Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusBuy37 ratings
Bullish2978.4%
Neutral718.9%
Bearish12.7%
Ecolab Inc. · ECL · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Ecolab Q1 FY2026: 13% EPS Growth, CoolIT Beats, Margin Path to 20% On Track
Ecolab's Q1 FY2026 results reinforce its transition toward a higher-growth, higher-margin profile centered on its high-tech water platform. The CoolIT acquisition is already exceeding expectations with near triple-digit revenue growth, and combined with Ovivo forms a $1.5 billion high-tech water business. Management maintained full-year guidance of 12-15% EPS growth and reaffirmed the path to a 20% operating-income margin by 2027. An energy surcharge launched in April is expected to fully offset commodity cost inflation by end of Q2, addressing a key investor concern. However, the post-earnings market reaction was modest -- an abnormal move of just +0.14% with subsequent drift of -1.64% -- suggesting the market is waiting for proof that H2 margin acceleration materializes as promised.
Reported Before market openNYSEBasic Materials
$79.62B market cap
100quality score
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationEcolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Global Water, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Pest Elimination, and Global Life Sciences. The Global Water segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, primary metals and mining, power generation, global refining, petrochemical, pulp and paper industries.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$1.70
Consensus $2
EPS surprise
0.0%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$4.07B
Consensus $4.03B
Revenue surprise
+1.0%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$283.07Current
$164Low
$279.13Average
$426High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 29, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oppenheimer | Outperform | Perform | Upgrade | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 9, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 7, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 24, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jun 10, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | May 27, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 20, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 21, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Neutral | Upgrade | Mar 24, 2026 |
| Baird | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Mar 24, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 18, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Exane BNP Paribas | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 12, 2026 |
| BNP Paribas | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 12, 2026 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 11, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Mizuho | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 15, 2025 |
| Seaport Global | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Apr 21, 2025 |
| Redburn Atlantic | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 24, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Feb 24, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Equal Weight | Upgrade | Jan 28, 2025 |
| Raymond James | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 3, 2024 |
| Northcoast Research | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 5, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Nov 7, 2022 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 31, 2022 |
| Edward Jones | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Mar 17, 2022 |
| Gabelli & Co. | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Jan 15, 2021 |
| CFRA | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Apr 30, 2020 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Feb 19, 2020 |
| Nomura | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Aug 7, 2019 |
| Citi | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Aug 2, 2019 |
| Canaccord Genuity | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 1, 2019 |
| Longbow Research | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 22, 2017 |
| Macquarie | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Aug 25, 2016 |
| Goldman Sachs | Sell | Sell | Maintain | Aug 3, 2016 |
| Sterne Agee CRT | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Mar 22, 2016 |
| PiperJaffray | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Nov 3, 2015 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $283.07. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oppenheimer | Scott Schneeberger | $320 | $275.71 | +13.0% | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $335 | $272.13 | +18.3% | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Hass | $275 | $264.44 | -2.9% | Jun 10, 2026 |
| UBS | Joshua Spector | $325 | $254.23 | +14.8% | May 27, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $345 | $250.22 | +21.9% | May 20, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $293 | $272.47 | +3.5% | Apr 9, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $312 | $305 | +10.2% | Feb 18, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | David Begleiter | $325 | $300.28 | +14.8% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | John McNulty | $345 | $300.69 | +21.9% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Seaport Global | Analyst unavailable | $340 | $304.59 | +20.1% | Feb 12, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $312 | $300.56 | +10.2% | Feb 11, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $330 | $300.64 | +16.6% | Feb 11, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $335 | $299.62 | +18.3% | Feb 11, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $327 | $299.62 | +15.5% | Feb 11, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $337 | $299.62 | +19.1% | Feb 11, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $295 | $270.96 | +4.2% | Jan 7, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Eric Boyes | $300 | $256.4 | +6.0% | Nov 3, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $291 | $256.18 | +2.8% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| BMO Capital | John McNulty | $307 | $260.56 | +8.5% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Roberts | $315 | $268.28 | +11.3% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $300 | $265.41 | +6.0% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $307 | $268.28 | +8.5% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $300 | $268.28 | +6.0% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| UBS | Joshua Spector | $299 | $278.91 | +5.6% | Oct 6, 2025 |
