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Ecolab Inc. (ECL)

CIK 0000031462 · NYSE · Latest period: Q3 FY2026 (ended 2026-09-30, 10-Q accession 0001628280-26-068208) · Annual report: FY2025 10-K (filed 2026-02-23, accession 0001104659-26-018357) · Next expected filing: 10-K ~2027-02-22

PeriodQ3 FY2026

Published

MetricAmountvs. year ago
Revenue$4,694,800,000up 12.7%
Net income$551,300,000down 5.8%
Diluted EPS$1.95down 4.9%
Operating income$810,500,000up 6.6%
Net interest expense$124,800,000up 125.7%

Company details

NameEcolab Inc.
TickerECL
CIK0000031462
ExchangeNYSE
StateMinnesota
IncorporationDelaware
SIC2840
OfficeIndustrial Applications and Services
IndustrySoap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics
Latest period coveredQ3 FY2026, ended 2026-09-30, 10-Q, accession 0001628280-26-068208
Fiscal year end12/31 (MM/DD)
Next expected filing10-K around 2027-02-22 (predicted)

AI synthesis of three filings for Ecolab Inc.

Sources: Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (accession 0001104659-26-018357, filed February 23, 2026); Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (accession 0001628280-26-068208); third-quarter 2026 earnings release furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to the Form 8-K of October 27, 2026 (accession 0001628280-26-067418). Ecolab's fiscal year is the calendar year.

Business

From the FY2025 10-K (accession 0001104659-26-018357), with the 2026 segment changes and acquisitions from the Q3 2026 10-Q (accession 0001628280-26-068208).

Ecolab sells water-treatment, cleaning, sanitizing, infection-prevention and pest-elimination programs to industrial, institutional, food, healthcare, data-center, microelectronics and life-sciences customers. The offer is a bundle: proprietary chemistry, plus the dispensing, monitoring and control equipment that applies it, digital monitoring and on-site service from a field force of more than 25,000 sales and service employees (out of about 48,000 in total). Sales were $16.1 billion in 2025, to customers in more than 170 countries and 40 industries; about 47% came from customers outside the United States. Most revenue is from products and sold equipment, recognized when delivered. Pest Elimination is the exception: most of its revenue is service revenue, recognized over time. No customer or distributor accounted for 10% or more of revenue. One product class did cross that line: warewashing products (dishwashing chemistry) were about 13% of consolidated net sales in 2025.

Ecolab's "One Ecolab" selling strategy aims to sell several segments' programs to the same customer. The pitch is better operating results with less water and energy. Most products are made in Ecolab's own plants. The company buys more than 10,000 raw materials, mainly inorganic and organic chemicals, and the largest single one is about 5% of raw-material purchases. Its key trademarks are Ecolab, Nalco and 3D TRASAR. International operations are generally less profitable than U.S. operations because of operating costs across many jurisdictions, import costs, smaller scale and more reliance on distributors.

The company reports four segments. The sales and operating income figures below are 2025 amounts at management's fixed 2025 currency rates:

  • Global Water (sales $7,679.9 million; operating income $1,263.9 million). Water-treatment and process programs for cooling, boiler, ultrapure, waste and process water. It also sells refining process and fuel additives and the 3D TRASAR monitoring-and-control technology to manufacturing, power, chemicals, mining, refining and high-tech customers. The segment also includes Food & Beverage, which sells cleaning, sanitizing and water programs to dairies, farms, breweries, bottlers and meat and poultry processors, and Paper, which sells water and process programs to pulp and paper mills. From January 1, 2026, the former Light & Heavy operating segment was split into Heavy Water, Light Water and High-Tech. That brings the segment to five operating segments and the company to nine. Two acquisitions sit here. Ovivo Electronics, which makes ultrapure-water technology for semiconductor manufacturing, was acquired December 16, 2025. CoolIT Systems, a maker of liquid-cooling systems for data centers, was acquired July 2, 2026.
  • Global Institutional & Specialty (sales $5,962.0 million; operating income $1,357.8 million). Institutional sells warewashing, laundry, housekeeping, food-safety and pool and spa products to hospitality and foodservice customers, plus a dishwasher lease program. It also sells infection-prevention products to hospitals and long-term-care centers, a business that moved into Institutional in 2025. Specialty sells cleaning and sanitizing products, under the Ecolab and Kay brands, to quick-service restaurant chains and food retailers. Specialty depends on a limited number of major chains, franchisees and large food retailers.
  • Global Pest Elimination (sales $1,219.2 million; operating income $237.1 million). Services that detect, prevent and eliminate rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage plants, hotels, grocery stores and other commercial sites. Ecolab is expanding its connected-device "Pest Intelligence" model.
  • Global Life Sciences (sales $706.1 million; operating income $120.7 million). Cleaning and contamination-control products for pharmaceutical and personal-care manufacturers. The segment also sells Purolite purification resins, used in biopharma purification, active pharmaceutical ingredients and industrial separation, and Bioquell hydrogen-peroxide-vapor decontamination systems.

Some history explains how the company looks today. Ecolab was incorporated in Delaware in 1924. Its water business largely comes from the Nalco merger, and its purification resins from the Purolite acquisition. The company split off its Upstream Energy business to ChampionX on June 3, 2020, and still supplies some products to ChampionX. It sold its global surgical solutions business on August 1, 2024, for a gain of $355.9 million.

Risk factors

From Item 1A of the FY2025 10-K (accession 0001104659-26-018357). The Q3 2026 10-Q (accession 0001628280-26-068208) adds no new risk factors and refers back to the 10-K.

