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Ecolab

ECL
56
Chemicals - Specialty · Basic Materials
Price
$272.83
-2.88 (-1.04%)
Market Cap
$76.78B
Winston Score
56
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Share count falling — buybacks

−1.3% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 289.1M (2021) → 285.2M (2025)

Ecolab sells cleaning, sanitizing, and water treatment products to businesses around the world. Its main customers are hotels, restaurants, hospitals, food factories, and industrial plants — places that need to keep things clean and safe to operate. The company is one of the largest providers of hygiene and water management solutions globally, serving over one million customer locations.

Ecolab makes most of its money by selling chemical products on a recurring basis, often bundled with on-site service and technical support from its large field sales force. It operates in over 170 countries and generates roughly $15 billion in annual revenue. Its main competitive advantage is that switching costs are high — customers rely on Ecolab's trained service reps and customized programs, making it hard to change suppliers. The key growth driver is water scarcity, which is pushing industrial and food companies to invest more in water efficiency, an area where Ecolab has a strong product portfolio.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

23 trades / 12mo

10 Congressional buys and 13 sells on ECL in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+10.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+7.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

↓ Declining (-100% vs prior year)

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (3%)

R&D spend declining — could signal cost-cutting or efficiency

Insider Activity

10.5%ownership

↑ Rising

Insiders increasing their stake — aligned with shareholders

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$520M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Ecolab is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 10%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin
43.6%
Healthy — 43.6% gross margin
Operating Margin
15.3%
Healthy — 15.3% operating margin
ROCE
3.3%
Weak — 3.3% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+4.9%
Slow sales growth (4.9% YoY)
EPS YoY
+0.4%
Flat earnings

Single-digit earnings growth — steady but not exciting.

EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
144%
Turns 144% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
11.4%
Modest free cash flow (11.4%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.91
Moderate — manageable debt (0.91)
Interest Cover
10.01x
Comfortably covers interest (10.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
36.7x
Pricey — P/E 36.7

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

P/E vs Forward
+3.4
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (36.7 → 33.3)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
1.04%
Small dividend — 1.04% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth
+12.7%
Dividend growing fast (12.7% YoY)

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