Ecolab
ECL · Specialty Chemicals
$288.53
1.3%International Flavors & Fragrances
IFF · Specialty Chemicals
$94.15
0.3%The short version
- Ecolab is the larger business, with $16.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $10.9B for International Flavors & Fragrances.
- Ecolab grew revenue faster (2.2%, against −5.2%).
- Ecolab kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (17.0% operating margin, against −3.5% operating margin).
- Ecolab turned more of its sales into free cash flow (11.8% FCF margin, against 2.4% FCF margin).
- Ecolab earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.8%, against −1.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of International Flavors & Fragrances’s earnings: a P/E of 82.6x against 38.7x for Ecolab.
| Latest fiscal year | ECL · FY25 | IFF · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $81.4B | $24.2B |
| Revenue | $16.1B | $10.9B |
| Free cash flow | $1.9B | $256M |
| Net income | $2.1B | −$359M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 2.2% | −5.2% |
| 5-year growth | 6.4% | 16.5% |
| Share count change | −0.5% | 0.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 44.5% | 36.2% |
| Operating margin | 17.0% | −3.5% |
| Net margin | 12.9% | −3.3% |
| FCF margin | 11.8% | 2.4% |
| Return on capital | 13.8% | −1.4% |
| Return on equity | 22.4% | −2.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $7.6B | $5.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.0x | 9.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.5B | $447M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 38.7x | 82.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
FY16
ECL $13.2B
IFF $3.1B
FY17
ECL $13.8B
IFF $3.4B
FY18
ECL $12.2B
IFF $4.0B
FY19
ECL $12.6B
IFF $5.1B
FY20
ECL $11.8B
IFF $5.1B
FY21
ECL $12.7B
IFF $11.7B
FY22
ECL $14.2B
IFF $12.4B
FY23
ECL $15.3B
IFF $11.5B
FY24
ECL $15.7B
IFF $11.5B
FY25
ECL $16.1B
IFF $10.9B
ECL
IFF
FY16
ECL 14.2%
IFF 17.7%
FY17
ECL 14.1%
IFF 16.3%
FY18
ECL 14.1%
IFF 14.7%
FY19
ECL 14.7%
IFF 12.9%
FY20
ECL 11.8%
IFF 11.1%
FY21
ECL 12.6%
IFF 5.0%
FY22
ECL 11.0%
IFF −10.7%
FY23
ECL 13.0%
IFF −18.4%
FY24
ECL 17.8%
IFF 6.7%
FY25
ECL 17.0%
IFF −3.5%
ECL
IFF
FY16
ECL $1.2B
IFF $424M
FY17
ECL $1.2B
IFF $262M
FY18
ECL $1.5B
IFF $267M
FY19
ECL $1.7B
IFF $463M
FY20
ECL $1.4B
IFF $522M
FY21
ECL $1.4B
IFF $1.0B
FY22
ECL $1.1B
IFF −$107M
FY23
ECL $1.6B
IFF $952M
FY24
ECL $1.8B
IFF $607M
FY25
ECL $1.9B
IFF $256M
ECL
IFF
FY16
ECL 10.6%
IFF 16.7%
FY17
ECL 12.0%
IFF 10.9%
FY18
ECL 9.3%
IFF 6.9%
FY19
ECL 10.3%
IFF 5.5%
FY20
ECL 8.9%
IFF 4.7%
FY21
ECL 9.5%
IFF 2.2%
FY22
ECL 8.4%
IFF −3.5%
FY23
ECL 10.3%
IFF −6.4%
FY24
ECL 15.3%
IFF 2.9%
FY25
ECL 13.8%
IFF −1.4%
ECL
IFF
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