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In the last reported quarter, the company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.08 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.9%. Over the trailing four quarters, its earnings outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on two occasions, missed once and broke even in the other, delivering an earnings surprise of 0.2%, on average.
Let’s see how things have shaped up for Ecolab prior to this announcement.
Ecolab’s Global Water
The segment witnessed a sales uptick in the fourth quarter of 2025 on both reported and organic bases, driven by accelerating Food & Beverage sales growth and continued strong momentum in Global High-Tech, which more than offset headwinds from basic industries and Paper. The segment is expected to witness continued sales growth in the first quarter of 2026, supported by sustained momentum across key end markets and easing prior headwinds, including a gradual recovery in basic industries and Paper.
Light & Heavy is expected to remain a key contributor in the to-be-reported quarter, aided by continued double-digit growth in Global High-Tech, supported by strong demand across semiconductor manufacturing and data center-related applications. Additionally, improving downstream activity and steady manufacturing trends are likely to support volume growth in the quarter. The normalization of distributor inventory impacts and improving end-market conditions are expected to further aid overall segment performance.
Food & Beverage is likely to maintain its growth trajectory, supported by robust new business wins and continued benefits from the One Ecolab growth strategy. Pricing actions, backed by strong customer value delivery, are also expected to contribute to revenue growth in the quarter.
The segment is also expected to benefit from continued strength in Ecolab’s growth engines, particularly Global High-Tech and digital solutions, which are witnessing strong demand driven by AI-led infrastructure expansion. These factors, combined with improving volume trends, are likely to drive an acceleration in Global Water’s operating income growth in the first quarter of 2026.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter of 2026 Global Water revenues is currently pegged at $1.97 billion.
ECL’s Global Pest Elimination
In fourth-quarter 2025, the uptick in the segment’s fixed currency sales reflected strong organic growth, driven by robust gains across food & beverage, restaurants and food retail customers, supported by the One Ecolab growth strategy. We expect this momentum to have continued in the to-be-reported quarter, thereby driving up revenues.
On fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call in February, management highlighted continued strength in Pest Elimination, with growth supported by strong sales gains, improved productivity and ongoing investments in pest intelligence solutions. ECL’s focus on expanding its digital pest intelligence platform and strong customer demand are likely to have supported growth in the first quarter of 2026, which looks promising for the segment’s near-term performance.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2026 Global Pest Elimination revenues is currently pegged at $296 million, suggesting an uptick of 6.5% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Other Factors Affecting Ecolab
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Global Institutional & Specialty segment delivered steady sales growth, though performance was impacted by a short-term decline in distributor inventories, which masked underlying demand strength. Management expects this inventory-related headwind to largely normalize in the first quarter of 2026, which is likely to support improved volume trends and drive revenues in the to-be-reported quarter.
On fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, management highlighted continued strong momentum in growth engines, including Global High-Tech and Ecolab Digital, which are benefiting from increasing adoption of advanced technologies and digital solutions. These segments are expected to maintain their strength in the first quarter, supported by robust demand trends and ongoing innovation-led offerings.
Additionally, pricing remains a key lever, with continued value pricing expected to contribute to sales growth. However, elevated input and logistics costs, driven by rising global energy prices, prompted ECL to implement a 10-14% energy surcharge effective April 2026, which may partially offset cost pressures while supporting margins.
Meanwhile, pressures in basic industries and Paper are expected to persist in the near term, though they are anticipated to gradually ease through early 2026, which may provide some relief to overall performance in the first quarter.
ECL’s Estimate Picture
For first-quarter 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.02 billion for total revenues implies an improvement of 8.9% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.
The consensus estimate for EPS is pegged at $1.70, implying an improvement of 13.3% from the prior-year period’s reported number.
What Our Model Suggests About Ecolab
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Ecolab this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat.
Earnings ESP: Ecolab has an Earnings ESP of +0.06%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Over the past three months, Ecolab’s shares have lost 4.3%, underperforming the Chemical - Specialty’s 4.4% growth. ECL’s shares underperformed the Zacks Basic Materials sector and the S&P 500’s decline of 1.2% and gain of 2.1%, respectively.