  • Economic cycles and end markets. Changes in trade policy, tariffs and geopolitics (Europe, the Middle East, China and Russia) have created uncertainty about demand. Downturns in foodservice, hospitality, travel, healthcare, food processing, refining, pulp and paper, mining and steel cut customers' purchases of cleaning and water-treatment chemistry. In those conditions, slowing inflation makes margins harder to defend through pricing.
  • International exposure. About 47% of 2025 sales came from outside the U.S. That exposes Ecolab to currency devaluation, exchange controls, restrictions on repatriating cash, expropriation, sanctions and armed conflict. Weaker local currencies translate into fewer U.S. dollars of sales and earnings. Anti-corruption laws (FCPA, UK Bribery Act) are a particular risk at recently acquired operations. Ecolab has limited its Russian business to operations essential to life.
  • Raw-material cost and supply. Cost spikes and shortages have hurt results before. The U.S. Gulf Coast is a concentration point: it supplies refining and petrochemical raw materials and is a key customer base for the water business. A storm or freeze there, like the February 2021 Texas freeze, can disrupt both supply and sales.
  • Acquisitions, amortization and impairment. The growth strategy depends on buying and integrating businesses. Goodwill was $9.2 billion at December 31, 2025, much of it from the Nalco, Purolite and Ovivo Electronics deals, and the Nalco trade name is carried at $1.2 billion. Intangible amortization is significant, and an impairment would mean a non-cash loss. The July 2026 CoolIT Systems deal added a further $3.25 billion of preliminary goodwill (Q3 2026 10-Q).
  • Execution of initiatives. Ecolab is running several programs at once: the One Ecolab restructuring, which moves functional work into global centers of excellence; a phased ERP upgrade; and supply-chain investment to add Life Sciences capacity. Failures in any of them could disrupt the business.
  • Competition, digital and AI. Ecolab has to keep commercializing high-value products and digital offerings. Its growing use of AI brings operational, legal and regulatory, reputational, competitive, financial and cybersecurity risks. Competitors could also use AI better than Ecolab does.
  • Information technology and cybersecurity. Acquisitions have added complexity to Ecolab's systems. A breach of customer-facing remote-monitoring systems could expose customer data and lead to third-party claims. The company says it has had no material incidents to date.
  • Customer and vendor consolidation and multi-year contracts. Consolidation among customers and vendors can squeeze pricing and margins. Multi-year customer contracts limit pricing flexibility.
  • Regulation, litigation, safety and chemical releases. Ecolab faces environmental, climate, product-registration, chemical-management and labor regulation. It also faces costly litigation, including antitrust, product liability, wage-and-hour and class actions. Workplace safety incidents and accidental chemical spills or releases are inherent risks.
  • ChampionX separation. Ecolab could owe indemnification under the 2020 separation agreements, or ChampionX might not honor its own indemnities. The split-off's tax-free status rests on opinions of counsel, not an IRS ruling. If it were found taxable, Ecolab and the shareholders who took part in the exchange offer could face significant tax.
  • Tax law. Risks include the OECD Pillar Two 15% global minimum tax, its interaction with the U.S. One Big Beautiful Bill Act, possible IRS and foreign audit adjustments, and the recoverability of deferred tax assets.
  • Indebtedness. Debt was about $8.2 billion at December 31, 2025, including about $1.5 billion at floating rates. A one-percentage-point rise in floating rates would add about $15 million of annual interest expense. A ratings downgrade would raise funding costs. Total debt rose to $13.2 billion by September 30, 2026 after the CoolIT financing (Q3 2026 10-Q).
  • Sustainability commitments. Ecolab has public goals, including science-based emissions targets. Missing them, or being seen to miss them, could bring reputational, legal and financial costs. Meeting them may need capital and technology that do not yet exist.
  • Extraordinary events. These include losing a major customer or distributor, government shutdowns that delay product registrations and import licenses, war, disasters, water shortages and severe weather.

Litigation, TPC Group (Port Neches, Texas). On November 27, 2019, an explosion and fire hit a TPC Group butadiene plant. Nalco, an Ecolab subsidiary, had supplied process chemicals to the plant but did not operate it. Nalco was named in multi-district litigation that consolidates claims from more than 5,000 plaintiffs. Nalco settled with part of the plaintiffs in July 2025, and in July 2026 reached a settlement in principle with substantially all of the remaining plaintiffs. Ecolab says the claims lack merit and expects any loss to be covered by insurance, subject to deductibles. It does not expect the remaining claims to have a material adverse effect (Q3 2026 10-Q, Note 16).

Management's discussion, fiscal 2025

From Item 7 of the FY2025 10-K (accession 0001104659-26-018357).

Management called 2025 a record year for sales, operating income margin, adjusted diluted EPS and free cash flow. Reported sales rose 2% to $16,081.2 million from $15,741.4 million. Organic sales grew 3%, from 1% volume and 2% pricing, partly offset by a 1-point drag from acquisitions and divestitures. Gross margin rose to 44.5% from 43.5% on value pricing. Reported operating income fell 2% to $2,737.6 million from $2,802.4 million. The decline came from comparison: 2025 carried $162.6 million of special charges, mainly One Ecolab restructuring, while 2024 had a net special gain of $183.6 million driven by the gain on selling the surgical solutions business. Excluding special items and Ovivo Electronics, adjusted operating income rose 11% and organic operating income rose 13%. Value pricing and productivity drove the gains, partly offset by investment in the business. Net income attributable to Ecolab was $2,075.6 million, against $2,112.4 million in 2024. Diluted EPS was $7.28, against $7.37. Adjusted diluted EPS rose 13% to $7.53 from $6.65. Net interest expense fell to $241.1 million from $282.5 million on lower rates and higher cash balances. The reported tax rate was 17.8%, against 17.1%.