| BMO Capital | John McNulty | $310 | $275.35 | +9.5% | Sep 8, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Andrew Andersen | $426 | $265.09 | +50.5% | Jul 30, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $260 | $262.38 | -8.1% | May 20, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $277 | $253.66 | -2.1% | Apr 2, 2025 |
| UBS | Joshua Spector | $276 | $244.5 | -2.5% | Nov 4, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | John McNulty | $279 | $254.46 | -1.4% | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Pat Cunningham | $292 | $253.76 | +3.2% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Vincent Andrews | $240 | $254.26 | -15.2% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Jefferies | Laurence Alexander | $310 | $257.1 | +9.5% | Oct 18, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $295 | $251.02 | +4.2% | Oct 7, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Charles Neivert | $305 | $254.82 | +7.7% | Sep 26, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $306 | $250.54 | +8.1% | Sep 16, 2024 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Roberts | $291 | $250.87 | +2.8% | Sep 3, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $270 | $237.24 | -4.6% | Aug 12, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Steve Byrne | $272 | $228.86 | -3.9% | Jul 31, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | David Begleiter | $245 | $228.86 | -13.4% | Jul 31, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Pat Cunningham | $265 | $228.86 | -6.4% | Jul 31, 2024 |
| UBS | Joshua Spector | $282 | $242.84 | -0.4% | Jul 9, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Shlomo Rosenbaum | $283 | $238.19 | -0.0% | Jul 8, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $260 | $234.69 | -8.1% | May 21, 2024 |
| UBS | Joshua Spector | $270 | $234.69 | -4.6% | May 21, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | John McNulty | $234 | $224.84 | -17.3% | May 1, 2024 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Roberts | $260 | $220.75 | -8.1% | Apr 12, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Charles Neivert | $260 | $227.45 | -8.1% | Apr 3, 2024 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $260 | $222.09 | -8.1% | Feb 28, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $213 | $188.61 | -24.8% | Jul 18, 2023 |
| Mizuho Securities | Christopher Parkinson | $177 | $173.36 | -37.5% | May 3, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $168 | $152.72 | -40.7% | Jan 13, 2023 |
| Citigroup | Analyst unavailable | $164 | $150.44 | -42.1% | Dec 15, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | David Begleiter | $135 | $142.98 | -52.3% | Nov 2, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $190 | $162.77 | -32.9% | Jul 26, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | John Roberts | $195 | $148.17 | -31.1% | Jun 20, 2022 |
| UBS | Joshua Spector | $205 | $145.63 | -27.6% | Jun 17, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Christopher Parkinson | $198 | $169.34 | -30.1% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $168.47 | -32.9% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Atlantic Equities | Colin Isaac | $210 | $182.95 | -25.8% | Apr 10, 2022 |
| Bank of America Securities | Steve Byrne | $196 | $177.59 | -30.8% | Mar 25, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | David Begleiter | $210 | $178.64 | -25.8% | Feb 20, 2022 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $225 | $182.22 | -20.5% | Feb 16, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Kevin Mcveigh | $215 | $182.22 | -24.0% | Feb 16, 2022 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $198 | $182.66 | -30.1% | Feb 15, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Chris Parkinson | $210 | $182.66 | -25.8% | Feb 15, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Robert Koort | $194 | $194.46 | -31.5% | Jan 21, 2022 |
| Evercore ISI | Stephen Richardson | $235 | $219.64 | -17.0% | Dec 3, 2021 |
| Vertical Research | Kevin McCarthy | $189 | $217.1 | -33.2% | Sep 27, 2021 |
Track every rating change on ECL the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
-0.3%
Event window
SPY move
-0.5%
Same window
Abnormal move
+0.1%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
1.6×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
-1.6%
Up to 20 sessions
ECLSPY benchmark
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Try FN2 freeTranscript intelligence
What changed
Q1 FY2026 delivered 13% adjusted EPS growth to $1.70, in line with consensus, on revenue of $4.07 billion (a ~1% beat). Operating income margin expanded 70 bps to 16.8%. The standout development was CoolIT's near triple-digit sales growth, far exceeding the 30% guidance given at acquisition. An energy surcharge launched in April is expected to fully offset high-single-digit commodity cost inflation by the end of Q2. Guidance was maintained rather than raised, despite the strong quarter. The guidance sentiment shifted from 'raised' in the prior quarter to 'maintained' this quarter.
Guidance delta
Full-year FY2026 EPS growth guidance of 12-15% was maintained, not raised, despite a strong Q1. The operating-income margin target of 20% by 2027 was reaffirmed, with organic margin expansion expected to accelerate in H2. Capex outlook remains stable. Prior quarter guidance was raised; this quarter's maintenance signals management is preserving cushion for commodity cost absorption and integration spending.
Key takeaways
- Q1 FY2026 adjusted EPS grew 13% to $1.70, in line with consensus; revenue of $4.07B beat estimates by approximately 1%.
- Operating income margin expanded 70 bps to 16.8%, on track toward the 20% target by 2027.
- CoolIT sales grew near triple digits, far exceeding the 30% growth guidance provided at acquisition.
- CoolIT and Ovivo together create a $1.5B high-tech water platform expected to add several points of organic growth.
- Energy surcharge launched in April is expected to fully offset high-single-digit commodity cost inflation by end of Q2.
- High-Tech, Life Sciences, and Pest Elimination each delivered double-digit growth in the quarter.
Management priorities
- Complete CoolIT acquisition and integrate with Ovivo into a unified high-tech water business.
- Scale Pest Intelligence to 1 million connected devices by year-end.
- Add capacity for Life Sciences bioprocessing in H2 to sustain double-digit growth.
- Expand Food & Beverage United globally beyond North America.
- Continue One Ecolab rollout to deepen cross-selling and digital adoption.
Related earnings events
Basic MaterialsSources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-29T11:21:07.237270+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-29T11:21:07.234291+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.