Three Months Price Comparison
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Ecolab’s peers like Hawkins, Inc. (HWKN - Free Report) , Celanese Corporation (CE - Free Report) and Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) have all outperformed the company. HWKN, CE and LIN’s shares are up 9.3%, 37.2% and 11.7%, respectively, in the same time frame.
Ecolab’s Key Valuation Metric
From a valuation standpoint, ECL’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) is 30.6X, a premium to the industry's average of 22.9X, but lower than its five-year median of 32.9X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company is trading at a premium to its peers, Celanese and Linde, but is at a discount to Hawkins. Hawkins’ P/E currently stands at 38.3X, while the ratios for Celanese and Linde stand at 12.3X and 27.8X, respectively.
This suggests that investors may be paying a higher price relative to the company's expected sales growth.
ECL’s Long-Term Investment Visibility
On fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, management emphasized that Ecolab’s growth engines — particularly Global High-Tech, Ecolab Digital, Life Sciences and Pest Elimination — are expected to deliver strong double-digit growth, supported by increasing demand for advanced technologies and digital solutions. The company highlighted that Global High-Tech is benefiting significantly from the rapid expansion of AI-driven infrastructure, positioning ECL to capitalize on opportunities across semiconductor manufacturing and data centers.
Ecolab’s acquisition of CoolIT Systems is expected to further strengthen its position in the high-growth data center cooling market by creating an end-to-end cooling platform that integrates liquid cooling technologies with ECL’s water, chemistry and digital capabilities. This combined offering is likely to enhance the company’s ability to improve performance, reliability and efficiency for customers, thereby expanding its addressable market and supporting long-term revenue growth.
Additionally, ECL continues to invest in AI-enabled and digital water solutions, such as the Water Navigator IQ platform, which provides predictive analytics and enterprise-wide insights to optimize water usage and operational performance. These innovations are expected to drive increased adoption of Ecolab’s solutions across industries, particularly in water-intensive sectors.
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Can Strength in Global High-Tech Drive ECL Stock Before Q1 Earnings?
Key Takeaways
Ecolab, Inc. (ECL - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2026 results on April 28, before the opening bell.
In the last reported quarter, the company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.08 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.9%. Over the trailing four quarters, its earnings outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on two occasions, missed once and broke even in the other, delivering an earnings surprise of 0.2%, on average.
Let’s see how things have shaped up for Ecolab prior to this announcement.
Ecolab’s Global Water
The segment witnessed a sales uptick in the fourth quarter of 2025 on both reported and organic bases, driven by accelerating Food & Beverage sales growth and continued strong momentum in Global High-Tech, which more than offset headwinds from basic industries and Paper. The segment is expected to witness continued sales growth in the first quarter of 2026, supported by sustained momentum across key end markets and easing prior headwinds, including a gradual recovery in basic industries and Paper.
Light & Heavy is expected to remain a key contributor in the to-be-reported quarter, aided by continued double-digit growth in Global High-Tech, supported by strong demand across semiconductor manufacturing and data center-related applications. Additionally, improving downstream activity and steady manufacturing trends are likely to support volume growth in the quarter. The normalization of distributor inventory impacts and improving end-market conditions are expected to further aid overall segment performance.
Food & Beverage is likely to maintain its growth trajectory, supported by robust new business wins and continued benefits from the One Ecolab growth strategy. Pricing actions, backed by strong customer value delivery, are also expected to contribute to revenue growth in the quarter.
The segment is also expected to benefit from continued strength in Ecolab’s growth engines, particularly Global High-Tech and digital solutions, which are witnessing strong demand driven by AI-led infrastructure expansion. These factors, combined with improving volume trends, are likely to drive an acceleration in Global Water’s operating income growth in the first quarter of 2026.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter of 2026 Global Water revenues is currently pegged at $1.97 billion.
ECL’s Global Pest Elimination
In fourth-quarter 2025, the uptick in the segment’s fixed currency sales reflected strong organic growth, driven by robust gains across food & beverage, restaurants and food retail customers, supported by the One Ecolab growth strategy. We expect this momentum to have continued in the to-be-reported quarter, thereby driving up revenues.
On fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call in February, management highlighted continued strength in Pest Elimination, with growth supported by strong sales gains, improved productivity and ongoing investments in pest intelligence solutions. ECL’s focus on expanding its digital pest intelligence platform and strong customer demand are likely to have supported growth in the first quarter of 2026, which looks promising for the segment’s near-term performance.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2026 Global Pest Elimination revenues is currently pegged at $296 million, suggesting an uptick of 6.5% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Other Factors Affecting Ecolab
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Global Institutional & Specialty segment delivered steady sales growth, though performance was impacted by a short-term decline in distributor inventories, which masked underlying demand strength. Management expects this inventory-related headwind to largely normalize in the first quarter of 2026, which is likely to support improved volume trends and drive revenues in the to-be-reported quarter.
On fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, management highlighted continued strong momentum in growth engines, including Global High-Tech and Ecolab Digital, which are benefiting from increasing adoption of advanced technologies and digital solutions. These segments are expected to maintain their strength in the first quarter, supported by robust demand trends and ongoing innovation-led offerings.
Additionally, pricing remains a key lever, with continued value pricing expected to contribute to sales growth. However, elevated input and logistics costs, driven by rising global energy prices, prompted ECL to implement a 10-14% energy surcharge effective April 2026, which may partially offset cost pressures while supporting margins.
Meanwhile, pressures in basic industries and Paper are expected to persist in the near term, though they are anticipated to gradually ease through early 2026, which may provide some relief to overall performance in the first quarter.
ECL’s Estimate Picture
For first-quarter 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.02 billion for total revenues implies an improvement of 8.9% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.
The consensus estimate for EPS is pegged at $1.70, implying an improvement of 13.3% from the prior-year period’s reported number.
What Our Model Suggests About Ecolab
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Ecolab this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat.
Earnings ESP: Ecolab has an Earnings ESP of +0.06%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Ecolab Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Ecolab Inc. price-eps-surprise | Ecolab Inc. Quote
ECL’s Share Price Performance
Over the past three months, Ecolab’s shares have lost 4.3%, underperforming the Chemical - Specialty’s 4.4% growth. ECL’s shares underperformed the Zacks Basic Materials sector and the S&P 500’s decline of 1.2% and gain of 2.1%, respectively.
Three Months Price Comparison
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Ecolab’s peers like Hawkins, Inc. (HWKN - Free Report) , Celanese Corporation (CE - Free Report) and Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) have all outperformed the company. HWKN, CE and LIN’s shares are up 9.3%, 37.2% and 11.7%, respectively, in the same time frame.
Ecolab’s Key Valuation Metric
From a valuation standpoint, ECL’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) is 30.6X, a premium to the industry's average of 22.9X, but lower than its five-year median of 32.9X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company is trading at a premium to its peers, Celanese and Linde, but is at a discount to Hawkins. Hawkins’ P/E currently stands at 38.3X, while the ratios for Celanese and Linde stand at 12.3X and 27.8X, respectively.
This suggests that investors may be paying a higher price relative to the company's expected sales growth.
ECL’s Long-Term Investment Visibility
On fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, management emphasized that Ecolab’s growth engines — particularly Global High-Tech, Ecolab Digital, Life Sciences and Pest Elimination — are expected to deliver strong double-digit growth, supported by increasing demand for advanced technologies and digital solutions. The company highlighted that Global High-Tech is benefiting significantly from the rapid expansion of AI-driven infrastructure, positioning ECL to capitalize on opportunities across semiconductor manufacturing and data centers.
Ecolab’s acquisition of CoolIT Systems is expected to further strengthen its position in the high-growth data center cooling market by creating an end-to-end cooling platform that integrates liquid cooling technologies with ECL’s water, chemistry and digital capabilities. This combined offering is likely to enhance the company’s ability to improve performance, reliability and efficiency for customers, thereby expanding its addressable market and supporting long-term revenue growth.
Additionally, ECL continues to invest in AI-enabled and digital water solutions, such as the Water Navigator IQ platform, which provides predictive analytics and enterprise-wide insights to optimize water usage and operational performance. These innovations are expected to drive increased adoption of Ecolab’s solutions across industries, particularly in water-intensive sectors.