ECL vs ICTSF vs CDZI Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Icts International N V and Cadiz Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ECL Ecolab Inc.
$300.86 +8.3% 1M +16.9% 1Y
Market cap
$84.39B
P/E
40.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
0.97%
Water Treatment Industrials
7 wins
CDZI Cadiz Inc
$4.71 +31.6% 1M -14.5% 1Y
Market cap
$396.40M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$14.34M
Div. yield
–
Water Treatment Industrials

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Ecolab leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Ecolab 7). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECLICTSFCDZILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $84.39B $167.33M $396.40M ECL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 40.5x -11.3x -9.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.1x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% — -4.8% ECL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.0% — -286.1% ECL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.97% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.9% +2.8% -14.5% ECL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr -9.9%/yr -5.0%/yr ECL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.2% 82.0% 66.6% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 — 23/100 ECL

Percentile Scorecard

ECLICTSFCDZI

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

AxisECLICTSFCDZI
Valuation 50 #11 of 21 37 #72 of 113 15 #18 of 21
Growth 83 #4 of 19 – 39 #12 of 19
Profitability 93 #2 of 16 – 20 #13 of 16
Financial Health 25 #16 of 21 50 #61 of 122 20 #17 of 21
Shareholder Returns 67 #4 of 10 – –
Overall 64 – 23
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • ICTSF ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • CDZI ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodECLICTSFCDZISPY
1 month +8.3%-12.4%+31.6% +0.7%
3 months +7.7%-25.5%+50.0% +3.7%
6 months +15.4%+2.8%+8.8% +7.1%
Year to date +14.6%+33.8%-16.0% +12.8%
1 year +16.9%+2.8%-14.5% +11.9%
3 years +89.0%+11.2%+60.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +23.7%+3.6%+17.0% +22.8%
5 years +35.4%-40.7%-22.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year +6.3%-9.9%-5.0% +10.9%
10 years +161.4%+529.6%-36.8% +262.0%
10 years, per year +10.1%+20.2%-4.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureECLICTSFCDZISPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.2%82.0%66.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.4%134.1%64.2% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.480.281.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.790.03-0.22 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-68.3%-75.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.4%-30.4%-31.9% -1.2%
52-week high $308.35$6.42$6.92 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$3.10$2.98 $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.

MultipleECLICTSFCDZI
P/E now vs peer median 40.5xmedian 25.4x -11.3xmedian 21.9x -9.7xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.5x 0.3xmedian 0.9x 27.6xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 17.9x —median 11.9x —median 17.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 47.0xmedian 22.3x -5.1xmedian 14.4x —median 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 1.8x -7.9xmedian 2.4x 85.0xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 2.04median 1.73 —median 0.97 2.30median 1.73

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 monthsECLICTSFCDZI
Revenue $17.37B – $14.34M
Gross profit $7.63B – $4.25M
Operating income $2.90B – -$26.90M
Net income $2.10B – -$35.98M
Free cash flow $1.80B – –
EPS (diluted) $7.38 – $-1,199.69
Cash & equivalents $722.30M $16.89M $5.32M
Total debt $13.19B $25.53M $278.50M
Shares (diluted) 282.10M 36.18M 34.19K
Enterprise value $77.40B $54.77M $364.85M

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
MetricECLICTSFCDZI
P/E 40.5x -11.3x -9.7x
P/FCF 47.0x -5.1x –
P/Operating cash flow 27.9x – –
P/S 4.9x 0.3x 27.6x
P/B 8.1x -7.9x 85.0x
P/Tangible book 15.8x -7.9x 85.0x
EV/EBITDA 24.3x – –
EV/EBIT 33.4x – -17.8x
EV/Revenue 5.6x – 33.3x
EV/FCF 54.0x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 32.0x – –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.04 – 2.30

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLICTSFCDZI
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% – -4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% – 89.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.4% – -12.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.8% – 97.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.3% – -8.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% – -12.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% – -9.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.8% – -4.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.2% – -8.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% – -4.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% – –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.8% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.6% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLICTSFCDZI
Gross margin 43.9% – 29.6%
EBITDA margin 22.9% – –
Operating margin 16.7% – -187.6%
Pretax margin 15.0% – -250.5%
Net margin 12.0% – -286.1%
FCF margin 10.3% – –
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% – –
Return on equity 20.4% – -257.3%
Return on assets 6.9% – -26.1%
Return on invested capital 10.0% – –
Return on capital employed 12.0% – -21.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x – 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x – –
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLICTSFCDZI
Debt / assets 42.4% 4.7% 64.5%
Debt / equity 1.3x -0.4x 18.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x – –
Debt / FCF 7.3x – –
Liabilities / assets 66.4% 112.8% 96.5%
Equity / assets 33.6% -12.8% 3.5%
Interest coverage 8.0x – -2.9x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.8x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.6x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.6x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 3.96 – -6.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLICTSFCDZI
Dividend yield 1.0% – –
Net buyback yield 1.1% – –
Shareholder yield 2.1% – –
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.

ConsensusECLICTSFCDZI
Forward P/E 38.1xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.90FY2026 – $-0.54FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +23.2% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.26BFY2026 – $8.61MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2026 – -47.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% – +109.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLICTSFCDZI
Held by institutions 80.0% – 46.7%
Institutions holding 1,712 – 117
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% – +4.0%
Institutions buying 764 – 54
Institutions selling 679 – 39
Buyers to sellers 1.13 – 1.38

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.

ECLICTSFCDZI
ECL 1.00 0.02 0.10
ICTSF 0.02 1.00 0.05
CDZI 0.10 0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, ICTSF and CDZI?

Ecolab (ECL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $84.39B, Icts International N V (ICTSF) $167.33M, Cadiz (CDZI) $396.40M.

Which company is growing faster?

Ecolab (ECL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ecolab (ECL) +9.3%, Cadiz (CDZI) -4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ecolab (ECL) has the highest net margin (Ecolab (ECL) 12.0%, Cadiz (CDZI) -286.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ecolab (ECL) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +16.9%, Icts International N V (ICTSF) +2.8%, Cadiz (CDZI) -14.5%. Over five years, Ecolab (ECL) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +6.3%/yr, Icts International N V (ICTSF) -9.9%/yr, Cadiz (CDZI) -5.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ecolab (ECL) 0.97%. Icts International N V (ICTSF) and Cadiz (CDZI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.2%, Icts International N V (ICTSF) 82.0%, Cadiz (CDZI) 66.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.