ECL vs ERII vs ICTSF Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Energy Recovery and Icts International N V Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$291.28 +4.1% 1M +4.1% 1Y
Market cap
$81.65B
P/E
39.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
1.00%
Water Treatment Industrials
4 wins
ERII Energy Recovery, Inc.
$6.86 +0.7% 1M -61.0% 1Y
Market cap
$351.06M
P/E
23.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$120.57M
Div. yield
–
Water Treatment Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Ecolab leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Ecolab 4, Energy Recovery 2, Icts International N V 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECLERIIICTSFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $81.65B $351.06M $207.76M ECL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.3x 23.0x -14.0x ERII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.9x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% -15.0% — ECL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 12.7% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.00% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.1% -61.0% +27.6% ICTSF
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.7%/yr -19.4%/yr -6.6%/yr ECL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.9% 63.7% 79.2% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 90/100 — ERII

Percentile Scorecard

ECLERIIICTSF

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

AxisECLERIIICTSF
Valuation 35 #14 of 21 95 #2 of 21 36 #72 of 112
Growth 83 #4 of 19 67 #7 of 19 –
Profitability 81 #4 of 17 88 #3 of 17 –
Financial Health 19 #18 of 22 100 #1 of 22 52 #61 of 125
Shareholder Returns – 100 #1 of 10 –
Overall 55 90 –
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • ERII ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • ICTSF ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodECLERIIICTSFSPY
1 month +4.1%+0.7%-5.8% -0.2%
3 months +2.8%-18.3%+0.9% +3.9%
6 months +9.1%-38.1%+27.6% +8.2%
Year to date +11.0%-49.1%+66.2% +12.9%
1 year +4.1%-61.0%+27.6% +12.3%
3 years +85.0%-53.8%+38.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +22.8%-22.7%+11.4% +23.3%
5 years +31.8%-66.0%-28.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +5.7%-19.4%-6.6% +10.9%
10 years +153.4%-45.7%+681.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.7%-5.9%+22.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureECLERIIICTSFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.9%63.7%79.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.0%82.0%124.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.481.710.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.19-0.960.35 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-78.3%-68.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.5%-61.0%-13.6% -1.2%
52-week high $308.35$17.59$6.42 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$6.64$3.10 $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.

MultipleECLERIIICTSF
P/E now vs peer median 39.3xmedian 25.6x 23.0xmedian 25.6x -14.0xmedian 21.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.4x 2.9xmedian 2.4x 0.4xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.7x 14.3xmedian 16.7x —median 11.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 41.5xmedian 23.6x 9.1xmedian 23.6x -6.3xmedian 13.7x
P/B now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 2.0x 2.0xmedian 2.0x -9.8xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.98median 1.68 1.37median 1.68 —median 1.00

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 monthsECLERIIICTSF
Revenue $17.37B $120.57M –
Gross profit – $77.18M –
Operating income $2.90B $14.23M –
Net income – $15.34M –
Free cash flow – $38.60M –
R&D – $12.22M –
EPS (diluted) $7.38 $0.30 –
Cash & equivalents $722.30M $61.44M $16.89M
Total debt – – $25.53M
Shares (diluted) 282.20M 51.46M 36.18M
Enterprise value $81.68B $26.22M $95.20M

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
MetricECLERIIICTSF
P/E 39.3x 23.0x -14.0x
P/FCF 41.5x 9.1x -6.3x
P/Operating cash flow – 8.5x –
P/S 4.7x 2.9x 0.4x
P/B 7.8x 2.0x -9.8x
P/Tangible book 15.2x 2.0x -9.8x
EV/EBITDA – 14.3x –
EV/EBIT – 18.1x –
EV/Revenue 4.7x 2.1x –
EV/FCF – 6.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow – 6.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.98 1.37 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLERIIICTSF
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% -15.0% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 4.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -18.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 2.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.3% -34.1% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% 17.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) – -36.4% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 13.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 6.1% -32.7% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 16.8% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 98.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 62.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 91.3% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 76.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLERIIICTSF
Gross margin – 64.0% –
EBITDA margin – 15.0% –
Operating margin – 11.8% –
Pretax margin – 14.6% –
Net margin – 12.7% –
FCF margin – 32.0% –
Operating cash flow margin – 34.2% –
Return on equity 20.4% 8.6% –
Return on assets 6.9% 7.5% –
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – 7.7% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.7x –
Stock comp / revenue – 5.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLERIIICTSF
Debt / assets – – 4.7%
Debt / equity – – -0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 66.4% 12.8% 112.8%
Equity / assets 33.6% 87.2% -12.8%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.1x 8.1x 1.8x
Quick ratio – 5.8x 1.6x
Cash ratio – 5.0x 0.6x
Altman Z-score – 10.78 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLERIIICTSF
Dividend yield 1.0% – –
Net buyback yield – 9.8% –
Shareholder yield 1.0% 9.8% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusECLERIIICTSF
Forward P/E 36.9xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.90FY2026 $-0.20FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 -147.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +23.2% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.26BFY2026 $69.90MFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2026 -48.2%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% +45.2% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLERIIICTSF
Held by institutions 80.0% 85.0% –
Institutions holding 1,710 197 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% -1.1% –
Institutions buying 762 120 –
Institutions selling 679 45 –
Buyers to sellers 1.12 2.67 –

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.

ECLERIIICTSF
ECL 1.00 0.23 0.03
ERII 0.23 1.00 0.02
ICTSF 0.03 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, ERII and ICTSF?

Ecolab (ECL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $81.65B, Energy Recovery (ERII) $351.06M, Icts International N V (ICTSF) $207.76M.

Which stock is cheaper, ECL, ERII and ICTSF?

Energy Recovery (ERII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ecolab (ECL) 39.3x, Energy Recovery (ERII) 23.0x, Icts International N V (ICTSF) -14.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ecolab (ECL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ecolab (ECL) +9.3%, Energy Recovery (ERII) -15.0%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Icts International N V (ICTSF) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +4.1%, Energy Recovery (ERII) -61.0%, Icts International N V (ICTSF) +27.6%. Over five years, Ecolab (ECL) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +5.7%/yr, Energy Recovery (ERII) -19.4%/yr, Icts International N V (ICTSF) -6.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ecolab (ECL) 1.00%. Energy Recovery (ERII) and Icts International N V (ICTSF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.9%, Energy Recovery (ERII) 63.7%, Icts International N V (ICTSF) 79.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ECL, ERII and ICTSF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ecolab (ECL) leads on 4. 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.