ECLEcolab
Ecolab was incorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1924. 10-K, Item 1
- Employees
- 48,000
- Headquarters
- Saint Paul, MN
- CEO
- Christophe Beck
- Next results
- around Feb 9, 2027
All key numbers (41) From EDGAR
| EPS (ttm) | 7.35 | Sales (ttm) | 17.4B | Net income (ttm) | 2.1B | Sales growth | +2.2% | EPS growth | -1.2% | Sales Q/Q | +12.7% |
| Free cash flow | 1.8B | Gross margin | 43.9% | Oper. margin | 16.7% | Net margin | 12.0% | FCF margin | 10.3% | ROE | 20.0% |
| ROA | 6.7% | R&D / sales | 1.3% | Dividend | 2.68 | Debt/Eq | 1.27 | Curr. ratio | 1.11 | Cash | 722.3M |
| Op. cash flow (ttm) | 3.0B | EBITDA | 3.4B | EBITDA margin | 21.2% | Net debt | 12.5B | Quick ratio | 0.88 | Interest cover | 8.94 |
| ROIC | 9.5% | Payout ratio | 36.8% | Tax rate | 17.8% | Stock pay / sales | 0.8% | Shares out. | 280.5M | Shares Y/Y | -0.5% |
| Book / share | 37.17 | Cash / share | 2.58 | Sales / share | 61.94 | Asset turnover | 0.56 | Inventory turns | 5.99 | Days sales out. | 74 |
| Sales 3Y CAGR | +4.3% | Sales 5Y CAGR | +6.4% | EPS 3Y CAGR | +24.1% | Employees | 48,000 | Sales / employee | 362K |
Hover or tap a number to see the XBRL line item and filing it comes from; click it to open that filing at SEC. What each number means. Looks wrong? Tell us.
ECL against Materials peers
Ten years, side by side → · All 24 →Each side 0 to 100, ranked against every company we cover: relative position on reported figures, not a buy score. How
Every dot is one of the 24 companies, the better end on the right. Hover a dot for the company.
| Company | Revenue (ttm) | Sales growth | Gross margin | Net margin | ROE | FCF margin | Debt / equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECL Ecolab | $17.4B | +2.2% | 43.9% | 12.0% | 20.0% | 10.3% | 1.27 |
| STLD Steel Dynamics | $22.2B | +3.6% | 15.9% | 8.8% | 19.9% | 4.9% | 0.43 |
| PPG PPG Industries | $16.7B | +0.2% | 40.9% | 9.4% | 18.5% | 7.7% | 0.81 |
| BALL Ball Corporation | $15.1B | +11.6% | - | 3.5% | 9.3% | 4.0% | 1.27 |
| APD Air Products | $12.6B | -0.5% | 32.1% | -0.4% | -0.3% | -2.4% | 1.27 |
| MOS Mosaic | $11.9B | +8.4% | 7.4% | -9.4% | -9.9% | -6.8% | 0.48 |
From $12.7B of sales to $1.1B of profit
FY2021, from the 10-K income statementSwipe sideways for the whole flow →
From $14.2B of sales to $1.1B of profit
FY2022, from the 10-K income statement and revenue by productSwipe sideways for the whole flow →
From $15.3B of sales to $1.4B of profit
FY2023, from the 10-K income statement and revenue by productSwipe sideways for the whole flow →
From $15.7B of sales to $2.1B of profit
FY2024, from the 10-K income statement and revenue by productSwipe sideways for the whole flow →
From $16.1B of sales to $2.1B of profit
FY2025, from the 10-K income statement and revenue by productSwipe sideways for the whole flow →
Where each $100 of sales went
- Cost of revenue
- R&D
- Sales, admin & other
- Tax & other
- Net profit
Band widths are the money. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue; operating expenses are gross profit less operating profit; R&D is from the income statement and the rest of the operating expenses is everything else; tax includes interest and other items when they are small. Y/Y is the change from the fiscal year before. Revenue by part only for the years in the last two 10-Ks' segment tables. The full income statement →
Profitability
2 of 3- ✓Net margin above the peer median12.0% vs 8.4%
- ✓Return on equity above 15%20.0%
- !A profit in 9 of 10 years
Balance sheet
2 of 4- ✓Interest covered more than 5 timesOperating income is 8.9× interest expense
- !Debt larger than equityDebt / equity 1.27 on the latest balance sheet (peer median 0.76)
- ✓Current assets cover current liabilitiesCurrent ratio 1.11
- !Net debt over 3 years of free cash flow$12.5B net debt, 6.9 years
Cash and shareholders
4 of 4- ✓Free cash flow positive in every one of 10 years$1.9B last year
- ✓Share count down over 5 years−1.8%
- ✓Dividend per share up over 5 years$1.89 → $2.68
- ✓Cash from operations above net income$3.0B vs $2.1B
Each tick is a fact with a fixed rule (on /methodology), not a score or advice. A check without the numbers it needs is left out.
