ECL vs GFAI vs JCI Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Guardforce AI and Johnson Controls International Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$300.86 +8.3% 1M +16.9% 1Y
Market cap
$84.74B
P/E
40.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
0.01%
Water Treatment Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Johnson Controls International leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Johnson Controls International 4, Ecolab 2, Guardforce AI 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECLGFAIJCILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $84.74B $3.95M $89.85B JCI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 40.7x — 31.5x JCI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.1x 1.5x 24.7x GFAI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% — — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.0% — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.9% -81.1% +39.6% JCI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr -72.6%/yr +16.6%/yr JCI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.2% 93.8% 31.7% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 — 37/100 ECL

Percentile Scorecard

ECLGFAIJCI

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

AxisECLGFAIJCI
Valuation 50 #11 of 21 – 9 #50 of 55
Growth 83 #4 of 19 – 80 #11 of 51
Profitability 93 #2 of 16 – –
Financial Health 25 #16 of 21 93 #10 of 122 –
Shareholder Returns 67 #4 of 10 – 23 #31 of 40
Overall 64 – 37
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • GFAI ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • 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

PeriodECLGFAIJCISPY
1 month +8.3%-40.6%+5.9% +0.7%
3 months +7.7%-38.7%+10.0% +3.7%
6 months +15.4%-66.6%+8.4% +7.1%
Year to date +14.6%-65.9%+32.1% +12.8%
1 year +16.9%-81.1%+39.6% +11.9%
3 years +89.0%-94.0%+225.5% +85.2%
3 years, per year +23.7%-60.9%+48.2% +22.8%
5 years +35.4%-99.8%+115.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year +6.3%-72.6%+16.6% +10.9%
10 years +161.4%—+261.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +10.1%—+13.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureECLGFAIJCISPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.2%93.8%31.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.4%93.1%32.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.482.531.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.79-0.861.25 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-99.8%-43.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.4%-81.1%-0.3% -1.2%
52-week high $308.35$1.01$158.77 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$0.19$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.

MultipleECLGFAIJCI
P/E now vs peer median 40.5xmedian 25.4x —median 21.9x 33.7xmedian 20.3x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.5x —median 0.9x 3.6xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 17.9x —median 11.9x —median 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 47.0xmedian 22.3x —median 14.4x 28.6xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 1.8x 0.2xmedian 2.4x 7.0xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 2.04median 1.73 —median 0.97 1.67median 1.13

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 monthsECLGFAIJCI
Revenue $17.37B – –
Gross profit $7.63B – $9.52B
Operating income $2.90B – –
Net income $2.10B – –
Free cash flow $1.80B – –
EPS (diluted) $7.38 – $4.68
Cash & equivalents $722.30M $21.30M $618.00M
Total debt $13.19B – –
Shares (diluted) 282.10M 21.92M 610.00M
Enterprise value $77.72B -$179.53M $89.85B

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
MetricECLGFAIJCI
P/E 40.5x – 33.7x
P/FCF 47.0x – 28.6x
P/Operating cash flow 27.9x – 24.8x
P/S 4.9x – 3.6x
P/B 8.1x 0.2x 7.0x
P/Tangible book 15.8x 0.2x 9.4x
EV/EBITDA 24.3x – –
EV/EBIT 33.4x – –
EV/Revenue 5.6x – –
EV/FCF 54.0x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 32.0x – 24.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.04 – 1.67

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLGFAIJCI
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% – –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.4% – 10.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.8% – 6.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.3% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% – –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.8% – –
EPS growth (1Y) 6.2% – -7.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% – 20.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% – 51.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.8% – 27.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.6% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLGFAIJCI
Gross margin 43.9% – –
EBITDA margin 22.9% – –
Operating margin 16.7% – –
Pretax margin 15.0% – –
Net margin 12.0% – –
FCF margin 10.3% – –
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% – –
Return on equity 20.4% – 21.1%
Return on assets 6.9% – 7.3%
Return on invested capital 10.0% – –
Return on capital employed 12.0% – –
Asset turnover 0.6x – –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x – –
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLGFAIJCI
Debt / assets 42.4% – –
Debt / equity 1.3x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x – –
Debt / FCF 7.3x – –
Liabilities / assets 66.4% 30.7% –
Equity / assets 33.6% 69.3% 33.9%
Interest coverage 8.0x – –
Current ratio 1.1x 5.2x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.7x 4.8x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 3.8x –
Altman Z-score 3.96 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLGFAIJCI
Dividend yield 1.0% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.1% – –
Shareholder yield 2.1% – 1.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 39.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 45.6% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.7% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.7% – –

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.

ConsensusECLGFAIJCI
Forward P/E 38.1xFY2026 1.5xFY2026 24.7xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $7.90FY2026 $0.13FY2026 $6.41FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 – +36.6%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +23.2% – +8.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.26BFY2026 $40.46MFY2026 $26.80BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2026 +14.9%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% +158.0% +6.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLGFAIJCI
Held by institutions 80.0% – 89.5%
Institutions holding 1,712 – 1,598
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% – -1.1%
Institutions buying 764 – 791
Institutions selling 679 – 557
Buyers to sellers 1.13 – 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.

ECLGFAIJCI
ECL 1.00 0.08 0.17
GFAI 0.08 1.00 0.15
JCI 0.17 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, GFAI and JCI?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $84.74B, Guardforce AI (GFAI) $3.95M, Johnson Controls International (JCI) $89.85B.

Which stock is cheaper, ECL, GFAI and JCI?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ecolab (ECL) 40.7x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 31.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Guardforce AI (GFAI) is cheapest (Ecolab (ECL) 38.1x, Guardforce AI (GFAI) 1.5x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 24.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson Controls International (JCI) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +16.9%, Guardforce AI (GFAI) -81.1%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +39.6%. Over five years, Johnson Controls International (JCI) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +6.3%/yr, Guardforce AI (GFAI) -72.6%/yr, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +16.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ecolab (ECL) 0.01%, Guardforce AI (GFAI) 0.00%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 0.00%. Guardforce AI (GFAI) and Johnson Controls International (JCI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.2%, Guardforce AI (GFAI) 93.8%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 31.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ECL, GFAI 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 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.