CTAS vs JCI vs ECL Stock Comparison

Cintas, Johnson Controls International and Ecolab Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (IRM) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
CTAS Cintas Corp
$224.10 +16.7% 1M +16.5% 1Y
Market cap
$90.42B
P/E
43.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Facility Services Industrials
6 wins
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$288.57 +4.3% 1M +4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$81.05B
P/E
38.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Water Treatment Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cintas leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Cintas 6, Johnson Controls International 4, Ecolab 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCTASJCIECLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $90.42B $89.59B $81.05B CTAS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 43.9x 25.0x 38.3x JCI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.3x 29.4x 36.5x JCI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +6.8% +7.1% CTAS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% 14.3% 12.6% CTAS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 28.2% 10.5% 11.0% CTAS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 2.3x 2.1x CTAS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% JCI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.5% +30.2% +4.9% JCI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.0%/yr +14.3%/yr +5.4%/yr CTAS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.3% 31.3% 21.9% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 44/100 66/100 ECL

Percentile Scorecard

CTASJCIECL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCTASJCIECL
Valuation 18 #92 of 112 15 #47 of 55 50 #11 of 21
Growth 73 #27 of 96 88 #7 of 51 83 #4 of 19
Profitability 98 #3 of 93 62 #20 of 51 88 #3 of 17
Financial Health 70 #38 of 126 24 #45 of 59 48 #12 of 22
Shareholder Returns 41 #40 of 67 33 #28 of 41 60 #5 of 11
Overall 60 44 66
  • CTAS ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • JCI ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCTASJCIECLSPY
1 month +16.7%-1.4%+4.3% -1.0%
3 months +8.8%+0.3%+7.4% +2.9%
6 months +27.4%+1.4%+7.1% +6.4%
Year to date +19.2%+20.2%+9.9% +11.4%
1 year +16.5%+30.2%+4.9% +13.1%
3 years +77.2%+195.4%+80.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +21.0%+43.5%+21.7% +21.5%
5 years +110.0%+94.9%+30.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +16.0%+14.3%+5.4% +10.9%
10 years +742.1%+226.7%+149.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +23.8%+12.6%+9.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCTASJCIECLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.3%31.3%21.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.1%32.6%22.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.111.130.48 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.710.970.23 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.2%-43.1%-44.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-9.3%-6.4% -2.5%
52-week high $224.10$158.77$308.35 $779.14
52-week low $163.55$110.55$245.73 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCTASJCIECL
P/E now vs peer median 43.5xmedian 21.0x 24.5xmedian 19.9x 38.3xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 0.9x 3.5xmedian 1.5x 4.8xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.5xmedian 12.3x 25.5xmedian 12.6x 22.9xmedian 19.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 44.0xmedian 15.1x 27.5xmedian 16.1x 43.2xmedian 25.4x
P/B now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 2.4x 6.5xmedian 3.0x 8.0xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 2.86median 1.02 0.98median 0.98 1.72median 1.53