What the debt is made of, and when it is due
balance sheet of Sep 30, 2026 · schedule of Dec 31, 2025The debt note's own lines, 2025-12-31
Fixed rate $0Floating $200.0M Not stated $10.4B
| Line, as the company names it | Kind | Rate | Fixed or floating | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seven year 2008 senior notes | Notes and bonds | – | not stated | $1.5B |
| Thirty Year 2021 Senior Notes | Notes and bonds | 2.70–2.78% | not stated | $850.0M |
| Ten year 2016 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 2.70–3.50% | not stated | $750.0M |
| Ten year 2020 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 4.80–5.95% | not stated | $698.0M |
| Thirty-four year 2021 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 2.75–3.86% | not stated | $685.0M |
| Eleven Year 2021 Senior Notes | Notes and bonds | 1.59–2.13% | not stated | $650.0M |
| Ten year 2020 senior notes, maturing in 2031 | Notes and bonds | 1.30–1.92% | not stated | $600.0M |
| Ten Year 2015 senior euro notes | Notes and bonds | – | not stated | $575.0M |
| Five Year 2022 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 4.42–5.25% | not stated | $500.0M |
| Six Year 2021 Senior Notes | Notes and bonds | 1.65–1.82% | not stated | $500.0M |
| Ten year 2017 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 3.25–7.16% | not stated | $500.0M |
| Ten year 2025 senior nots | Notes and bonds | 5.00–5.08% | not stated | $500.0M |
| Thirty year 2020 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 2.13–2.23% | not stated | $500.0M |
| Three year 2025 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 4.30–4.48% | not stated | $500.0M |
| Thirty year 2017 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 3.95–4.78% | not stated | $484.0M |
| Thirty year 2011 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 5.50–5.61% | not stated | $389.0M |
| Thirty year 2016 senior notes | Notes and bonds | 3.70–3.80% | not stated | $200.0M |
| U.S. commercial paper program | Commercial paper | – | floating | $100.0M |
| Commercial paper | Commercial paper | 3.90% | floating | $100.0M |
| Notes payable | Notes and bonds | 3.94% | not stated | $11.0M |
All 20 lines
From the debt note in the 10-K's XBRL (0001104659-26-018357), as the company tags it: by issue, by year, by currency or by kind. Lines from two ways of cutting the same debt can overlap, so they are not added up. Fixed or floating is read from the line's own name only; "not stated" when it says neither.
Left: the debt lines on the balance sheet (XBRL). Right: the principal due each year, from the debt note's maturity schedule; it can differ a little from the balance sheet, which shows the debt net of discounts and fees. Leases are not counted. The full schedule →
Revenue and net income, FY2016 to FY2025
Revenue 16.1B Net income 2.1BFrom XBRL in each 10-K. Hover a bar for the line item and filing. Full financials →
ECL's income statement, balance sheet and cash flow as reported to the SEC in XBRL, one column per fiscal year. Hover a number to see the line item and filing it comes from. Where a company changed how it tags a line, the first tag it reported for that period is used. A number looks wrong? Tell us.
The segments changed
10-K filed 2026-02-23Compared with the 10-K of Feb 21, 2025: new segments Global Life Sciences, Global Water; no longer reported: Global Healthcare and Life Sciences, Global Industrial.
Effective January 1, 2025, the Company’s former Global Industrial reportable segment was renamed Global Water and includes the Light & Heavy (previously named Water), Food & Beverage, and Paper operating segments. 10-K
When a company changes its segments, the years before are usually recast, so growth by segment is not comparable with what earlier 10-Ks showed. Found by comparing the segments with revenue in the last two 10-Ks (XBRL) and by the 10-K's own words, without AI.
Revenue by business segment
year to Dec 31, 2025| Revenue | Share | vs year before | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Water | 8.0B | 49.6% | +2.7% |
| Global Institutional and Specialty | 6.1B | 38.0% | 0.0% |
| Global Pest Elimination | 1.2B | 7.8% | +7.2% |
| Global Life Sciences | 747.9M | 4.7% | +6.9% |
10-K 0001104659-26-018357, segment and revenue notes (XBRL).
Revenue by product or service
year to Dec 31, 2025| Revenue | Share | vs year before | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product and equipment sales | 12.6B | 78.5% | +1.2% |
| Service and lease sales | 3.5B | 21.5% | +6.0% |
10-K 0001104659-26-018357, segment and revenue notes (XBRL).
