businesses.
Gross Margin
44.4%
Operating Margin
17.0%
Net Margin
12.9%
ROE
21.7%
Ecolab keeps about 12.8% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 44.4% gross margin and 17.0% operating margin. Return on equity is 21.7% and return on invested capital about 12.0%. Margins are moderate — typical of a competitive but profitable business.
Total Debt
$7.60B
Net Debt
$7.08B
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.59x
Debt / Equity
0.84x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 0.8x, and operating profit covers interest about 8.9x, with a current ratio of 1.0x. That is a moderate, manageable debt load for most businesses. It carries roughly $7.60B of total debt against $519.80M of cash.
Operating CF
$2.95B
Free Cash Flow
$1.90B
FCF Margin
11.8%
In the latest year Ecolab produced about $2.95B of operating cash flow and $1.90B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 2.8% on today's price. Cash flow is what ultimately pays shareholders, so it is worth tracking over time.
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
The payout is comfortably covered by cash the business actually generates, with a raise habit behind it.
Dividend yield
1.1%
Per share (latest FY)
$2.68
Total paid (latest FY)
$753.60M
History on record
10 years
dividend uses 40% of free cash flow
36% of net income paid out
total dividends increased 9 years in a row
no cuts in the last 10 years on record
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
P/E
37.73x
P/S
4.78x
P/B
7.86x
EV / EBITDA
—
ECL trades at 37.7x trailing earnings (about 37.5x on estimated forward earnings), 4.8x sales, and 7.9x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly 6.5% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a premium multiple that needs growth to justify it.
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
DCF fair value / share
$122.23
Current price
$286.77
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$1.90B
Growth, years 1–5
4.9%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Where ECL sits versus its Materials sector peers in the S&P 500.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 54 Materials companies in the S&P 500 — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
How ECL stacks up against its Materials peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
In the Materials sector (78 S&P 500 companies), ECL ranks #39 of 78 by our overall rating. It trades at a premium versus the sector on earnings (37.7x P/E vs. 22.4x median) with a higher return on equity (21.7% vs. 16.1%) and slower revenue growth (4.9% vs. 7.9%).
P/E vs sector
37.7x
median 22.4x
ROE vs sector
21.7%
median 16.1%
Growth vs sector
4.9%
median 7.9%
Sector rank
#39
of 78 by rating
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Materials companies by sub-industry and size. Sector median is across all 78 S&P 500 names in the sector. Educational, not a recommendation.
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
2030 price target (Base Case)
$0.00 – $0.00
vs. $286.77 today · expected CAGR -5% – 5%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $16.89B | $17.73B | $18.62B | $19.55B | $20.52B |
| Net income | $2.20B | $2.30B | $2.42B | $2.54B | $2.67B |
| EPS | $7.89 | $8.29 | $8.70 | $9.14 | $9.59 |
| Share price (low) | $181.55 | $190.63 | $200.16 | $210.16 | $220.67 |
| Share price (high) | $299.95 | $314.95 | $330.69 | $347.23 | $364.59 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -37% / 5% | -18% / 5% | -11% / 5% | -7% / 5% | -5% / 5% |
Educational model on sample fundamentals — not a forecast or investment advice. Outputs are only as good as your assumptions.
The case for ECL:
- Strong return on equity (21.7%) shows capital is put to work well.
- As an established S&P 500 member in Materials, it brings scale and a long operating history.
The case against ECL:
- Like any single stock, it is exposed to competition, the economic cycle, and shifts in its end markets.
Valuation risk — at 37.7x earnings, disappointing results could compress the multiple.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
On balance, the picture is mixed: Ecolab is a large-cap materials business growing at a mature pace, with solid profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 37.7x earnings, which our model scores Neutral (46/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 32 Wall Street analysts covering ECL recommend (August 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Analysts have turned more positive over the last three months (+6 pts of buy ratings).
Latest SEC Filings
ECL's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen.
ECL — frequently asked questions
Is ECL a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Ecolab Neutral (46/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is ECL's rating on The Stocks School?
Ecolab currently scores 46/100 (Neutral) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does ECL's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Ecolab's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for ECL calculated?
It's a scenario model: it grows revenue at an assumed rate, applies a profit margin and a valuation multiple, and shows the resulting share-price range. The assumptions are yours to change — it's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this ECL analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell ECL. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.