Ecolab Inc. (ECL) Key Metrics
ECL valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $80.98B
- Enterprise value
- $86.36B
- P/E (TTM)
- 38.8 10-yr median 36.1
- Forward P/E
- 29.7
- PEG ratio
- 2.49
- Price / sales
- 4.8 10-yr median 4.0
- Price / book
- 7.7 10-yr median 6.8
- EV / EBITDA
- 21.7 10-yr median 20.5
- Dividend yield
- 1.01% $2.92 a year
- Beta
- 0.88
ECL key metrics, 2016–2025
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsECL valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
ECL returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
ECL per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
ECL financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
ECL efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
ECL valuation history
ECL returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
ECL debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
ECL cash returned to shareholders
ECL price vs earnings per share
ECL key metrics
2016–2025| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $74.87B | $67.16B | $56.83B | $41.72B | $67.82B | $62.10B | $56.45B | $43.14B | $39.45B | $34.78B |
| Enterprise value | $83.65B | $74.18B | $64.64B | $50.15B | $76.62B | $67.95B | $63.15B | $50.07B | $46.56B | $41.14B |
| P/E ratio | 36.1 | 31.8 | 41.4 | 38.2 | 60.0 | — | 36.2 | 30.2 | 26.2 | 28.3 |
| Price / sales | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Price / book | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 9.4 | 10.1 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.0 |
| Price / free cash flow | 39.3 | 36.9 | 34.7 | 38.8 | 47.8 | 45.3 | 33.4 | 30.2 | 32.3 | 29.4 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 25.4 | 23.9 | 23.6 | 23.3 | 32.9 | 33.4 | 23.3 | 18.9 | 18.9 | 17.9 |
| EV / sales | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| EV / EBITDA | 24.2 | 19.3 | 21.3 | 19.7 | 31.0 | 30.6 | 23.0 | 16.6 | 15.9 | 14.8 |
| EV / free cash flow | 43.9 | 40.8 | 39.5 | 46.6 | 54.0 | 49.6 | 37.4 | 35.0 | 38.1 | 34.8 |
| Earnings yield | 2.8% | 3.1% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 1.7% | −1.9% | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 3.5% |
| Free cash flow yield | 2.5% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 2.2% | 3.0% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.4% |
| Dividend yield | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 2.1% | 2.5% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 3.4% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $262.52 | $234.32 | $198.35 | $145.56 | $234.59 | $216.36 | $192.99 | $147.35 | $134.18 | $117.22 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $56.39 | $54.92 | $53.47 | $49.50 | $44.04 | $41.08 | $42.95 | $50.10 | $47.06 | $44.33 |
| Earnings per share | $7.28 | $7.37 | $4.79 | $3.81 | $3.91 | −$4.20 | $5.33 | $4.88 | $5.12 | $4.14 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $10.35 | $9.82 | $8.42 | $6.24 | $7.13 | $6.48 | $8.28 | $7.78 | $7.11 | $6.54 |
| Free cash flow per share | $6.68 | $6.35 | $5.71 | $3.75 | $4.91 | $4.78 | $5.78 | $4.89 | $4.16 | $3.99 |
| Cash per share | $2.27 | $4.39 | $3.21 | $2.09 | $1.24 | $4.39 | $0.41 | $0.39 | $0.72 | $1.10 |
| Book value per share | $34.26 | $30.56 | $28.08 | $25.25 | $24.99 | $21.49 | $29.69 | $27.33 | $25.91 | $23.26 |
| Tangible book value per share | −$11.03 | −$8.58 | −$12.55 | −$15.55 | −$17.52 | −$9.82 | $0.65 | −$9.81 | −$12.13 | −$11.12 |
| Dividends per share | $2.64 | $2.32 | $2.15 | $2.10 | $1.96 | $1.95 | $1.89 | $1.70 | $1.53 | $1.44 |
| Capex per share | $3.68 | $3.47 | $2.70 | $2.49 | $2.22 | $1.70 | $2.50 | $2.89 | $2.95 | $2.55 |
| Debt per share | $33.06 | $28.90 | $30.48 | $31.50 | $31.67 | $24.78 | $23.32 | $24.06 | $24.91 | $22.54 |