Income statement
From EDGARBalance sheet
From EDGAR| FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | 327.4M | 211.4M | 63.9M | 118.8M | 1.3B | 359.9M | 598.6M | 919.5M | 1.3B | 646.2M |
| Receivables | 2.3B | 2.6B | 2.2B | 2.4B | 2.3B | 2.5B | 2.7B | 2.8B | 2.9B | 3.2B |
| Inventory | 1.3B | 1.4B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.3B | 1.5B | 1.8B | 1.5B | 1.5B | 1.5B |
| Current assets | 4.3B | 4.6B | 4.7B | 4.8B | 5.1B | 4.7B | 5.5B | 5.6B | 6.0B | 6.0B |
| Property & equipment | 3.4B | 3.7B | 3.1B | 3.2B | 3.1B | 3.3B | 3.3B | 3.5B | 3.8B | 4.3B |
| Goodwill | 6.4B | 5.5B | 5.4B | 5.6B | 6.0B | 8.1B | 8.0B | 8.1B | 7.9B | 9.2B |
| Total assets | 18.3B | 20.0B | 20.1B | 20.9B | 18.1B | 21.2B | 21.5B | 21.8B | 22.4B | 24.7B |
| Accounts payable | 983.2M | 1.2B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.2B | 1.4B | 1.7B | 1.6B | 1.8B | 2.1B |
| Current liabilities | 3.0B | 3.5B | 3.7B | 3.6B | 2.9B | 3.6B | 4.2B | 4.3B | 4.8B | 5.5B |
| Total debt | 6.7B | 7.3B | 7.0B | 6.4B | 6.7B | 8.8B | 8.6B | 8.2B | 7.6B | 8.2B |
| Total liabilities | 11.4B | 12.3B | 12.0B | 12.1B | 11.9B | 14.0B | 14.2B | 13.8B | 13.6B | 14.9B |
| Shareholders' equity | 6.9B | 7.6B | 8.0B | 8.7B | 6.2B | 7.2B | 7.2B | 8.0B | 8.8B | 9.8B |
| Retained earnings | 7.0B | 8.0B | 8.9B | 10.0B | 8.2B | 8.8B | 9.3B | 10.1B | 11.5B | 12.8B |
Cash flow
From EDGAR| FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | 1.9B | 2.1B | 2.3B | 2.4B | 1.9B | 2.1B | 1.8B | 2.4B | 2.8B | 3.0B |
| Capital spending | 756.8M | 868.6M | 778.7M | 731.3M | 489.0M | 643.0M | 712.8M | 774.8M | 994.5M | 1.0B |
| Free cash flow | 1.2B | 1.2B | 1.5B | 1.7B | 1.4B | 1.4B | 1.1B | 1.6B | 1.8B | 1.9B |
| Stock-based pay (added back) | 85.7M | 90.5M | 88.0M | 84.0M | 82.1M | 89.5M | 87.8M | 95.1M | 134.8M | 136.6M |
| Dividends paid | 427.5M | 448.7M | 494.8M | 552.9M | 560.8M | 566.4M | 602.8M | 617.3M | 664.3M | 753.6M |
| Buybacks | 739.6M | 600.3M | 562.4M | 353.7M | 146.2M | 106.6M | 518.2M | 13.7M | 986.5M | 783.8M |
| Acquisitions | 85.0M | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Debt raised | 2.4B | 1.3B | - | - | 1.9B | 2.8B | 494.0M | - | - | 1.0B |
| Debt repaid | 1.6B | 799.0M | 551.6M | 400.6M | 1.6B | 1.0B | - | 500.0M | 630.4M | 674.2M |
| Investing cash flow | -773.6M | -1.7B | -1.0B | -1.2B | -414.5M | -4.6B | -716.8M | -990.5M | -433.8M | -2.7B |
| Financing cash flow | -868.2M | -522.7M | -1.2B | -1.3B | -341.8M | 1.6B | -837.3M | -1.1B | -2.0B | -853.3M |
| Dividend per share | 1.42 | 1.52 | 1.69 | 1.85 | 1.89 | 1.95 | 2.06 | 2.16 | 2.36 | 2.68 |
Stock-based pay and leases
From EDGAR| FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock-based pay (expense) | 85.7M | 90.5M | 88.0M | 84.0M | 82.1M | 89.5M | 87.8M | 95.1M | 134.8M | 136.6M |
| Stock-based pay / revenue | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Operating lease cost | - | - | - | 179.8M | 183.8M | 179.4M | 196.9M | 215.4M | 218.0M | 230.0M |
| Operating lease cash paid | - | - | - | 159.0M | 164.2M | 157.0M | 157.3M | 170.6M | 207.7M | 225.8M |
| Right-of-use assets | - | - | - | 466.7M | 423.8M | 396.8M | 448.2M | 553.5M | 723.2M | 765.9M |
| Operating lease liabilities | - | - | - | 468.0M | 425.0M | 398.0M | 446.0M | 552.0M | 718.0M | 761.0M |
From SEC's XBRL company facts (data.sec.gov). EBITDA = operating income + depreciation and amortization; free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital spending; total debt = long-term debt (with its current part) + short-term borrowings. Stock-based pay and leases are shown as the company reports them; Tickdelta does not take them out of earnings or add leases to debt. Click a number to open the filing in SEC's Inline XBRL viewer, where you can click the same number to see how it is tagged. Values a company later revised show as revised; the Revised numbers tab lists the changes.
Work on ECL in a spreadsheet:
Excel workbook (a sheet per section, ten years by column, charts, links to the filings) ·
CSV.
For a Google Sheet that stays up to date, paste =IMPORTDATA("https://tickdelta.com/company/ECL/export.csv") into a cell.