ECL Value Scorecard - Ecolab

Value Scorecard · run 2026-10-18

13 value checks: 12 scored 1 to 5, plus moat evidence

42/60

moderate value score

Earnings & returns

EPS Trend

4/5

Diluted EPS: $3.81 (2022), $4.79 (2023), $7.37 (2024), $7.28 (2025). It rose every year but one and ended above 2022; the framework scores that as 4.

ROE Trend

4/5

ROE (net income / common equity): 15.1% (2022), 17.1% (2023), 24.1% (2024), 21.2% (2025). Median 19.2%, lowest 15.1%; the framework scores a median 15-20% as 4.

ROIC

3/5

ROIC of 14.3%: operating income of $2.74B divided by $19.16B of capital (total assets $24.70B minus current liabilities $5.53B), fiscal year to Dec 31, 2025, as filed in the 10-K (SEC EDGAR). The framework scores 10-15% as 3.

Profit Margins

4/5

Net margin of 12.6%; the framework scores 10-20% as 4; gross margin 44.2%, operating margin 18.5%.

Balance sheet & cash

Debt-to-Equity

3/5

Debt-to-equity of 1.38; the framework scores 0.8-1.5 as 3 (total debt $13.92B, total cash $5.14B).

Free Cash Flow

5/5

Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditure): $1.08B (2022), $1.64B (2023), $1.82B (2024), $1.90B (2025). It rose every year; the framework scores that as 5.

Retained Earnings

5/5

Retained earnings, as filed in the 10-Ks (SEC EDGAR): $9.32B (2022), $10.08B (2023), $11.52B (2024), $12.83B (2025). It rose every year; the framework scores that as 5.

Valuation models

Graham IV

4/5

IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y) = $7.45 x (8.5 + 2 x 20.0) x (4.4 / 4.5) = $353.30 (EPS CAGR 23.3% capped at 20%). Current price $288.89; price is 18.2% below the model value.

DCF Value

1/5

FCF/share = $5.261, stage 1 growth = 2.5% for 5 years, terminal growth = 3%, discount rate = 10%. Stage 1 PV = $21.39, PV of terminal value = $54.38, DCF value = $75.77. Current price $288.89; price is 281.3% above the model value.

Margin of Safety

3/5

Graham value $353.30 (price is 18.2% below the model value); DCF value $75.77 (price is 281.3% above the model value).

Price-to-Book

1/5

P/B of 8.05; the framework scores above 5.0 as 1.

Business quality

Moat Evidence

Not scored

A moat (a brand, a network, switching costs, patents, scale, a licence) is not a number in the filings, so Valerius doesn’t score it. Below are the figures and the words moat analysis starts from, from the company’s own 10-K filings. The conclusion is yours.

Return on capital, each year

Above 15% in 1 of 10 years (2016-2025); lowest 9.1%, highest 15.9%.

Gross margin, each year

Between 37.8% and 44.5% over 10 years (a range of 6.7 points).

Competition, in the company’s own words · 10-K filed Feb 23, 2026

In general, the markets in which the businesses in our Global Water reportable segment compete are led by a few large companies, with the rest of the market served by smaller entities focusing on more limited geographic regions or a smaller subset of products and services. Our businesses in this segment compete on the basis of their demonstrated value, technical expertise, innovation, digital technology, chemical

The opening of the company’s “Competition” section in its 10-K, quoted word for word, not summarized or edited. It is the company’s own description, not Valerius’s view, and may include the company’s expectations. Open the filing.

Return on capital = operating income / (total assets − current liabilities), the ROIC row’s definition; 15% is the framework’s return threshold. Gross margin = gross profit / revenue. Both from each year’s 10-K via SEC EDGAR. Moat analysis commonly looks at whether returns and margins held up over many years. These figures don’t say whether the company has an advantage, what it is, or whether it will last.

Capital Allocation

5/5

Capital allocation, 2022-2025: dividends or buybacks paid in every year (pass); $4.94B paid out against $6.44B of free cash flow (pass); total debt $9.03B to $9.00B, down 0.3%, 2.3x EBITDA (pass: not up more than 10%); shares outstanding 0.28B to 0.28B, down 0.9% (pass). 4 of 4 tests passed; the framework scores that as 5.

Filings

Company notices to the SEC

Not scored

Three kinds of event the company reported to the SEC in the last 5 years, from its filings on SEC EDGAR.

These are events the company reported to the SEC. An auditor change or a late filing can have many causes; each date links to the filing, where the company explains it. Valerius does not score these.

How the Graham and DCF values were calculated

  Graham Formula:
    IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y)
    EPS = $7.45, g = 20.0%, Y = 4.5
    g capped at 20.0% (3-year EPS CAGR was 23.3%)
    IV = $353.30
    Current price $288.89 vs Graham value $353.30 — price is 18.2% below the model value.

  DCF:
    FCF/share = $5.261
    Stage 1 growth = 2.5% for 5 years | terminal growth = 3.0% | discount rate = 10.0%
      Y1: $5.393 → PV $4.902
      Y2: $5.527 → PV $4.568
      Y3: $5.666 → PV $4.257
      Y4: $5.807 → PV $3.966
      Y5: $5.952 → PV $3.696
    Stage 1 PV sum = $21.39
    Terminal value at end of Y5 = $87.59
    PV of terminal value = $54.38
    DCF value = $75.77
    Current price $288.89 vs DCF value $75.77 — price is 281.3% above the model value.

Data from yfinance summary figures and financial statements, and from the company’s 10-K filings via SEC EDGAR; computed at a price of $288.89. Every score is calculated from the figures by the framework’s fixed rules, and the explanation beside it is generated from the same figures: Graham value, DCF value, margin of safety, ROIC, profit margins, debt-to-equity, price-to-book, EPS trend, ROE trend, free cash flow, retained earnings and capital allocation. No AI is involved in this scorecard. The moat is shown as evidence, without a score. Read each score with the figures beside it. Intrinsic value calculations are model outputs based on stated assumptions, not predictions.

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