Results by segment, on an organic basis:

  • Global Water: organic sales up 2%. Double-digit growth in high-tech (data centers and microelectronics), better downstream growth and Food & Beverage up 4% offset a 3% decline in Paper and soft demand in basic industries. Organic operating margin rose 0.3 points.
  • Global Institutional & Specialty: organic sales up 3% (Institutional up 3%, Specialty up 5%). Organic operating margin rose 2.9 points on pricing, lower supply-chain costs and productivity.
  • Global Pest Elimination: organic sales up 6%, led by food & beverage and restaurants. Organic operating margin rose 1.2 points.
  • Global Life Sciences: organic sales up 5% on new business and improving industry trends. Organic operating margin rose 3.4 points.

Operating cash flow was $3.0 billion, against $2.8 billion in 2024. Capital spending was $1.0 billion and acquisitions took $1.6 billion, mainly Ovivo Electronics. Ovivo cost $1.6 billion in cash; the Q3 2026 10-Q later put total consideration at $1,625 million, net of cash acquired. Ecolab paid $754 million of dividends and repurchased $784 million of shares. Dividends declared were $2.68 per share. In December 2025 the quarterly dividend rose 12% to $0.73, the 34th consecutive annual increase; Ecolab has paid dividends for 89 consecutive years. Year-end cash was $646 million and total debt $8.2 billion. Long-term credit ratings were A- (S&P), A3 (Moody's) and A- (Fitch), and management states it is committed to "A"-range ratings metrics.

One Ecolab restructuring. Announced July 30, 2024, the program uses digital tools to move functional work from many countries into global centers of excellence. In February 2026 Ecolab expanded it. The new estimate was $334 million of restructuring costs ($261 million after tax) and $91 million of other special charges by the end of 2027, for annualized savings of $325 million by 2027. Restructuring charges were $117.0 million in 2025. The Q3 2026 10-Q revised the totals to $328 million of restructuring costs ($256 million after tax) and $97 million of special charges, with the $325 million savings target unchanged. Cumulative savings had reached $119 million at the time of the 10-K and $217 million by the Q3 2026 10-Q.

Current quarter, Q3 2026 (quarter ended September 30, 2026)

From the Q3 2026 10-Q (accession 0001628280-26-068208) and the October 27, 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, accession 0001628280-26-067418).

Third-quarter net sales rose 13% to $4,694.8 million from $4,165.0 million. Organic sales grew 7%: volume rose 2% despite disruption in the Middle East, and pricing rose 5%, which management says it used to offset higher commodity costs. Acquisitions (Ovivo Electronics and CoolIT Systems) added 6 points, and currency was neutral. For the first nine months, sales rose 11% to $13,176.3 million, with organic growth of 5%.

Reported operating income rose 7% to $810.5 million, for a 17.3% margin. Adjusted operating income rose 14% and organic operating income 11%, and the organic operating margin widened 70 basis points to 19.6%. Reported gross margin slipped to 44.1% from 44.8%; the company attributes the 70-basis-point decline in adjusted gross margin to the acquisitions. Excluding them, organic gross margin was 44.9% against 44.8%, as pricing offset higher commodity costs. Special charges were $82.9 million ($0.23 per diluted share), mainly acquisition and integration costs and One Ecolab. Net interest expense more than doubled to $124.8 million from $55.3 million because of the acquisition financing. Net income attributable to Ecolab fell 6% to $551.3 million, and diluted EPS fell 5% to $1.95 from $2.05. Adjusted diluted EPS rose 5% to $2.18, despite a headwind of about 10% from CoolIT amortization and financing costs. The reported tax rate was 20.2%, against 17.8%.

Segment results for the quarter, at fixed currency:

  • Global Water: sales up 20% to $2,479.6 million. Acquisitions added 11 points and organic growth was 9%. Within that, High-Tech grew 63% organically on microelectronics and data centers. Food & Beverage grew 8%, Paper 6%, Light Water 5% and Heavy Water 4%. Operating income rose 24% to $445.2 million, and the organic operating margin was 17.5%, against 17.4%.
  • Global Institutional & Specialty: sales up 3% to $1,638.3 million. Institutional grew 2% despite a mid-single-digit decline in North American restaurant foot traffic, and Specialty grew 5%. Operating income rose 8% to $404.9 million, and the margin reached 24.7%, against 23.6%.
  • Global Pest Elimination: sales up 9% to $363.5 million (organic 8%). Operating income rose 6% to $73.9 million, and the organic margin was 20.8%, against 20.9%, because of investment in the Pest Intelligence platform, which has more than 800,000 connected devices deployed. Management expects the margin in the high-teens to 20% range over the next few quarters, against a 22% target.
  • Global Life Sciences: sales up 17% to $215.8 million on bioprocessing, personal care and purification. Comparison with last year's plant maintenance also helped. Operating income rose 49% to $50.2 million, and the margin reached 23.3%, against 18.3%.

CoolIT Systems acquisition. On March 20, 2026, Ecolab agreed to buy CoolIT Systems, a data-center liquid-cooling company (Frigeo Holdings LLC), for $4,750 million, subject to adjustments. CoolIT makes coolant distribution units, cold plates and direct-to-chip cooling. The deal closed on July 2, 2026 for $4,627 million in cash, net of cash acquired and after adjustments, and CoolIT joined Global Water. The preliminary allocation is $3,251.1 million of goodwill (not tax-deductible) and $1,755.7 million of intangibles: $881.4 million of customer relationships, $641.6 million of technology and $232.7 million of trademarks. The deal was funded with $5.0 billion of senior notes due 2029, 2031, 2033 and 2036. Ecolab also completed a small pest-elimination acquisition in April 2026 for $26.9 million. Management expects Ovivo Electronics to grow mid-teens this year and CoolIT to more than double, compared with their sales before acquisition. Together the two deals are expected to add about 2 points to annual organic sales growth one year after closing.

