Ecolab vs Westlake
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The short version
- Ecolab is the larger business, with $16.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $11.2B for Westlake.
- Ecolab grew revenue faster (2.2%, against −8.0%).
- Ecolab kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (17.0% operating margin, against −14.1%).
- Ecolab turned more of its sales into free cash flow (11.8% FCF margin, against −4.7%).
- Ecolab earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.8%, against −10.0%).
| Latest fiscal year | ECL · FY25 | WLK · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $81.4B | $8.3B |
| Revenue | $16.1B | $11.2B |
| Free cash flow | $1.9B | −$530M |
| Net income | $2.1B | −$1.5B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 2.2% | −8.0% |
| 5-year growth | 6.4% | 8.3% |
| Share count change | −0.5% | −0.7% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 44.5% | 7.3% |
| Operating margin | 17.0% | −14.1% |
| Net margin | 12.9% | −13.5% |
| FCF margin | 11.8% | −4.7% |
| Return on capital | 13.8% | −10.0% |
| Return on equity | 22.4% | −15.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $7.6B | $2.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.0x | — |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.5B | $335M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 38.7x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 3 |
Revenue
FY16
ECL $13.2B
WLK $5.1B
FY17
ECL $13.8B
WLK $8.0B
FY18
ECL $12.2B
WLK $8.6B
FY19
ECL $12.6B
WLK $8.1B
FY20
ECL $11.8B
WLK $7.5B
FY21
ECL $12.7B
WLK $11.8B
FY22
ECL $14.2B
WLK $15.8B
FY23
ECL $15.3B
WLK $12.5B
FY24
ECL $15.7B
WLK $12.1B
FY25
ECL $16.1B
WLK $11.2B
ECL
WLK
Operating margin
FY16
ECL 14.2%
WLK 11.5%
FY17
ECL 14.1%
WLK 15.2%
FY18
ECL 14.1%
WLK 16.3%
FY19
ECL 14.7%
WLK 8.1%
FY20
ECL 11.8%
WLK 5.7%
FY21
ECL 12.6%
WLK 23.8%
FY22
ECL 11.0%
WLK 19.3%
FY23
ECL 13.0%
WLK 5.8%
FY24
ECL 17.8%
WLK 7.2%
FY25
ECL 17.0%
WLK −14.1%
ECL
WLK
Free cash flow
FY16
ECL $1.2B
WLK $238M
FY17
ECL $1.2B
WLK $951M
FY18
ECL $1.5B
WLK $707M
FY19
ECL $1.7B
WLK $514M
FY20
ECL $1.4B
WLK $772M
FY21
ECL $1.4B
WLK $1.7B
FY22
ECL $1.1B
WLK $2.3B
FY23
ECL $1.6B
WLK $1.3B
FY24
ECL $1.8B
WLK $306M
FY25
ECL $1.9B
WLK −$530M
ECL
WLK
Return on capital
FY16
ECL 10.6%
WLK 8.4%
FY17
ECL 12.0%
WLK 16.4%
FY18
ECL 9.3%
WLK 13.9%
FY19
ECL 10.3%
WLK 6.2%
FY20
ECL 8.9%
WLK 4.8%
FY21
ECL 9.5%
WLK 21.0%
FY22
ECL 8.4%
WLK 19.1%
FY23
ECL 10.3%
WLK 4.3%
FY24
ECL 15.3%
WLK 4.8%
FY25
ECL 13.8%
WLK −10.0%
ECL
WLK
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.