ECL vs ERII vs JCI Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Energy Recovery and Johnson Controls International Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ECL Ecolab Inc.
$308.47 +12.7% 1M +20.3% 1Y
Market cap
$86.53B
P/E
41.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
0.95%
Water Treatment Industrials
2 wins
ERII Energy Recovery, Inc.
$7.18 +6.1% 1M -58.0% 1Y
Market cap
$367.43M
P/E
24.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$120.57M
Div. yield
–
Water Treatment Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Johnson Controls International leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Johnson Controls International 8, Energy Recovery 2, Ecolab 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECLERIIJCILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $86.53B $367.43M $88.72B JCI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.5x 24.1x 24.9x ERII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 39.0x — 22.9x JCI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% -15.0% +6.8% ECL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.0% 12.7% 14.3% JCI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% — 10.5% JCI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x — 2.3x JCI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.95% — 1.09% JCI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.3% -58.0% +28.0% JCI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.2%/yr -19.5%/yr +15.1%/yr JCI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.4% 64.0% 32.4% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 88/100 44/100 ERII

Percentile Scorecard

ECLERIIJCI

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

AxisECLERIIJCI
Valuation 47 #11 of 20 95 #2 of 20 13 #48 of 55
Growth 82 #4 of 18 65 #7 of 18 88 #7 of 51
Profitability 88 #3 of 17 81 #4 of 17 62 #20 of 51
Financial Health 20 #17 of 21 100 #1 of 21 26 #44 of 59
Shareholder Returns 56 #5 of 10 100 #1 of 10 33 #28 of 41
Overall 59 88 44
  • ECL ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • ERII ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • JCI ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodECLERIIJCISPY
1 month +12.7%+6.1%-6.3% -2.3%
3 months +10.4%-19.4%+0.0% -0.7%
6 months +20.7%-34.7%+1.4% +4.8%
Year to date +17.5%-46.8%+22.3% +10.3%
1 year +20.3%-58.0%+28.0% +10.3%
3 years +76.5%-60.3%+184.5% +73.0%
3 years, per year +20.9%-26.5%+41.7% +20.1%
5 years +35.2%-66.2%+102.1% +61.9%
5 years, per year +6.2%-19.5%+15.1% +10.1%
10 years +175.4%-38.9%+254.2% +258.6%
10 years, per year +10.7%-4.8%+13.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureECLERIIJCISPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.4%64.0%32.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.6%83.3%33.9% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.461.691.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.95-0.910.86 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-78.3%-43.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-58.4%-7.7% -3.5%
52-week high $308.47$17.26$158.77 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$6.64$110.85 $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.

MultipleECLERIIJCI
P/E now vs peer median 41.5xmedian 28.7x 24.1xmedian 28.7x 24.9xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 2.5x 3.0xmedian 2.5x 3.5xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 21.3x 15.2xmedian 21.3x 25.9xmedian 13.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 48.2xmedian 25.6x 9.5xmedian 25.6x 28.0xmedian 17.4x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 2.1x 2.1xmedian 2.1x 6.6xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 2.10median 1.77 1.44median 1.77 1.00median 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 monthsECLERIIJCI
Revenue $17.37B $120.57M $25.00B
Gross profit $7.63B $77.18M $9.16B
Operating income $2.90B $14.23M $2.99B
Net income $2.10B $15.34M $3.58B
Free cash flow $1.80B $38.60M $3.17B
R&D – $12.22M –
EPS (diluted) $7.38 $0.30 $5.87
Cash & equivalents $722.30M $61.44M $641.00M
Total debt $13.19B – $9.48B
Shares (diluted) 282.10M 51.46M 610.00M
Enterprise value $79.53B $42.60M $86.49B