Balance sheet and cash flow. Total debt was $13.2 billion at September 30, 2026, against $8.2 billion at year-end 2025. Net debt to EBITDA rose to 3.1x from 2.0x. Cash was $722 million, of which $610 million was held outside the U.S., and no commercial paper was outstanding. Nine-month operating cash flow rose $77 million to $1,939.1 million, despite one-time incentive payments of $200 million to CoolIT and Ovivo Electronics employees. Nine-month capital spending was $902 million, share repurchases $672 million and dividends $629 million. Ecolab bought back no shares in the third quarter; 3,454,001 shares remain under the 2022 authorization.

Operating environment. The war in the Middle East has driven energy-price volatility and major increases in raw-material, manufacturing and logistics costs. Ecolab began applying an energy surcharge in the second quarter of 2026 and says it expects pricing, volume growth and productivity to offset the cost pressure.

Outlook (October 27, 2026 release). Guidance for the rest of 2026:

  • Full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $8.10 to $8.20, up 8% to 9%. This includes a headwind of about 6 points from CoolIT amortization and financing costs. Special charges are expected at about $0.83 per share.
  • Fourth-quarter 2026 reported sales up 12% to 14%, with organic sales up 6% to 7%.
  • Fourth-quarter adjusted operating margin of about 19% and organic operating margin of about 20%.
  • Fourth-quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $2.13 to $2.23, up 2% to 7% from $2.08. This includes a headwind of about 12 points from CoolIT. Fourth-quarter special charges are expected at about $0.26 per share.
  • For 2027, Chairman and CEO Christophe Beck expects organic sales growth at the upper end of the 5% to 7% target and an adjusted operating margin of 20%. He also sees a clear path to meet or exceed the 12% to 15% long-term adjusted EPS growth target.

Subsequent events

From the subsequent-events disclosure in the Q3 2026 10-Q (accession 0001628280-26-068208, Note 8 and MD&A).

In October 2026, Ecolab settled 550 million Swiss francs of existing cross-currency swaps, which had been designated as net investment hedges. At the same time it entered replacement swaps of the same notional amount. Ecolab says the transactions had no material effect on its income statement. The 10-Q discloses no acquisitions, divestitures, borrowings or litigation outcomes after September 30, 2026.

AI synthesis of events in 14 filings

Filings that contain financial statements

  • Form 8-K filed 2026-10-27, accession 0001628280-26-067418, Exhibit 99.1 (earnings news release): third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2026. Holds the consolidated statements of income and consolidated balance sheets, plus segment tables and non-GAAP reconciliations. No cash flow statement is in the release.
  • Form 8-K filed 2026-07-28, accession 0001628280-26-049933, Exhibit 99.1: second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2026. Same content (income statement, balance sheet, segment tables).
  • Form 8-K filed 2026-04-28, accession 0001104659-26-049822, Exhibit 99.1: first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Same content.
  • Form 8-K filed 2026-02-10, accession 0001104659-26-012358, Exhibit 99.1: fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025. Same content.
  • Form 8-K filed 2026-03-27, accession 0001104659-26-035705, Exhibit 99.1: supplemental unaudited segment information for 2025 and 2024 recast to 2026 fixed currency rates and the new segment structure (not a full set of statements).

Acquisitions

  • CoolIT Systems: signed 2026-03-20, closed 2026-07-02. On March 20, 2026 Ecolab announced a definitive agreement to acquire CoolIT Systems, a data center liquid cooling company, from funds managed by KKR for approximately $4.75 billion in cash, with expected sales of about $550 million over the next 12 months (8-K 0001104659-26-032446). The merger agreement is with Frigeo Holdings LLC, the CoolIT holding entity (8-K 0001104659-26-043821, 0001104659-26-068276). The transaction was expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. The July 28 earnings release refers to "the recent close of our acquisition of CoolIT" (8-K 0001628280-26-049933), and the third quarter 10-Q (accession 0001628280-26-068208) states the acquisition was completed on July 2, 2026 for $4,627 million in cash, net of cash acquired. The acquisition is therefore closed and contributes to third quarter results.
  • Ovivo Electronics: closed 2025-12-16. Per the third quarter 10-Q, Ecolab acquired Ovivo Electronics (ultrapure water technologies for semiconductor manufacturing) for $1,625 million in cash, net of cash acquired. Its acquisition amortization is cited in the 2026 outlook in the February 10 release (8-K 0001104659-26-012358).

Financing

  • 2026-04-10 term loan. Ecolab entered a $4.75 billion unsecured committed delayed draw term loan credit facility (Citibank, N.A., administrative agent) solely to fund the CoolIT acquisition and related costs (8-K 0001104659-26-043821, Exhibit 10.1). Per the 10-Q, the facility was terminated after the May note offering with nothing drawn.
  • 2026-05-29 senior notes. Ecolab completed a $5.0 billion public offering: $1.2 billion 4.600% notes due 2029, $0.9 billion 4.800% notes due 2031, $1.5 billion 5.150% notes due 2033 and $1.4 billion 5.350% notes due 2036 (underwriting agreement dated May 19, 2026). Proceeds were to fund the CoolIT acquisition and for general corporate purposes (8-K 0001104659-26-068276).
  • 2025-08-27 senior notes. $500 million of 5.000% notes due 2035 (8-K 0001104659-25-084059).
  • Share repurchases and dividends. The 10-Q reports 2,548,436 shares reacquired in the first nine months of 2026 (2,442,820 through open-market repurchases), with 3,454,001 shares remaining under the November 2022 authorization at September 30, 2026. Dividends declared were $0.73 per share in the third quarter of 2026 versus $0.65 a year earlier.

