Ecolab (ECL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $75.35B
• Dividend Yield: 0.89%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.32M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 36.1
• Beta (1Y): 0.90
• Revenue Growth: 2.75%
• EPS Growth: 54.39%
• Country: US
• Employees: 48,000
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 56
• Industry: Chemicals
• EPS (TTM): 7.37
• Shares Outstanding: 282,997,070
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,420,702
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,316,944
• PEG Ratio: 0.66
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): 4.79
• Price to Cash Flow (P/CF): 24.60
• P/FCF Ratio: 22.50
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: $292.50
• Price Target Upside: 8.63% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 16

Ecolab's strong financial performance and strategic initiatives in high-growth areas support a solid stock score. While technical indicators suggest short-term caution due to overbought conditions, the company's long-term growth prospects remain promising. Valuation concerns and leverage risks should be monitored.

Positive Factors

Earnings Growth

ECL is poised for double-digit EPS growth regardless of macroeconomic factors, tariffs, rates, or foreign exchange challenges, which is rare in the current market.

Pricing Strategy

ECL's pricing strategy is expected to modestly accelerate, improving margins and earnings faster than previously expected.

Negative Factors

Foreign Exchange

There is much concern over 2025 guidance given the materially negative move in FX since 3Q reporting.

Ecolab Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Ecolab Inc. (ECL) is a global leader in water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. Operating across various sectors, including food service, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, and energy, Ecolab provides comprehensive solutions and on-site services to promote safe food, maintain clean environments, optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies for customers worldwide.

How the Company Makes Money

Ecolab makes money through a diverse revenue model that includes the sale of products, services, and consultation. Its key revenue streams originate from its three main segments: Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment provides water treatment and process applications, cleaning and sanitizing solutions, and services to industries such as food and beverage, manufacturing, and chemicals. The Global Institutional & Specialty segment focuses on serving customers in hospitality, food service, healthcare, and retail with cleaning and sanitizing products and services. The Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers infection prevention and surgical solutions. Ecolab's earnings are significantly enhanced by its customer partnerships, which involve service contracts and long-term agreements, ensuring recurring revenue. Additionally, the company's focus on innovation and sustainability attracts environmentally conscious clients, further driving its business growth.

Ecolab Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Ecolab presents a robust financial profile with impressive revenue and profit growth indicative of strong market demand and effective cost management. While the balance sheet shows healthy profitability and moderate leverage, the lack of recent cash flow data poses a challenge in fully assessing liquidity and cash management. Ecolab is well-positioned within the chemicals industry, with potential leverage risks that should be monitored.

Income Statement

Ecolab has demonstrated strong financial performance with consistent revenue growth, evident from a 2.75% increase in total revenue from 2023 to 2024. The gross profit margin improved to 43.48% in 2024, indicating effective cost management. Additionally, the net profit margin increased significantly to 13.42% in 2024, showcasing enhanced profitability. The EBIT margin also reflects a robust expansion to 17.81%, highlighting operational efficiency. These metrics suggest that Ecolab is effectively growing its business while maintaining strong profitability.

Balance Sheet

Ecolab maintains a balanced financial structure with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93 in 2024, indicating a moderate level of leverage. The return on equity (ROE) is notably strong at 24.11%, reflecting effective use of equity to generate profits. However, the equity ratio of 39.11% suggests a reliance on debt to finance assets, which could pose risks in volatile markets. Overall, Ecolab's balance sheet reflects stability with potential leverage concerns to monitor.

Cash Flow

Ecolab's cash flow from operations was not reported for 2024, and free cash flow was also absent, making it challenging to assess the company's cash flow health. Historically, the operating cash flow to net income ratio was 1.76 in 2023, indicating strong cash generation relative to net income. The absence of recent data limits comprehensive analysis, but past performance suggests a generally solid cash flow position.

Breakdown
Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement		Total Revenue
15.74B	15.32B	14.19B	12.73B	11.79B
	Gross Profit
6.84B	6.19B	5.36B	5.12B	4.88B
	EBIT
2.80B	1.99B	788.80M	892.00M	818.50M
	EBITDA
3.60B	3.03B	2.79B	2.71B	2.50B
	Net Income Common Stockholders
2.11B	1.37B	1.09B	1.13B	984.80M
Balance Sheet		Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
1.26B	919.50M	598.60M	359.90M	1.26B
	Total Assets
22.39B	21.85B	21.46B	21.21B	18.13B
	Total Debt
8.14B	8.73B	8.92B	9.04B	6.99B
	Net Debt
6.88B	7.81B	8.32B	8.68B	5.73B
	Total Liabilities
13.60B	13.77B	14.21B	13.95B	11.92B
	Stockholders Equity
8.76B	8.04B	7.24B	7.22B	6.17B
Cash Flow		Free Cash Flow
1.82B	1.64B	1.08B	1.42B	1.37B
	Operating Cash Flow
2.81B	2.41B	1.79B	2.06B	1.86B
	Investing Cash Flow
-433.80M	-990.50M	-716.80M	-4.58B	-414.50M
	Financing Cash Flow
-2.02B	-1.05B	-837.30M	1.60B	-341.80M

Ecolab Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 269.26
• 50DMA: Positive
• 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 269.26 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 264.31, above the 50-day MA of 249.87, and above the 200-day MA of 245.71, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 5.22 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 65.18 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 47.01 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
RPM	77 Outperform	$15.99B	24.57	25.61%	1.56%	0.12%	24.30%
ECL	75 Outperform	$75.35B	36.12	25.14%	0.89%	2.75%	54.39%
CHD	74 Outperform	$27.28B	46.78	14.25%	1.02%	4.08%	-22.34%
SHW	71 Outperform	$90.51B	34.12	69.05%	0.79%	0.20%	14.31%
PPG	65 Neutral	$26.18B	19.34	19.13%	2.33%	-4.59%	11.09%
CLX	61 Neutral	$18.28B	40.55	7616.67%	3.28%	-1.98%	474.83%
Sector *	47 Neutral	$2.64B	-4.00	-31.55%	3.33%	2.93%	-29.90%

Ecolab Corporate Events

Ecolab Appoints Michel Doukeris to Board of Directors

On February 20, 2025, Ecolab Inc. announced the appointment of Michel Doukeris, CEO of AB InBev, to its board of directors. Doukeris is expected to bring significant global executive experience and strategic insights to Ecolab, enhancing its mission to protect vital resources and drive sustainable growth. His appointment follows the decision of Arthur J. Higgins not to seek re-election at the annual meeting in May 2025. Higgins’ departure is amicable, and the board acknowledged his valuable contributions over the years.