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCTASJCIECL
Revenue $11.56B $25.00B $16.84B
Gross profit $5.89B $9.16B $7.43B
Operating income $2.70B $2.99B $2.85B
Net income $2.06B $3.58B $2.13B
Free cash flow $2.03B $3.17B $1.87B
EPS (diluted) $5.10 $5.87 $7.50
Cash & equivalents $243.60M $641.00M $5.14B
Total debt $2.43B $9.48B $38.40B
Shares (diluted) 404.29M 610.00M 282.20M
Enterprise value $89.51B $87.32B $72.79B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCTASJCIECL
P/E 43.5x 24.5x 38.3x
P/FCF 44.0x 27.5x 43.2x
P/Operating cash flow 36.8x 24.6x 26.5x
P/S 7.7x 3.5x 4.8x
P/B 17.2x 6.5x 8.0x
P/Tangible book 18.2x 8.7x 12.2x
EV/EBITDA 28.5x 25.5x 22.9x
EV/EBIT 34.0x 32.1x 31.2x
EV/Revenue 7.9x 3.8x 5.3x
EV/FCF 45.1x 30.3x 47.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 37.7x 27.1x 29.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.86 0.98 1.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCTASJCIECL
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 6.8% 7.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.7% 4.4% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.5% 7.7% 7.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 5.5% 9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.8% 14.1% -1.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 27.4% 18.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.3% 60.4% -1.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 20.0% 21.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.7% 72.9% 0.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 25.0% 22.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% 20.5% 16.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 41.2% 13.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.5% 29.8% 19.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.4% 56.0% 12.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCTASJCIECL
Gross margin 51.0% 36.7% 44.1%
EBITDA margin 27.8% 15.1% 23.1%
Operating margin 23.4% 12.0% 16.9%
Pretax margin 22.5% 10.9% 15.6%
Net margin 17.8% 14.3% 12.6%
FCF margin 17.6% 12.7% 11.1%
Operating cash flow margin 21.1% 14.2% 18.1%
Return on equity 39.8% 27.0% 21.2%
Return on assets 19.5% 9.5% 7.8%
Return on invested capital 28.2% 10.5% 11.0%
Return on capital employed 34.2% 11.0% 13.3%
Asset turnover 1.1x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCTASJCIECL
Debt / assets 22.8% 24.4% 44.0%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.7x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 2.3x 2.1x
Debt / FCF 1.2x 3.0x 7.0x
Liabilities / assets 51.1% 65.1% 66.3%
Equity / assets 48.9% 34.9% 33.7%
Interest coverage 25.3x – 17.6x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.9x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 13.68 – 4.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCTASJCIECL
Dividend yield 0.8% 1.1% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 6.7% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 7.8% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 35.2% 27.3% 37.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% 30.8% 42.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 14.8% -0.3% 13.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 0.2% 9.3%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCTASJCIECL
Forward P/E 38.3xFY2026 29.4xFY2026 36.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.85FY2026 $4.89FY2026 $7.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.4%FY2026 +30.1%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +30.9% +23.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.98BFY2026 $26.80BFY2026 $17.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.3%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026 +7.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.8% +6.3% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCTASJCIECL
Held by institutions 67.6% 89.5% 80.0%
Institutions holding 1,428 1,597 1,710
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.4% -1.1% +1.4%
Institutions buying 656 790 762
Institutions selling 575 557 679
Buyers to sellers 1.14 1.42 1.12

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CTASJCIECL
CTAS 1.00 -0.04 0.41
JCI -0.04 1.00 0.16
ECL 0.41 0.16 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CTAS, JCI and ECL?

Cintas (CTAS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cintas (CTAS) $90.42B, Johnson Controls International (JCI) $89.59B, Ecolab (ECL) $81.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, CTAS, JCI and ECL?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cintas (CTAS) 43.9x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 25.0x, Ecolab (ECL) 38.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Johnson Controls International (JCI) is cheapest (Cintas (CTAS) 38.3x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 29.4x, Ecolab (ECL) 36.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cintas (CTAS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cintas (CTAS) +9.5%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +6.8%, Ecolab (ECL) +7.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cintas (CTAS) has the highest net margin (Cintas (CTAS) 17.8%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 14.3%, Ecolab (ECL) 12.6%). On return on invested capital, Cintas (CTAS) leads (Cintas (CTAS) 28.2%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 10.5%, Ecolab (ECL) 11.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson Controls International (JCI) returned the most: Cintas (CTAS) +16.5%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +30.2%, Ecolab (ECL) +4.9%. Over five years, Cintas (CTAS) compounded fastest (Cintas (CTAS) +16.0%/yr, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +14.3%/yr, Ecolab (ECL) +5.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) has the highest dividend yield: Cintas (CTAS) 0.01%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 0.01%, Ecolab (ECL) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Cintas (CTAS) 23.3%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 31.3%, Ecolab (ECL) 21.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CTAS, JCI and ECL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cintas (CTAS) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.