Earnings and guidance (adjusted diluted EPS outlook for full-year 2026)

  • 2026-10-27, third quarter 2026 (0001628280-26-067418): Net sales $4,694.8 million, up 13% (organic up 7%). Reported diluted EPS $1.95, down 5%; adjusted diluted EPS $2.18, up 5%, including an approximate 10% headwind from CoolIT acquisition-related amortization and financing costs. Reported operating income $810.5 million, up 7%; adjusted up 14%. Global High-Tech organic sales grew 63% and Life Sciences 17%. Reported net interest expense rose $70 million from financing the Ovivo Electronics and CoolIT acquisitions. Full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook was narrowed to $8.10 to $8.20 (up 8% to 9%), from $8.05 to $8.25; fourth quarter outlook is $2.13 to $2.23 (up 2% to 7%). Special charges for 2026 are expected at about $0.83 per share. Management cited rising commodity costs and customer disruptions in the Middle East as near-term pressures.
  • 2026-07-28, second quarter 2026 (0001628280-26-049933): Net sales $4,415.4 million, up 10% (organic up 5%). Reported diluted EPS $1.90, up 3%; adjusted $2.09, up 11%. Full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook was raised to $8.05 to $8.25 from $8.03 to $8.23, now including CoolIT.
  • 2026-04-28, first quarter 2026 (0001104659-26-049822): Reported diluted EPS $1.52, up 8%; adjusted $1.70, up 13%. The full-year outlook of $8.43 to $8.63 was maintained and excluded the pending CoolIT acquisition.
  • 2026-02-10, fourth quarter 2025 (0001104659-26-012358): Reported diluted EPS $1.98, up 19%; adjusted $2.08, up 15%. Initial 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook of $8.43 to $8.63 (up 12% to 15%). Annualized savings from the One Ecolab productivity initiatives were expected to rise from $225 million to $325 million by 2027.

Restructuring

  • 2026-02-10: Ecolab announced an expansion of the One Ecolab initiative and expects total restructuring costs of $334 million ($261 million after tax) and special charges of $91 million ($71 million after tax) by the end of 2027, primarily cash severance for team realignment (Item 2.05, 8-K 0001104659-26-012358).

Segment reporting change

  • 2026-03-27: Effective January 1, 2026, the former Light & Heavy operating segment was divided into three operating segments, Heavy Water, Light Water and High-Tech, all within the Global Water reportable segment. Ecolab furnished 2025 and 2024 segment information recast for this and for fixed currency rates (8-K 0001104659-26-035705).

Management and board

  • 2026-02-20 (8-K 2026-02-25, 0001104659-26-019742): Chairman and CEO Christophe Beck was also named President; Darrell R. Brown and Gregory B. Cook were named Co-Chief Operating Officers (Global Markets and Global Businesses, respectively), all effective April 1, 2026.
  • 2026-02-18 (8-K 2026-02-23, 0001104659-26-018605): Director Victoria J. Reich informed the board she would not stand for re-election at the May 7, 2026 annual meeting; the filing states this was not the result of any disagreement.
  • 2026-05-07 (8-K 2026-05-11, 0001104659-26-058710): The board elected Bryce L. Mewhorter Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller and principal accounting officer, effective the day after the second quarter 2026 Form 10-Q is filed, succeeding Jennifer J. Bradway. The annual meeting was held the same day.
  • 2025-08-06 (0001558370-25-010550): Julie P. Whalen, former CFO of Expedia Group, joined the board and its Audit and Finance Committees.

Not reflected in filings

  • No impairments, going-concern or covenant matters, or material legal outcomes appear in the 8-Ks for this period. The 10-Q's only subsequent event is an October 2026 settlement and replacement of Swiss franc cross-currency swaps (notional CHF 550 million) with no material income statement impact.

Financials

Figures link to the filing they came from. Wherever the SEC filing tags a number, that number is linked: click it and the filing opens at the exact line that prints it. A figure with no link was either derived by AI, such as a margin, free cash flow or a trailing-twelve-month total, or taken from a filing that does not tag its numbers, such as an earnings release.

About this file

TickerECL
CIK0000031462
CompanyEcolab Inc.
Business typeindustrial
Schema templatestandard (industrial/tech/consumer): net sales split into product and equipment versus service and lease, cost of sales, gross profit, SG&A, special (gains) and charges, operating income, net income and diluted EPS; the full balance sheet with total and net debt; operating cash flow, capital expenditures and free cash flow; extended with the four reportable segments' net sales and operating income as Ecolab reports them at fixed management currency rates. Ecolab sells water, hygiene and infection-prevention products and services, so the industrial template fits.
Reporting currencyUSD
Converted to USDno
Unitsactual dollars (not millions); per-share amounts in dollars per share; share counts in actual shares

ECL annual income statement, balance sheet and cash flow

Taken from the SEC filings and normalized to actual dollars.