| Shares outstanding | 285.2M | 286.6M | 286.5M | 286.6M | 289.1M | 287.0M | 292.5M | 292.8M | 294.0M | 296.7M |
| Change in shares outstanding | −0.5% | +0.0% | −0.0% | −0.9% | +0.7% | −1.9% | −0.1% | −0.4% | −0.9% | −1.6% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 22.4% | 25.1% | 18.0% | 15.1% | 16.9% | −16.2% | 18.7% | 18.3% | 20.7% | 17.8% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 13.9% | 13.7% | 10.9% | 8.4% | 9.7% | 10.6% | 10.5% | 10.7% | 13.5% | 11.4% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 8.8% | 9.6% | 6.3% | 5.1% | 5.7% | −6.2% | 7.6% | 7.1% | 7.9% | 6.7% |
| Return on tangible assets | 17.6% | 18.9% | 13.4% | 11.2% | 12.7% | −13.2% | 12.6% | 15.5% | 17.1% | 15.1% |
| Free cash flow margin | 11.8% | 11.6% | 10.7% | 7.6% | 11.1% | 11.6% | 13.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% | 9.0% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 1.42 | 1.33 | 1.76 | 1.64 | 1.82 | — | 1.55 | 1.59 | 1.39 | 1.58 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $9.43B | $8.28B | $8.73B | $9.03B | $9.16B | $7.11B | $6.82B | $7.05B | $7.32B | $6.69B |
| Cash & short-term investments | $646.2M | $1.26B | $919.5M | $598.6M | $359.9M | $1.26B | $118.8M | $114.7M | $211.4M | $327.4M |
| Net debt | $8.78B | $7.03B | $7.81B | $8.43B | $8.80B | $5.85B | $6.70B | $6.93B | $7.11B | $6.36B |
| Debt / equity | 0.97 | 0.95 | 1.09 | 1.25 | 1.27 | 1.15 | 0.79 | 0.88 | 0.96 | 0.97 |
| Debt / assets | 0.38 | 0.37 | 0.40 | 0.42 | 0.43 | 0.39 | 0.33 | 0.35 | 0.37 | 0.36 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.54 | 1.83 | 2.58 | 3.31 | 3.56 | 2.64 | 2.44 | 2.30 | 2.43 | 2.29 |
| Current ratio | 1.08 | 1.26 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.32 | 1.75 | 1.33 | 1.27 | 1.34 | 1.42 |
| Quick ratio | 0.81 | 0.95 | 0.95 | 0.88 | 0.90 | 1.31 | 1.03 | 0.85 | 0.92 | 0.98 |
| Interest coverage | 12.1 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 8.2 | 7.3 |
| Working capital | $420.9M | $1.23B | $1.30B | $1.28B | $1.13B | $2.19B | $1.20B | $992.1M | $1.16B | $1.26B |
| Invested capital | $18.55B | $15.78B | $15.86B | $15.66B | $16.02B | $12.02B | $15.39B | $14.93B | $14.73B | $13.26B |
| Tangible asset value | −$3.11B | −$2.43B | −$3.57B | −$4.43B | −$5.03B | −$2.78B | $229.2M | −$2.82B | −$3.50B | −$3.23B |
| Net current asset value | −$8.94B | −$7.57B | −$8.13B | −$8.71B | −$9.27B | −$6.81B | −$7.31B | −$7.34B | −$7.68B | −$7.08B |
| Graham number | $74.90 | $71.18 | $55.01 | $46.52 | $46.88 | — | $59.67 | $54.79 | $54.62 | $46.57 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$37.88 | −$32.58 | −$34.35 | −$36.81 | −$37.62 | −$28.54 | −$32.88 | −$31.20 | −$32.01 | −$28.78 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $753.6M | $664.3M | $617.3M | $602.8M | $566.4M | $560.8M | $552.9M | $496.5M | $448.7M | $427.5M |
| Share buybacks (net) | $783.8M | $986.5M | $13.7M | $518.2M | $106.6M | $146.2M | $353.7M | $562.4M | $600.3M | $739.6M |
| Dividend payout ratio | 36.3% | 31.4% | 45.0% | 55.2% | 50.1% | — | 35.5% | 34.7% | 29.8% | 34.8% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 80.7% | 90.7% | 38.5% | 104.2% | 47.4% | 51.6% | 53.7% | 74.0% | 85.8% | 98.7% |
| Capex / revenue | 6.5% | 6.3% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 4.1% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 6.3% | 5.8% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 35.5% | 35.3% | 32.1% | 39.9% | 31.2% | 26.3% | 30.2% | 37.2% | 41.5% | 39.0% |
| Capex / depreciation | 1.56 | 1.06 | 0.84 | 0.76 | 0.76 | 0.60 | 0.94 | 0.90 | 0.97 | 0.89 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| R&D / revenue | — | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| SG&A / revenue | 26.5% | 26.9% | 25.8% | 25.8% | 26.8% | 28.1% | 31.5% | 27.1% | 31.9% | 32.7% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 75.2 | 70.1 | 70.3 | 70.9 | 72.7 | 76.3 | 74.8 | 65.1 | 66.2 | 67.1 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 60.4 | 60.8 | 65.7 | 68.4 | 67.5 | 62.7 | 68.2 | 63.4 | 63.0 | 72.1 |
