Ecolab

Ecolab sells water, hygiene and infection prevention products and services to customers in more than 170 countries. It has four reportable segments: Global Water, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Pest Elimination and Global Life Sciences. Global Water includes Heavy Water, Light Water, High-Tech, Food & Beverage and Paper. High-Tech serves chip factories and data centers.

Ecolab bought Ovivo Electronics, an ultrapure water business for chip factories, on December 16, 2025, and CoolIT Systems, a maker of liquid cooling systems for data centers, on July 2, 2026. Net sales were $13.18 billion in the first nine months of 2026. Ecolab has about 48,000 employees, and its headquarters is in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The market prices Ecolab for the cost and the debt of its move into data center cooling. Ecolab paid about $4.75 billion in cash for CoolIT Systems, which the company said is 29 times CoolIT's estimated adjusted EBITDA for the next 12 months. It financed the deal with new debt, so total debt rose to $13.19 billion at September 30, 2026 from $8.24 billion at December 31, 2025. Amortization and financing costs of CoolIT lowered the 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $8.10 to $8.20, from $8.43 to $8.63 in February 2026.

Commodity costs and disruption in the Middle East also put pressure on margins in 2026. For the gap to close, three things must be true. Organic sales growth must reach the upper end of the 5% to 7% target in 2027, and the adjusted operating income margin must reach 20%, as the company expects. Ovivo Electronics and CoolIT must add about two percentage points to annual organic sales growth one year after each closing, as the company expects.

Ecolab must bring net debt back to about 2 times adjusted EBITDA by the end of the second year after the CoolIT closing, which is mid-2028. The Q4 2026 report and the 2027 outlook, expected in early February 2027, are the next test. The first full year of CoolIT, in July 2027, is a second test. If these checks pass, the gap can close over the next four to six quarters.

The main reason it may not close is slower data center or chip factory spending, which can lower the growth that justified the CoolIT price.

1. Feb 9, 2027 · est.Pending

   Q4 2026 results and 2027 outlookQ4 adjusted diluted EPS within $2.13 to $2.23 and a 2027 outlook with organic sales growth near the top of 5% to 7% and adjusted EPS growth of 12% to 15% pass; a lower outlook or slower High-Tech growth fail.
2. Jul 2027 · est.Pending

   One year of CoolITCoolIT and Ovivo Electronics that add about two percentage points to organic sales growth, as the company expects, pass; slower data center sales or a goodwill impairment fail.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

• October 27, 2026Ecolab reported Q3 2026 results. Reported sales rose 13% to $4.69 billion, and organic sales rose 7%, with volume up 2% and pricing up 5%. Organic sales of Global High-Tech rose 63%. Reported diluted EPS fell 5% to $1.95, and adjusted diluted EPS rose 5% to $2.18, after a headwind of about 10% from CoolIT amortization and financing costs. Ecolab narrowed its 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook to $8.10 to $8.20.
• July 28, 2026Ecolab reported Q2 2026 results. Reported sales rose 10% to $4.4 billion, organic sales rose 5%, and adjusted diluted EPS rose 11% to $2.09. Ecolab raised its 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook to $8.05 to $8.25, from $8.03 to $8.23. This outlook includes the cost of the CoolIT acquisition.
• July 2, 2026Ecolab completed the acquisition of CoolIT Systems. CoolIT designs and makes liquid cooling systems for data centers, such as coolant distribution units and cold plates. The business is now part of the Global Water segment.

Last earnings

October 27, 2026 (8-K on sec.gov)

Next earnings

Expected about February 9, 2027. The company has not confirmed the date.

• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled October 27, 2026 · ecl-20261027
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Jun 30, 2026Filed August 6, 2026 · ecl-20260630
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled July 28, 2026 · ecl-20260728
• 8-KOther company newsFiled May 29, 2026 · Read it on sec.gov
• 8-KChange of directors or officers and Shareholder vote resultsFiled May 11, 2026 · ecl-20260507x8k
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Mar 31, 2026Filed May 7, 2026 · ecl-20260331x10q
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled April 28, 2026 · ecl-20260428x8k
• 8-KNew material agreement and New debt or financial obligationFiled April 15, 2026 · ecl-20260410x8k
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled March 27, 2026 · ecl-20260327x8k
• 8-KChange of directors or officersFiled February 25, 2026 · ecl-20260220x8k

Every filing on SEC EDGAR (CIK 31462)

• Ecolab paid about 29 times CoolIT's estimated adjusted EBITDA for the next 12 months. CoolIT sells only to data centers. If spending on AI data centers slows, or if competitors win cooling orders, CoolIT's growth can fall short and Ecolab can record an impairment of goodwill. Goodwill was $12.69 billion at September 30, 2026.
• Total debt was $13.19 billion at September 30, 2026, and net interest expense was $124.8 million in Q3 2026, up from $55.3 million a year earlier. More debt leaves less cash for buybacks and other acquisitions until the company lowers leverage.
• Commodity costs rose in 2026, and the conflict in the Middle East disrupted customer operations. Ecolab used price increases and an energy surcharge to keep its organic gross margin stable. If costs rise faster than prices, margins can fall.
• The Institutional business depends on restaurants and hotels. In Q3 2026, the company said that restaurant foot traffic in North America fell by a mid-single-digit percentage. A weaker consumer can lower demand in this business.

Ecolab funds itself with senior notes, commercial paper and bank lines. Total debt was $13.19 billion at September 30, 2026: short-term debt of $1.28 billion and long-term debt of $11.92 billion. Read more

Dividend yield

1.0% (last 12 months, at today’s price of $292.41)

Paid per share

$2.92 in the last 12 months (4 payments)

Current annual rate

$2.92 ($0.73 × 4 a year)

Payout ratio

37% of the last fiscal year’s earnings (the year that ended December 31, 2025)

Latest ex-dividend date

September 15, 2026, $0.73 per share

Dividends per share by year

Over the last 5 years, the dividend grew by about 8.7% a year. Over the last 10 years, the dividend grew by about 7.6% a year.

Source: company filings and market data, read on October 29, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the first day a buyer no longer gets the next payment.