ECL vs JCI vs BMI Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Johnson Controls International and Badger Meter Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$288.96 +3.3% 1M +4.2% 1Y
Market cap
$82.01B
P/E
38.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Water Treatment Industrials
4 wins
BMI Badger Meter Inc
$156.05 +20.4% 1M -16.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.26B
P/E
33.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$881.24M
Div. yield
0.01%
Water Treatment Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Johnson Controls International leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Johnson Controls International 5, Ecolab 4, Badger Meter 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECLJCIBMILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $82.01B $93.42B $4.26B JCI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.7x 26.1x 33.6x JCI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.6x 30.2x 32.9x JCI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.1% +6.8% -2.2% ECL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.6% 14.3% 14.4% BMI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.0% 10.5% — ECL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.3x — ECL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% BMI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.2% +30.6% -16.7% JCI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.5%/yr +15.5%/yr +9.0%/yr JCI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.9% 31.4% 49.5% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 44/100 70/100 BMI

Percentile Scorecard

ECLJCIBMI

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

AxisECLJCIBMI
Valuation 50 #11 of 21 15 #48 of 56 55 #10 of 21
Growth 83 #4 of 19 84 #9 of 52 61 #8 of 19
Profitability 88 #3 of 17 62 #20 of 51 94 #2 of 17
Financial Health 48 #12 of 22 25 #44 of 58 62 #9 of 22
Shareholder Returns 60 #5 of 11 35 #27 of 41 80 #3 of 11
Overall 66 44 70
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • JCI ranked among 60 companies in Construction Products
  • BMI ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodECLJCIBMISPY
1 month +3.3%-1.8%+20.4% -0.8%
3 months +6.3%+2.9%+21.9% +3.5%
6 months +7.9%+2.9%+26.9% +7.0%
Year to date +10.1%+23.2%-10.5% +12.2%
1 year +4.2%+30.6%-16.7% +13.0%
3 years +83.5%+205.9%+13.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +22.5%+45.2%+4.2% +23.1%
5 years +30.7%+105.6%+53.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.5%+15.5%+9.0% +11.0%
10 years +150.5%+234.5%+388.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.6%+12.8%+17.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureECLJCIBMISPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.9%31.4%49.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.0%32.6%56.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.481.140.68 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.190.98-0.34 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-43.1%-55.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.3%-7.1%-16.9% -1.8%
52-week high $308.35$158.77$187.87 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$110.85$113.41 $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.

MultipleECLJCIBMI
P/E now vs peer median 38.3xmedian 25.6x 25.1xmedian 19.4x 35.5xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 2.5x 3.6xmedian 1.5x 5.1xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 19.1x 26.1xmedian 12.1x 21.6xmedian 19.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 43.2xmedian 25.2x 28.2xmedian 16.1x 31.3xmedian 25.2x
P/B now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 2.0x 6.6xmedian 2.9x 6.8xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 1.72median 1.54 1.00median 0.93 2.40median 1.54

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 monthsECLJCIBMI
Revenue $16.84B $25.00B $881.24M
Gross profit $7.43B $9.16B $366.94M
Operating income $2.85B $2.99B $165.34M
Net income $2.13B $3.58B $126.53M
Free cash flow $1.87B $3.17B $142.39M
EPS (diluted) $7.50 $5.87 $4.38
Cash & equivalents $5.14B $641.00M $67.93M
Total debt $13.18B $9.48B –
Shares (diluted) 282.20M 610.00M 28.87M
Enterprise value $73.75B $91.15B $3.66B

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
MetricECLJCIBMI
P/E 38.3x 25.1x 35.5x
P/FCF 43.2x 28.2x 31.3x
P/Operating cash flow 26.5x 25.2x 28.1x
P/S 4.8x 3.6x 5.1x
P/B 8.0x 6.6x 6.8x
P/Tangible book 12.2x 9.0x 9.0x
EV/EBITDA 22.9x 26.1x 21.6x
EV/EBIT 31.2x 32.9x 26.5x
EV/Revenue 5.3x 3.9x 5.0x
EV/FCF 47.5x 31.0x 30.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 29.1x 27.7x 27.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.72 1.00 2.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLJCIBMI
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.1% 6.8% -2.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 4.4% 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.5% 7.7% -1.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 5.5% 11.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.4% 14.1% -7.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 18.4% 27.4% 15.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -1.0% 60.4% -8.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.3% 20.0% 14.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 0.2% 72.9% -6.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 22.3% 25.0% 14.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 16.5% 20.5% -12.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 41.2% 15.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.1% 29.8% -14.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.2% 56.0% 16.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLJCIBMI
Gross margin 44.1% 36.7% 41.6%
EBITDA margin 23.1% 15.1% 23.1%
Operating margin 16.9% 12.0% 18.8%
Pretax margin 15.6% 10.9% 19.1%
Net margin 12.6% 14.3% 14.4%
FCF margin 11.1% 12.7% 16.2%
Operating cash flow margin 18.1% 14.2% 18.0%
Return on equity 21.2% 27.0% 19.0%
Return on assets 7.8% 9.5% 13.0%
Return on invested capital 11.0% 10.5% –
Return on capital employed 13.3% 11.0% 20.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.5% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLJCIBMI
Debt / assets 44.0% 24.4% –
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.3x –
Debt / FCF 7.0x 3.0x –
Liabilities / assets 66.3% 65.1% 31.0%
Equity / assets 33.7% 34.9% 69.0%
Interest coverage 17.6x – –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.0x 2.5x
Quick ratio 1.5x 0.9x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 4.15 – 11.98

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLJCIBMI
Dividend yield 1.0% 1.1% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 1.3% 6.6% 2.7%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 7.7% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 37.4% 27.3% 37.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 42.6% 30.8% 33.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 13.4% -0.3% 14.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 0.2% 19.8%

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.

ConsensusECLJCIBMI
Forward P/E 36.6xFY2026 30.2xFY2026 32.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.90FY2026 $4.89FY2026 $4.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 +30.1%FY2026 -1.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.3% +30.9% +9.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.24BFY2026 $26.80BFY2026 $938.75MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.2%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% +6.3% +10.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLJCIBMI
Held by institutions 80.0% 89.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,710 1,597 479
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% -1.1% +7.9%
Institutions buying 762 790 254
Institutions selling 679 557 157
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.42 1.62

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.

ECLJCIBMI
ECL 1.00 0.16 0.19
JCI 0.16 1.00 0.06
BMI 0.19 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, JCI and BMI?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $82.01B, Johnson Controls International (JCI) $93.42B, Badger Meter (BMI) $4.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, ECL, JCI and BMI?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ecolab (ECL) 38.7x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 26.1x, Badger Meter (BMI) 33.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Johnson Controls International (JCI) is cheapest (Ecolab (ECL) 36.6x, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 30.2x, Badger Meter (BMI) 32.9x). 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) +7.1%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +6.8%, Badger Meter (BMI) -2.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Badger Meter (BMI) has the highest net margin (Ecolab (ECL) 12.6%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 14.3%, Badger Meter (BMI) 14.4%). On return on invested capital, Ecolab (ECL) leads (Ecolab (ECL) 11.0%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson Controls International (JCI) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +4.2%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +30.6%, Badger Meter (BMI) -16.7%. Over five years, Johnson Controls International (JCI) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +5.5%/yr, Johnson Controls International (JCI) +15.5%/yr, Badger Meter (BMI) +9.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Badger Meter (BMI) has the highest dividend yield: Ecolab (ECL) 0.01%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 0.01%, Badger Meter (BMI) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.9%, Johnson Controls International (JCI) 31.4%, Badger Meter (BMI) 49.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 5. 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.