ECL vs IDXX vs AIRJ Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Idexx Laboratories and AirJoule Technologies Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (CLWT) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$305.85 +8.9% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$85.79B
P/E
41.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
0.95%
Water Treatment Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ecolab leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ecolab 6, Idexx Laboratories 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECLIDXXAIRJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $85.79B $52.85B $154.03M ECL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.2x 44.7x -1.7x ECL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.7x 42.6x — ECL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% +11.9% — IDXX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.0% 25.4% — IDXX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% 45.4% — IDXX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 0.4x — IDXX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.95% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.1% -6.9% -57.7% ECL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.8%/yr +1.0%/yr — ECL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.8% 35.9% 86.6% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 76/100 47/100 IDXX

Percentile Scorecard

ECLIDXXAIRJ

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

AxisECLIDXXAIRJ
Valuation 58 #9 of 20 74 #164 of 634 53 #10 of 20
Growth 82 #4 of 18 70 #182 of 608 12 #16 of 18
Profitability 88 #3 of 17 97 #16 of 557 44 #10 of 17
Financial Health 20 #17 of 21 47 #349 of 654 100 #1 of 21
Shareholder Returns 64 #5 of 12 92 #32 of 403 27 #9 of 12
Overall 62 76 47
  • ECL ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • IDXX ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • AIRJ ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodECLIDXXAIRJSPY
1 month +8.9%+30.1%-45.0% -5.9%
3 months +7.8%+13.7%-62.4% -4.6%
6 months +19.2%+17.2%-39.7% +0.2%
Year to date +16.5%-0.9%-46.7% +7.5%
1 year +18.1%-6.9%-57.7% +8.2%
3 years +75.3%+58.6%-80.3% +68.3%
3 years, per year +20.6%+16.6%-41.9% +19.0%
5 years +32.6%+5.2%— +56.5%
5 years, per year +5.8%+1.0%— +9.4%
10 years +176.4%+531.5%— +251.5%
10 years, per year +10.7%+20.2%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureECLIDXXAIRJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.8%35.9%86.6% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.0%32.5%77.8% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.510.802.58 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.83-0.19-0.67 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-50.9%-92.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.9%-12.5%-67.2% -5.9%
52-week high $315.10$766.68$6.40 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$504.70$2.10 $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.

MultipleECLIDXXAIRJ
P/E now vs peer median 41.2xmedian 36.2x 44.7xmedian 17.8x -1.7xmedian 36.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.5x 11.3xmedian 8.1x —median 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.7xmedian 22.1x 32.1xmedian 15.7x -8.1xmedian 22.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 47.8xmedian 25.4x 40.5xmedian 21.0x -21.2xmedian 25.4x
P/B now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 1.8x 28.3xmedian 2.0x 0.6xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 2.08median 2.08 2.95median 0.36 0.01median 2.08

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 monthsECLIDXXAIRJ
Revenue $17.37B $4.66B –
Gross profit $7.63B $2.92B –
Operating income $2.90B $1.51B -$13.96M
Net income $2.10B $1.18B -$84.79M
Free cash flow $1.80B $1.30B -$7.26M
R&D – $266.87M $607.33K
EPS (diluted) $7.38 $14.96 $-1.22
Cash & equivalents $722.30M $197.54M $41.42M
Total debt $13.19B $848.88M –
Shares (diluted) 282.10M 79.05M 69.74M
Enterprise value $78.80B $52.07B $33.66M

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
MetricECLIDXXAIRJ
P/E 41.2x 44.7x -1.7x
P/FCF 47.8x 40.5x -21.2x
P/Operating cash flow 28.3x 37.2x -21.3x
P/S 4.9x 11.3x –
P/B 8.2x 28.3x 0.6x
P/Tangible book 16.0x 30.2x -0.6x
EV/EBITDA 24.7x 32.1x -8.1x
EV/EBIT 33.9x 35.5x -8.1x
EV/Revenue 5.7x 11.5x –
EV/FCF 54.7x 41.0x -15.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.4x 37.7x -15.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.08 2.95 0.01

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLIDXXAIRJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% 11.9% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 9.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.4% 13.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 10.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.3% 15.3% -11.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% 11.8% -46.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% 15.1% -322.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.8% 12.8% -288.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.2% 17.4% -292.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 15.1% -176.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% 30.4% 18.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 19.6% -47.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.6% 35.3% 18.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 24.2% -47.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLIDXXAIRJ
Gross margin 43.9% 62.7% –
EBITDA margin 22.9% 35.7% –
Operating margin 16.7% 32.3% –
Pretax margin 15.0% 31.7% –
Net margin 12.0% 25.4% –
FCF margin 10.3% 28.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% 30.4% –
Return on equity 20.4% 67.9% -34.6%
Return on assets 6.9% 33.1% -28.1%
Return on invested capital 10.0% 45.4% –
Return on capital employed 12.0% 65.2% -4.7%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.3x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.2x 0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLIDXXAIRJ
Debt / assets 42.4% 22.9% –
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 0.4x –
Debt / FCF 7.3x 0.7x –
Liabilities / assets 66.4% 49.6% 19.0%
Equity / assets 33.6% 50.4% 81.0%
Interest coverage 8.0x 43.5x –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.2x 19.7x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x 18.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.2x 18.9x
Altman Z-score 4.00 22.69 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLIDXXAIRJ
Dividend yield 1.0% – –
Net buyback yield 1.1% 1.8% -23.6%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 1.8% -23.6%
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.

ConsensusECLIDXXAIRJ
Forward P/E 38.7xFY2026 42.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.91FY2026 $15.74FY2026 $-1.05FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.0%FY2026 +20.3%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +23.4% +12.5% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.28BFY2026 $5.02BFY2026 $168.27KFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.5%FY2026 +16.8%FY2026 +205.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.7% +0.6% +3,073.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLIDXXAIRJ
Held by institutions 80.0% 93.6% 24.6%
Institutions holding 1,715 1,291 119
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +4.1% +8.4%
Institutions buying 764 589 84
Institutions selling 680 496 19
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.19 4.42

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.

ECLIDXXAIRJ
ECL 1.00 0.47 0.10
IDXX 0.47 1.00 0.02
AIRJ 0.10 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, IDXX and AIRJ?

Ecolab (ECL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $85.79B, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) $52.85B, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) $154.03M.

Which stock is cheaper, ECL, IDXX and AIRJ?

Ecolab (ECL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ecolab (ECL) 41.2x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 44.7x, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) -1.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ecolab (ECL) is cheapest (Ecolab (ECL) 38.7x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 42.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ecolab (ECL) +9.3%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +11.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has the highest net margin (Ecolab (ECL) 12.0%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 25.4%). On return on invested capital, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads (Ecolab (ECL) 10.0%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 45.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ecolab (ECL) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +18.1%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -6.9%, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) -57.7%. Over five years, Ecolab (ECL) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +5.8%/yr, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +1.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ecolab (ECL) 0.95%. Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) and AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.8%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 35.9%, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) 86.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ECL, IDXX and AIRJ?

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 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.