FY2025FY2024FY2023
Period start2025-01-012024-01-012023-01-01
Period end2025-12-312024-12-312023-12-31
Period typefiscal yearfiscal yearfiscal year
Source accession10-K10-K10-K
Income statement
Net sales16,081,200,00015,741,400,00015,320,200,000
Product and equipment sales12,618,500,00012,473,600,00012,316,800,000
Service and lease sales3,462,700,0003,267,800,0003,003,400,000
Product and equipment cost of sales6,955,800,0006,990,000,0007,389,200,000
Service and lease cost of sales1,975,000,0001,909,700,0001,765,700,000
Cost of sales8,930,800,0008,899,700,0009,154,900,000
Selling general and administrative expenses4,257,900,0004,228,200,0004,061,600,000
Special gains and charges154,900,000-188,900,000111,400,000
Operating income2,737,600,0002,802,400,0001,992,300,000
Other income expense-51,400,000-51,300,000-59,900,000
Interest expense net241,100,000282,500,000296,700,000
Income before income taxes2,547,900,0002,571,200,0001,755,500,000
Provision for income taxes454,600,000439,300,000362,500,000
Net income including noncontrolling interest2,093,300,0002,131,900,0001,393,000,000
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest17,700,00019,500,00020,700,000
Net income attributable to ecolab2,075,600,0002,112,400,0001,372,300,000
Basic EPS7.337.434.82
Diluted EPS7.287.374.79
Basic shares283,300,000284,300,000285,000,000
Diluted shares285,200,000286,600,000286,500,000
Dividends declared per share2.682.362.16
Gross profit7,150,400,0006,841,700,0006,165,300,000
Balance sheet
Cash and cash equivalents646,200,0001,256,800,000
Accounts receivable net3,249,400,0002,865,000,000
Inventories1,490,400,0001,464,900,000
Other current assets569,600,000439,000,000
Total current assets5,955,600,0006,025,700,000
Property plant and equipment net4,276,600,0003,752,400,000
Goodwill9,227,000,0007,907,300,000
Other intangible assets net3,688,500,0003,308,800,000
Operating lease assets765,900,000723,200,000
Other assets782,700,000670,400,000
Total assets24,696,300,00022,387,800,000
Short term debt870,400,000615,700,000
Accounts payable2,071,000,0001,810,000,000
Compensation and benefits721,500,000727,400,000
Income taxes payable134,300,000127,000,000
Other current liabilities1,737,500,0001,512,700,000
Total current liabilities5,534,700,0004,792,800,000
Long term debt7,365,900,0006,949,200,000
Pension and postretirement benefits546,100,000634,900,000
Deferred income taxes329,900,000280,000,000
Operating lease liabilities596,500,000575,500,000
Other liabilities518,700,000366,200,000
Total liabilities14,891,800,00013,598,600,000
Common stock369,400,000367,800,000
Additional paid in capital7,521,300,0007,159,600,000
Retained earnings12,834,000,00011,517,100,000
Accumulated other comprehensive loss-1,874,300,000-1,982,000,000
Treasury stock-9,079,600,000-8,305,200,000
Total ecolab shareholders equity9,770,800,0008,757,300,000
Noncontrolling interest33,700,00031,900,000
Total equity9,804,500,0008,789,200,000
Total liabilities and equity24,696,300,00022,387,800,000
Common shares outstanding282,000,000283,400,000
Total debt8,236,300,0007,564,900,000
Net debt7,590,100,0006,308,100,000
Cash flow
Net income including noncontrolling interest2,093,300,0002,131,900,0001,393,000,000
Depreciation672,600,000634,900,000616,700,000
Amortization303,800,000300,500,000306,900,000
Share based compensation expense136,600,000134,800,00095,100,000
Operating cash flow2,952,600,0002,813,900,0002,411,800,000
Capital expenditures-1,048,300,000-994,500,000-774,800,000
Acquisitions and investments net of cash acquired-1,621,300,000-312,900,000-180,400,000
Investing cash flow-2,707,200,000-433,800,000-990,500,000
Net commercial paper and notes payable issuances repayments98,200,0001,900,000-1,900,000
Long term debt repayments-674,200,000-630,400,000-500,000,000
Reacquired shares-783,800,000-986,500,000-13,700,000
Dividends paid-753,600,000-664,300,000-617,300,000
Exercise of employee stock options228,200,000259,400,00096,800,000
Financing cash flow-853,300,000-2,024,100,000-1,054,700,000
Cash and cash equivalents end of period646,200,0001,256,800,000919,500,000
Long term debt borrowings1,045,600,00000
Free cash flow1,904,300,0001,819,400,0001,637,000,000
Segments
Net sales
Global water7,679,900,0007,483,400,0007,284,100,000
Global institutional and specialty5,962,000,0005,979,400,0005,779,400,000
Global pest elimination1,219,200,0001,140,100,0001,044,300,000
Global life sciences706,100,000670,500,000650,800,000
Corporate0042,400,000
Subtotal at fixed currency rates15,567,200,00015,273,400,00014,801,000,000
Effect of foreign currency translation514,000,000468,000,000519,200,000
Consolidated reported GAAP16,081,200,00015,741,400,00015,320,200,000
Operating income
Global water1,263,900,0001,207,200,0001,042,100,000
Global institutional and specialty1,357,800,0001,202,200,000856,500,000
Global pest elimination237,100,000209,700,000200,900,000
Global life sciences120,700,00091,800,000118,900,000
Corporate-353,200,000-12,100,000-329,000,000
Subtotal at fixed currency rates2,626,300,0002,698,800,0001,889,400,000
Effect of foreign currency translation111,300,000103,600,000102,900,000
Consolidated reported GAAP2,737,600,0002,802,400,0001,992,300,000

ECL quarterly income statement, balance sheet and cash flow

Taken from the SEC filings and normalized to actual dollars.