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
MetricECLERIIJCI
P/E 41.5x 24.1x 24.9x
P/FCF 48.2x 9.5x 28.0x
P/Operating cash flow 28.6x 8.9x 25.1x
P/S 5.0x 3.0x 3.5x
P/B 8.3x 2.1x 6.6x
P/Tangible book 16.2x 2.1x 8.9x
EV/EBITDA 24.9x 15.2x 25.9x
EV/EBIT 34.1x 19.3x 32.7x
EV/Revenue 5.7x 2.3x 3.9x
EV/FCF 55.1x 7.1x 30.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.7x 6.6x 27.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.10 1.44 1.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLERIIJCI
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% -15.0% 6.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 4.1% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.4% -18.5% 7.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 2.0% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.3% -34.1% 14.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% 17.3% 27.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% -36.4% 60.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.8% 13.3% 20.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.2% -32.7% 72.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 16.8% 25.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% 98.7% 20.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 62.2% 41.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.6% 91.3% 29.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 76.4% 56.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLERIIJCI
Gross margin 43.9% 64.0% 36.7%
EBITDA margin 22.9% 15.0% 15.1%
Operating margin 16.7% 11.8% 12.0%
Pretax margin 15.0% 14.6% 10.9%
Net margin 12.0% 12.7% 14.3%
FCF margin 10.3% 32.0% 12.7%
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% 34.2% 14.2%
Return on equity 20.4% 8.6% 27.0%
Return on assets 6.9% 7.5% 9.5%
Return on invested capital 10.0% – 10.5%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 7.7% 11.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.7x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 5.9% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLERIIJCI
Debt / assets 42.4% – 24.4%
Debt / equity 1.3x – 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x – 2.3x
Debt / FCF 7.3x – 3.0x
Liabilities / assets 66.4% 12.8% 65.1%
Equity / assets 33.6% 87.2% 34.9%
Interest coverage 8.0x – –
Current ratio 1.1x 8.1x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x 5.8x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 5.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.03 11.17 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLERIIJCI
Dividend yield 0.9% – 1.1%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 9.3% 6.6%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 9.3% 7.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 39.0% – 27.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) 45.6% – 30.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.7% – -0.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.7% – 0.2%

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.

ConsensusECLERIIJCI
Forward P/E 39.0xFY2026 – 22.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $7.90FY2026 $-0.20FY2026 $6.41FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 -147.6%FY2026 +36.6%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +23.2% – +8.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.26BFY2026 $69.90MFY2026 $26.80BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2026 -48.2%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% +45.2% +6.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLERIIJCI
Held by institutions 80.0% 85.0% 89.5%
Institutions holding 1,713 197 1,599
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% -1.1% -1.1%
Institutions buying 765 120 791
Institutions selling 679 45 558
Buyers to sellers 1.13 2.67 1.42

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.

ECLERIIJCI
ECL 1.00 0.24 0.16
ERII 0.24 1.00 0.25
JCI 0.16 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, ERII and JCI?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $86.53B, Energy Recovery (ERII) $367.43M, Johnson Controls International (JCI) $88.72B.

Which stock is cheaper, ECL, ERII and JCI?

Energy Recovery (ERII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ecolab (ECL) 41.5x, Energy Recovery (ERII) 24.1x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 24.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Johnson Controls International (JCI) is cheapest (Ecolab (ECL) 39.0x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 22.9x). 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%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +6.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) has the highest net margin (Ecolab (ECL) 12.0%, Energy Recovery (ERII) 12.7%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 14.3%). On return on invested capital, Johnson Controls International (JCI) leads (Ecolab (ECL) 10.0%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson Controls International (JCI) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +20.3%, Energy Recovery (ERII) -58.0%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +28.0%. Over five years, Johnson Controls International (JCI) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +6.2%/yr, Energy Recovery (ERII) -19.5%/yr, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +15.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) has the highest dividend yield: Ecolab (ECL) 0.95%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 1.09%. Energy Recovery (ERII) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.4%, Energy Recovery (ERII) 64.0%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 32.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Johnson Controls International (JCI) leads on 8. 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.