Fundamental analysis · SEC EDGAR · TTM through 31/03/2026

Fundamental analysis of Ecolab Inc.

ECL · NYSE · Materials

Fundamental quality

ATTRACTIVE

75

out of 100

Ecolab Inc. earns a fundamental-quality score of 75 out of 100, profiling it as a company with solid fundamentals. Its score rests mainly on its profitability (net margin 12.8%). Whether it's cheap or expensive depends on the current price, which you can compute in the tool.

What the company does

Ecolab sells industrial cleaning and hygiene as a service: the products and systems hotels, restaurants, hospitals and factories use to sanitize, wash and save water. Millions of small customers, recurring contracts and a rep visiting every kitchen: the perfect moat disguised as soap.

What will shape its future

  • Its pricing power: embedded technical service makes switching suppliers painful.
  • Water as a business: helping industries use less is its growth story.
  • Chemical raw-material costs, its margin's seesaw.

Breakdown by area

I.Growth
64

EPS growth: 16.2% · Revenue growth: 6.6%

II.Profitability
78

Net margin: 12.8% · ROE: 21% · ROIC: 12.8%

III.Financial health
71

Net debt/EBITDA: 2.28x · FCF: 11.4%

Source: SEC EDGAR · TTM through 31/03/2026

The score includes +4 for dividend strength: 40 consecutive years of increases. Keeping that streak demands growing cash generation and balance-sheet discipline.

The score combines growth, profitability and financial strength, and here its pillars hold up evenly.

Versus its sector

Percentile against the other 27 Materials companies in our coverage: how far it beats them on each metric (100 = best in sector).

Net marginbeats 70%
ROEbeats 78%
Growthbeats 52%
Cash generationbeats 72%
Less debtbeats 33%

Computed from the daily dataset scores. A high percentile places the company among the best in its sector on that metric; it is not a buy recommendation.

Key concepts

What do these metrics mean? Fundamental analysis · What is the P/E · What is EPS · What is ROE · Net & gross margin · Free cash flow

Ecolab Inc. strengths

  • Strong return on equity (ROE of 21%): it puts shareholder capital to good use.
  • It has turned profitable after years of losses.
  • Growing earnings per share (16.2% annualized).
  • Revenue rising without interruption since 2020.

Ecolab Inc. risks and weaknesses

  • Its net debt has grown over the period.

Ecolab Inc. historical evolution

YearRevenueNet incomeFree cash flowNet debt
202011,790-1,1851,3715,426
202112,7331,1301,4198,398
202214,1881,0921,0767,982
202315,3201,3721,6377,262
202415,7412,1121,8196,308
202516,0812,0761,9047,590

Between 2020 and 2025, revenue went from $11,790M to $16,081M (+36%) and net income went from -$1,185M to $2,076M (+275%).

Annual figures in millions of U.S. dollars ($M) per SEC filings. Net debt is total debt minus cash.

Latest results

Versus the same period a year earlier

Figures for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, versus the quarter ended March 31, 2025 (SEC filings):

  • Revenue+10%
  • Net income+7.5%

Automatic comparison between the two most recent periods filed with the SEC. One quarter doesn't make a trend: read it alongside the historical evolution above.

Dividend

$2.68

per share, yearly

36.3% of earnings

Payout

40 straight years raising it

Growth

The dividend yield depends on today's price. Compute it in the analyzer → · See all dividend-paying stocks →

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Is Ecolab Inc. cheap or expensive?

That depends on the current price. Look it up, enter it in the tool and get the full valuation verdict (P/E against its sector).

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Frequently asked questions

Is Ecolab Inc. a good company to invest in?

In terms of business quality, Ecolab Inc. scores 75 out of 100 in our analysis, placing it as a company of high fundamental quality. That said, this isn't a recommendation: whether it's a good investment also depends on its current price and your goals.

Is Ecolab Inc. a profitable company?

Yes. Ecolab Inc. shows a net margin of 12.8% and an ROE of 21%, a sign of a profitable business.

Does Ecolab Inc. have a lot of debt?

A moderate level: its net debt is 2.28 times its EBITDA.

Is Ecolab Inc. growing?

Its revenue has grown 6.6% annualized in recent years and its earnings per share 16.2%, and without interruption since 2020.

Does Ecolab Inc. generate cash?

Yes. It converts about 11.4% of its revenue into free cash flow, and has done so positively year after year.

The thresholds are general and the system doesn't judge qualitative factors. See the full methodology and use this analysis as a first filter, never as a final decision.

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