Q3 FY2026Q3 FY2025
Period start2026-07-012025-07-01
Period end2026-09-302025-09-30
Period typethree monthsthree months
Source accession10-Q10-Q
Fiscal quarter33
Income statement
Net sales4,694,800,0004,165,000,000
Product and equipment sales3,697,400,0003,262,600,000
Service and lease sales997,400,000902,400,000
Product and equipment cost of sales2,059,500,0001,789,100,000
Service and lease cost of sales566,000,000510,300,000
Cost of sales2,625,500,0002,299,400,000
Selling general and administrative expenses1,177,400,0001,079,200,000
Special gains and charges81,400,00026,200,000
Operating income810,500,000760,200,000
Other income expense-8,800,000-12,800,000
Interest expense net124,800,00055,300,000
Income before income taxes694,500,000717,700,000
Provision for income taxes140,100,000128,000,000
Net income including noncontrolling interest554,400,000589,700,000
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest3,100,0004,700,000
Net income attributable to ecolab551,300,000585,000,000
Basic EPS1.972.06
Diluted EPS1.952.05
Basic shares280,400,000283,500,000
Diluted shares282,100,000285,400,000
Dividends declared per share0.730.65
Gross profit2,069,300,0001,865,600,000
Balance sheet
Cash and cash equivalents722,300,000
Accounts receivable net3,795,400,000
Inventories1,764,800,000
Other current assets817,400,000
Total current assets7,099,900,000
Property plant and equipment net4,595,400,000
Goodwill12,687,600,000
Other intangible assets net5,098,500,000
Operating lease assets752,000,000
Other assets874,500,000
Total assets31,107,900,000
Short term debt1,276,700,000
Accounts payable2,339,500,000
Compensation and benefits663,300,000
Income taxes payable73,800,000
Other current liabilities2,026,500,000
Total current liabilities6,379,800,000
Long term debt11,915,300,000
Pension and postretirement benefits530,900,000
Deferred income taxes768,200,000
Operating lease liabilities578,000,000
Other liabilities481,200,000
Total liabilities20,653,400,000
Common stock370,400,000
Additional paid in capital7,746,500,000
Retained earnings13,737,300,000
Accumulated other comprehensive loss-1,680,400,000
Treasury stock-9,749,900,000
Total ecolab shareholders equity10,423,900,000
Noncontrolling interest30,600,000
Total equity10,454,500,000
Total liabilities and equity31,107,900,000
Common shares outstanding280,500,000
Total debt13,192,000,000
Net debt12,469,700,000
Segments
Net sales
Global water2,479,600,0002,061,000,000
Global institutional and specialty1,638,300,0001,596,000,000
Global pest elimination363,500,000332,700,000
Global life sciences215,800,000185,200,000
Corporate00
Subtotal at fixed currency rates4,697,200,0004,174,900,000
Effect of foreign currency translation-2,400,000-9,900,000
Consolidated reported GAAP4,694,800,0004,165,000,000
Operating income
Global water445,200,000357,900,000
Global institutional and specialty404,900,000376,300,000
Global pest elimination73,900,00069,500,000
Global life sciences50,200,00033,800,000
Corporate-161,900,000-74,800,000
Subtotal at fixed currency rates812,300,000762,700,000
Effect of foreign currency translation-1,800,000-2,500,000
Consolidated reported GAAP810,500,000760,200,000

ECL year-to-date income statement and cash flow

Taken from the SEC filings and normalized to actual dollars.

Nine months ended September 30, 2026Nine months ended September 30, 2025
Period start2026-01-012025-01-01
Period end2026-09-302025-09-30
Period typenine monthsnine months
Source accession10-Q10-Q
Income statement
Net sales13,176,300,00011,885,200,000
Product and equipment sales10,321,400,0009,321,300,000
Service and lease sales2,854,900,0002,563,900,000
Product and equipment cost of sales5,764,600,0005,122,900,000
Service and lease cost of sales1,625,700,0001,459,500,000
Cost of sales7,390,300,0006,582,400,000
Selling general and administrative expenses3,421,400,0003,196,900,000
Special gains and charges174,200,00080,300,000
Operating income2,190,400,0002,025,600,000
Other income expense-26,400,000-38,800,000
Interest expense net270,600,000176,800,000
Income before income taxes1,946,200,0001,887,600,000
Provision for income taxes416,500,000362,900,000
Net income including noncontrolling interest1,529,700,0001,524,700,000
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest10,900,00013,000,000
Net income attributable to ecolab1,518,800,0001,511,700,000
Basic EPS5.405.33
Diluted EPS5.375.30
Basic shares281,000,000283,500,000
Diluted shares282,700,000285,300,000
Dividends declared per share2.191.95
Gross profit5,786,000,0005,302,800,000
Cash flow
Net income including noncontrolling interest1,529,700,0001,524,700,000
Depreciation545,400,000493,800,000
Amortization273,900,000226,500,000
Share based compensation expense116,000,000109,500,000
Operating cash flow1,939,100,0001,862,500,000
Capital expenditures-902,000,000-716,200,000
Acquisitions and investments net of cash acquired-4,683,100,000-500,000
Investing cash flow-5,621,100,000-729,000,000
Net commercial paper and notes payable issuances repayments-95,400,0001,100,000
Reacquired shares-672,100,000-374,600,000
Dividends paid-628,700,000-564,400,000
Exercise of employee stock options108,900,000182,000,000
Financing cash flow3,755,000,000-421,700,000
Cash and cash equivalents end of period722,300,0001,955,800,000
Long term debt borrowings5,104,900,0001,019,000,000
Long term debt repayments0-674,200,000
Free cash flow1,037,100,0001,146,300,000
Segments
Net sales
Global water6,730,300,0005,975,400,000
Global institutional and specialty4,763,400,0004,613,300,000
Global pest elimination1,024,100,000941,300,000
Global life sciences637,700,000558,000,000
Corporate00
Subtotal at fixed currency rates13,155,500,00012,088,000,000
Effect of foreign currency translation20,800,000-202,800,000
Consolidated reported GAAP13,176,300,00011,885,200,000
Operating income
Global water1,090,700,000966,300,000
Global institutional and specialty1,142,300,0001,052,800,000
Global pest elimination196,100,000179,700,000
Global life sciences146,200,000105,000,000
Corporate-386,700,000-234,300,000
Subtotal at fixed currency rates2,188,600,0002,069,500,000
Effect of foreign currency translation1,800,000-43,900,000
Consolidated reported GAAP2,190,400,0002,025,600,000

ECL trailing twelve month income statement and cash flow

Derived by AI from the figures the filings report. No filing prints these, so none of them is linked.

