Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Ecolab updated its FY 2026 guidance to 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.670-1.730 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Ecolab’s conference call:

• Ecolab reported a record 2025 — record sales, margins, EPS, and free cash flow — and guided 2026 to 3%-4% organic sales (7%-9% reported), >19% OI margin (100–150 bps expansion) and 12%-15% EPS growth.
• The One Ecolab program has delivered over $100M of SG&A savings to date and management raised the savings target to $325M by 2027, which they expect will materially drive SG&A leverage and margin expansion.
• “Growth engines” — led by Global High‑Tech (now including Ovivo), Life Sciences, Pest Elimination and Ecolab Digital — are ~20% of the portfolio and expected to grow double‑digit in 2026, with new offerings like direct‑to‑chip cooling and CIP‑IQ highlighted as key drivers.
• Short‑term drags remain from weaker paper/basic industries and unexpectedly lower distributor inventories in Institutional, which management says weighed on recent volume but should largely normalize in Q1 2026.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $11.81 on Tuesday, reaching $299.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,249,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,933. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $303.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.10, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.72.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 41.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECL. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 55.0% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.7% in the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 12,759 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,494,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $1,725,000. Finally, Harvest Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% during the third quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ecolab

Here are the key news stories impacting Ecolab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 adjusted EPS of $2.08 topped the consensus $2.06 and management flagged margin expansion as a driver of outperformance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Ecolab issued FY‑2026 EPS guidance (8.43–8.63) and Q1 guidance (1.67–1.73) that management says reflects strong demand; Reuters highlights guidance coming in above estimates. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: William Blair reiterated a Buy, citing continued earnings outperformance and margin improvement that could accompany a volume recovery. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue grew 4.8% to $4.19B, essentially in line with prior year growth but roughly flat to the $4.20B consensus (mixed signal for growth momentum). Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, some pre‑market commentary flagged caution and led to early selling pressure — a reminder investors remain attentive to forward growth visibility even with margin gains. Article Title

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.