Ecolab (ECL)
NYSEMaterialsChemicals - SpecialtySnapshot 2026-11-04
$315.01+3.39%
Close 2026-11-04 · 1-day change
NYSEMaterialsChemicals - SpecialtySnapshot 2026-11-04
Research Workspace
Put ECL beside peers and holdings, graph the same metric, and keep your notes with the evidence.
Daily closes. Earnings/event dots are placed inline.
Industries move in repeating boom-and-bust cycles. This shows where this stock’s industry sits in that cycle, stage by stage (recovery → expansion → supercycle → steady → deceleration → contraction), from its fundamentals (orders, revenue, capital spending), not the stock’s price.
A booming industry is a tailwind for the names in it; a contracting one is a headwind. Companies in the same industry tend to rise and fall together with the cycle, the way a tide lifts and lowers every boat in the harbor at once, so a large part of a stock’s swing can come from where its industry sits rather than from the company itself. It’s context for reading the company’s results, not a buy/sell call. Full explanation →
Specialty Chemicals is in recovery. Describes the industry's cycle state, not a call on this stock.
The stage band shows the industry’s cycle over the chart’s timeline (each color a stage); a ▼ marks a quarter its growth inflected down — amber is an unconfirmed watch, red is confirmed the next quarter. Use “Overlay cycle on chart” to tint the price chart by stage. The industry’s fundamentals, not a signal on this stock.
Primary pillar under pressure — Achieve adjusted diluted EPS of about $8.53 in 2026: Comparison needs review.
View ThesisRevenue is growing steadily — about 9% over the past year.
View GrowthMiddle-of-the-pack quality for its industry.
View QualityManagement screens strong on capital allocation, earnings delivery, margins, guidance credibility.
View ManagementExpectations look high — the market is pricing in about 53% growth a year, above the roughly 10% analysts expect, leaving little room for error.
View ValuationModerate volatility — typically moves about 1% a day.
View RiskEcolab's data center cooling engine has to keep compounding to justify the price. Revenue grew 13% year over year in the latest quarter. The company trades at 39 times earnings versus a 16 times peer median. The market is pricing in more growth than we forecast. The primary pillar is under pressure, but the comparison needs review. The thesis comparison is not yet verified. Peer multiples imply a price about 53% below where it trades. The thesis is on watch. This read is provisional.
Trailing returns as of 2026-11-04. ECL is total return (includes dividends); the S&P 500 benchmark is price return (the index excludes dividends).
Based on 25 analysts currently covering ECL (as of Nov 2026).
Based on 6 Wall Street analysts offering 12-month price targets for ECL in the last 4 months.
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| Compare | Company | Living FV | P/E | Revenue % | Quality |
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| ECL Selected company | Graph | Compare | Trend | Review | |
| Peer Add a competitor | Graph | Compare | Trend | Review | |
| Holding Compare a holding | Graph | Compare | Trend | Review |
Selected metric trend
Quarterly · checked companies · value or % of revenue
A consensus fair price across 13 valuation methods, at three horizons. As of 2026-11-04. Estimates are diagnostics, not price targets. Short-horizon estimates are close to coin-flips, so confidence is a method-agreement read, not a prediction.
Today's peer multiple on trailing earnings, with no growth credited. This is the headline read.
Adds projected growth, so it leans optimistic by design. Read it as upside context, not a base case.
A price-focused, side-by-side fair-value read versus Specialty Chemicals — fair value, gap to price, and forward P/E.
Compare the value case
Put ECL next to peers and holdings, compare Living FV and multiples, then graph the driver behind the difference.
Advances: Drive strong organic sales growth and EPS expansion
Not investment advice. Scores describe historical and current data; they are not forecasts of future returns. Consult a licensed advisor before making investment decisions.
End-of-day figures as of 2026-11-04. EPS is implied from price ÷ P/E. Not investment advice.
Current $315.01
The last 12 months of price, then the range of analyst 12-month targets from today’s $315.01.
Analyst ratings and price targets are third-party Wall Street estimates, not QuarterlyIQ’s view. Not investment advice.
A long-thesis check that carries the widest uncertainty of the three horizons.
Around the middle on quality vs scored peers
A second lens on the 12-month fair value: for companies that score high on measured quality (profitability, balance-sheet safety, earnings stability), this read trusts more of today's profit margins instead of averaging them toward their multi-year history the way the headline number does. Shown alongside the fair value above, not in place of it. A diagnostic, not a price target or a buy/sell signal.
Direction of the business behind the multiple. Bands are backend reads; trailing-12-month basis.
Upper-end sales outlook and 20% margin target support growth and earnings-expansion objectives.
Advances: Drive strong organic sales growth and EPS expansion
Reported 7% organic growth and margin expansion support sales growth and EPS expansion.
Advances: Advance One Ecolab growth strategy and scale growth engines
Strategic investment advances Ecolab's water-circularity growth strategy, though its financial contribution is not specified.
Advances: Drive strong organic sales growth and EPS expansion
Strong growth in Life Sciences supports organic sales growth.
Advances: Maintain EPS growth
Raises EPS outlook, aligns with growth objectives.
Advances: Achieve quarterly EPS targets
Earnings call details align with achieving EPS targets.
Advances: Maintain EPS growth
Organic growth acceleration supports EPS growth objective.
Advances: Maintain EPS growth
Higher profit forecast supports EPS growth objective.