Twelve months ended September 30, 2026
Period start2025-10-01
Period end2026-09-30
Period typetrailing twelve months
Source accession10-Q
Income statement
Net sales17,372,300,000
Cost of sales9,738,700,000
Gross profit7,633,600,000
Operating income2,902,400,000
Net income including noncontrolling interest2,098,300,000
Net income attributable to ecolab2,082,700,000
Dividends declared per share2.92
Cash flow
Operating cash flow3,029,200,000
Capital expenditures-1,234,100,000
Free cash flow1,795,100,000
  • Derivation. Fiscal 2025 (10-K, accession 0001104659-26-018357) plus the nine months ended September 30, 2026 less the nine months ended September 30, 2025 (10-Q, accession 0001628280-26-068208). Dividends declared per share are summed the same way; diluted EPS is not presented for this period because per-share earnings do not add across periods with different share counts.

Adjustments

Splits appliednone
ADR ration/a
FXn/a
StatementNone required: Ecolab reports in U.S. dollars, its common stock trades directly on the NYSE rather than as American depositary shares, and no stock split occurred over the periods presented.

Notes

  • Sources: the three fiscal years come from Ecolab's FY2025 Form 10-K (accession 0001104659-26-018357); the third quarters of 2026 and 2025, the nine-month periods and the September 30, 2026 balance sheet come from the Q3 2026 Form 10-Q (accession 0001628280-26-068208). The 10-K presents balance sheets only at December 31, 2025 and 2024, so FY2023 carries income statement, cash flow and segment figures but no balance sheet.
  • The 10-Q's December 31, 2025 balance sheet column matches the 10-K's line for line; no period presented here has been restated.
  • net_income_attributable_to_ecolab is the earnings-per-share numerator (net income attributable to Ecolab); net_income_including_noncontrolling_interest is the line before the noncontrolling interest's share is deducted.
  • Ecolab does not print a gross profit line. gross_profit here is net sales less total cost of sales, where cost of sales includes special charges recorded there (for example $7.7 million in 2025 and $1.5 million in the third quarter of 2026).
  • Sign conventions: expense lines are positive. other_income_expense keeps the filing's caption, 'Other (income) expense', so a negative value is net other income. special_gains_and_charges is positive for a net charge and negative for a net gain (FY2024: a net gain of $188.9 million). In the cash flow block, outflows such as capital expenditures, dividends and share repurchases are negative, as printed.
  • free_cash_flow is computed here as cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. total_debt is short-term debt plus long-term debt as shown on the balance sheet; net_debt is total debt less cash and cash equivalents.
  • Weighted-average share counts and shares outstanding are printed in millions to one decimal place, so net income divided by diluted shares reproduces the reported diluted EPS only to within rounding. The 10-Q cover reports 280,467,785 common shares outstanding as of September 30, 2026.
  • Dividends declared per share are taken from the footnotes to the consolidated statements of equity: $2.68, $2.36 and $2.16 for 2025, 2024 and 2023 (10-K), and $0.73 and $0.65 for the third quarters of 2026 and 2025 and $2.19 and $1.95 for the first nine months (10-Q).
  • Segment figures are the reportable-segment tables, which Ecolab measures at fixed management currency exchange rates and reconciles to reported GAAP results through an 'effect of foreign currency translation' line. Corporate carries special (gains) and charges and amortization of intangible assets from certain acquisitions not allocated to segments; Corporate net sales in 2023 ($42.4 million) are sales to ChampionX under a transitional supply agreement.
  • The annual segment figures are the 10-K's, valued at 2025 management rates. The quarterly and nine-month segment figures are the 10-Q's, valued at 2026 management rates, so annual and quarterly segment figures are not on the same currency basis. The 10-Q also recasts full-year 2025 at 2026 rates (for example Global Water net sales of $8,107.7 million against $7,679.9 million at 2025 rates); this record keeps the 10-K's annual presentation.
  • Effective January 1, 2026, Ecolab divided its former Light & Heavy operating segment into Heavy Water, Light Water and High-Tech, all of which remain in the Global Water reportable segment; the 10-Q recasts prior periods to that presentation.
  • On July 2, 2026 Ecolab completed its acquisition of CoolIT Systems, a data center liquid cooling company, paying $4,627 million in cash net of cash acquired; the business became part of the Global Water segment in the third quarter of 2026. In May 2026 Ecolab issued $5.0 billion of fixed-rate notes, which the 10-Q says were used to fund the acquisition and for general corporate purposes. Goodwill rose to $12,687.6 million at September 30, 2026 from $9,227.0 million at December 31, 2025, and long-term debt to $11,915.3 million from $7,365.9 million.
  • Interest expense, net for the first nine months of 2026 includes $6.6 million of special charges related to debt used to fund the CoolIT Systems acquisition.

Uncertainties

  • No three-month cash flow figures are given for the third quarter of either year: the 10-Q prints its cash flow statement for the nine months only, and the six-month figures needed to isolate the quarter are not among the filings this record is built from. Cash flow is therefore shown for the fiscal years, the nine-month periods and the trailing twelve months only.
  • There is no balance sheet for September 30, 2025: the 10-Q compares September 30, 2026 with December 31, 2025 only.
  • Annual and quarterly segment figures are stated at different fixed management currency rates (2025 rates in the 10-K, 2026 rates in the 10-Q), so a segment's quarterly figures should not be compared directly with its annual figures.

Company details

NameEcolab Inc.
TickerECL
CIK0000031462
ExchangeNYSE
StateMinnesota
IncorporationDelaware
SIC2840
OfficeIndustrial Applications and Services
IndustrySoap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics

Fiscal period

Fiscal year2026
Fiscal periodQ3
TagFY26Q3
Period end2026-09-30
Form10-Q
Accession0001628280-26-068208
Fiscal year end1231
Sourcefacts

Source filings

RoleCurrentFormFiscal yearFiscal periodTagPeriod endFiledAccessionSource
annualno10-K2025FYFY252025-12-312026-02-230001104659-26-018357reported
quarterlyyes10-Q2026Q3FY26Q32026-09-302026-10-290001628280-26-068208facts

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