| Days payables outstanding | 79.4 | 69.2 | 65.8 | 64.8 | 61.8 | 59.2 | 60.5 | 51.6 | 49.2 | 54.2 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 56.3 | 61.6 | 70.2 | 74.5 | 78.3 | 79.8 | 82.5 | 77.0 | 80.0 | 85.1 |
| Receivables turnover | 4.85 | 5.20 | 5.19 | 5.15 | 5.02 | 4.78 | 4.88 | 5.61 | 5.51 | 5.44 |
| Payables turnover | 4.60 | 5.27 | 5.55 | 5.63 | 5.90 | 6.16 | 6.03 | 7.08 | 7.41 | 6.74 |
| Inventory turnover | 6.04 | 6.01 | 5.56 | 5.34 | 5.41 | 5.82 | 5.35 | 5.75 | 5.79 | 5.06 |
| Asset turnover | 0.68 | 0.71 | 0.71 | 0.66 | 0.65 | 0.60 | 0.61 | 0.73 | 0.72 | 0.71 |
| Average receivables | $3.31B | $3.02B | $2.95B | $2.76B | $2.54B | $2.47B | $2.58B | $2.62B | $2.51B | $2.42B |
| Average payables | $1.94B | $1.69B | $1.65B | $1.56B | $1.27B | $1.12B | $1.17B | $1.22B | $1.08B | $1.02B |
| Average inventory | $1.48B | $1.48B | $1.65B | $1.64B | $1.39B | $1.18B | $1.31B | $1.50B | $1.38B | $1.35B |
| Intangibles / total assets | 52.3% | 50.1% | 53.3% | 54.5% | 57.9% | 49.6% | 40.7% | 54.2% | 56.0% | 55.7% |
Computed from ECL's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed February 23, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
ECL valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), Ecolab traded at 36.1 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 36.1. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 38.8 and the forward P/E is 29.7. Ecolab earned a return on equity of 22.4% and a return on invested capital of 13.9% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $9.4 billion of debt and $646.2 million in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $8.8 billion. It returned $1.5 billion to shareholders: $753.6 million in dividends and $783.8 million in share buybacks, 81% of free cash flow. The share count fell 3.9% from 296.7M to 285.2M over 9 years.
See the ECL income statement, the ECL chart for price history, or the ECL stock overview for the latest quote and news.
ECL key metrics FAQ
What is Ecolab's P/E ratio?
Ecolab's trailing P/E ratio is 38.8 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 29.7. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 36.1, compared with a 10-year median of 36.1.
What is Ecolab's EV/EBITDA?
Ecolab's enterprise value was 24.2 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $83.7 billion, EBITDA $3.5 billion); the current EV/EBITDA is 21.7.
What is Ecolab's return on equity?
Ecolab's return on equity (ROE) was 22.4% in fiscal 2025: net income of $2.1 billion on average shareholders' equity of $9.3 billion.
What is Ecolab's ROIC?
Ecolab's return on invested capital was 13.9% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Ecolab have?
Ecolab had total debt of $9.4 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97 and $8.8 billion of net debt (2.54 times EBITDA).
What is Ecolab's dividend yield?
Ecolab's forward dividend yield is 1.01%. Ecolab paid $753.6 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($2.64 per share), a payout ratio of 36.3%.
Does Ecolab buy back its shares?
Yes. Ecolab spent $783.8 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025 Shares outstanding changed −0.5% over the year, to 285.2M..
What is Ecolab's free cash flow yield?
Ecolab generated $1.9 billion of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of 2.5% on its market value at year-end ($74.9 billion).
What is Ecolab's current ratio?
Ecolab's current ratio was 1.08 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 1.08 times current liabilities.