ECL vs ICTSF vs NWPX Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Icts International N V and NWPX Infrastructure 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
2 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionECLICTSFNWPXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $81.65B $207.76M $962.46M ECL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.3x -14.0x 19.7x NWPX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.9x — 19.2x NWPX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% — +15.1% NWPX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 8.5% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 12.1% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -0.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.00% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.1% +27.6% +82.0% NWPX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.7%/yr -6.6%/yr +33.1%/yr NWPX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.9% 79.2% 39.9% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 — 82/100 NWPX

Percentile Scorecard

ECLICTSFNWPX

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

AxisECLICTSFNWPX
Valuation 35 #14 of 21 36 #72 of 112 100 #1 of 21
Growth 83 #4 of 19 – 94 #2 of 19
Profitability 81 #4 of 17 – 75 #5 of 17
Financial Health 19 #18 of 22 52 #61 of 125 86 #4 of 22
Shareholder Returns – – 56 #5 of 10
Overall 55 – 82
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • ICTSF ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • NWPX ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodECLICTSFNWPXSPY
1 month +4.1%-5.8%-2.9% -0.2%
3 months +2.8%+0.9%-20.9% +3.9%
6 months +9.1%+27.6%+14.9% +8.2%
Year to date +11.0%+66.2%+59.8% +12.9%
1 year +4.1%+27.6%+82.0% +12.3%
3 years +85.0%+38.1%+264.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +22.8%+11.4%+53.9% +23.3%
5 years +31.8%-28.8%+317.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +5.7%-6.6%+33.1% +10.9%
10 years +153.4%+681.7%+654.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.7%+22.8%+22.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureECLICTSFNWPXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.9%79.2%39.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.0%124.9%34.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.480.321.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.190.352.05 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-68.3%-35.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.5%-13.6%-33.4% -1.2%
52-week high $308.35$6.42$149.94 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$3.10$53.85 $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.

MultipleECLICTSFNWPX
P/E now vs peer median 39.3xmedian 25.6x -14.0xmedian 21.2x 19.7xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.4x 0.4xmedian 0.9x 1.7xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.7x —median 11.9x 11.0xmedian 16.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 41.5xmedian 23.6x -6.3xmedian 13.7x 12.1xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 2.0x -9.8xmedian 2.4x 2.3xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 1.98median 1.68 —median 1.00 0.90median 1.68

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 monthsECLICTSFNWPX
Revenue $17.37B – $574.44M
Gross profit – – $119.93M
Operating income $2.90B – $65.87M
Net income – – $48.75M
Free cash flow – – $79.65M
EPS (diluted) $7.38 – $4.98
Cash & equivalents $722.30M $16.89M $19.32M
Total debt – $25.53M $9.98M
Shares (diluted) 282.20M 36.18M 9.79M
Enterprise value $81.68B $95.20M $923.93M

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
MetricECLICTSFNWPX
P/E 39.3x -14.0x 19.7x
P/FCF 41.5x -6.3x 12.1x
P/Operating cash flow – – 9.6x
P/S 4.7x 0.4x 1.7x
P/B 7.8x -9.8x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 15.2x -9.8x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA – – 11.0x
EV/EBIT – – 14.5x
EV/Revenue 4.7x – 1.7x
EV/FCF – – 12.0x
EV/Operating cash flow – – 9.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.98 – 0.90

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLICTSFNWPX
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% – 15.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% – 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 27.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.3% – 47.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% – 16.5%
Net income growth (1Y) – – 46.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – – 20.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.1% – 48.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% – 21.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – – 45.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 42.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – 53.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 87.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLICTSFNWPX
Gross margin – – 20.9%
EBITDA margin – – 15.0%
Operating margin – – 11.5%
Pretax margin – – 11.0%
Net margin – – 8.5%
FCF margin – – 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin – – 17.5%
Return on equity 20.4% – 11.9%
Return on assets 6.9% – 7.6%
Return on invested capital – – 12.1%
Return on capital employed – – 12.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x – 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLICTSFNWPX
Debt / assets – 4.7% 1.5%
Debt / equity – -0.4x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -0.1x
Debt / FCF – – 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 66.4% 112.8% 35.8%
Equity / assets 33.6% -12.8% 64.2%
Interest coverage – – 35.1x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.8x 2.7x
Quick ratio – 1.6x 1.9x
Cash ratio – 0.6x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – – 4.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLICTSFNWPX
Dividend yield 1.0% – –
Net buyback yield – – 1.4%
Shareholder yield 1.0% – 1.4%
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.

ConsensusECLICTSFNWPX
Forward P/E 36.9xFY2026 – 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.90FY2026 – $5.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 – +45.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.2% – -7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.26BFY2026 – $573.90MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2026 – +9.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% – +3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLICTSFNWPX
Held by institutions 80.0% – 89.5%
Institutions holding 1,710 – 224
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% – +4.6%
Institutions buying 762 – 125
Institutions selling 679 – 65
Buyers to sellers 1.12 – 1.92

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.

ECLICTSFNWPX
ECL 1.00 0.03 0.22
ICTSF 0.03 1.00 0.05
NWPX 0.22 0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, ICTSF and NWPX?

Ecolab (ECL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $81.65B, Icts International N V (ICTSF) $207.76M, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) $962.46M.

Which stock is cheaper, ECL, ICTSF and NWPX?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ecolab (ECL) 39.3x, Icts International N V (ICTSF) -14.0x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 19.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) is cheapest (Ecolab (ECL) 36.9x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 19.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ecolab (ECL) +9.3%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +15.1%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +4.1%, Icts International N V (ICTSF) +27.6%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +82.0%. Over five years, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +5.7%/yr, Icts International N V (ICTSF) -6.6%/yr, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +33.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.9%, Icts International N V (ICTSF) 79.2%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 39.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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