ECL vs QGEN vs TMO Stock Comparison

Ecolab, Qiagen and Thermo Fisher Scientific Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ECL Ecolab Inc.
$308.47 +12.7% 1M +20.3% 1Y
Market cap
$87.33B
P/E
41.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
0.01%
Water Treatment Industrials
5 wins
QGEN Qiagen N.V.
$50.33 +12.5% 1M +2.1% 1Y
Market cap
$11.03B
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Qiagen leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Qiagen 5, Ecolab 5, Thermo Fisher Scientific 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECLQGENTMOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $87.33B $11.03B $259.33B TMO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.9x 26.9x 36.7x QGEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.6x 21.4x 27.0x QGEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% +3.0% +8.3% ECL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.0% 19.5% 14.9% QGEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% 7.9% 8.0% ECL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.3x 3.1x QGEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% ECL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.3% +2.1% +20.3% TMO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.2%/yr -4.0%/yr +1.2%/yr ECL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.4% 35.6% 30.0% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 71/100 59/100 QGEN

Percentile Scorecard

ECLQGENTMO

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

AxisECLQGENTMO
Valuation 47 #11 of 20 74 #60 of 227 60 #91 of 227
Growth 82 #4 of 18 29 #156 of 220 39 #135 of 220
Profitability 88 #3 of 17 92 #17 of 209 83 #36 of 209
Financial Health 20 #17 of 21 63 #89 of 240 31 #166 of 240
Shareholder Returns 56 #5 of 10 94 #9 of 138 83 #25 of 138
Overall 59 71 59
  • ECL ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • QGEN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • TMO ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodECLQGENTMOSPY
1 month +12.7%+12.5%+4.2% -2.3%
3 months +10.4%+18.9%+18.9% -0.7%
6 months +20.7%+48.2%+47.6% +4.8%
Year to date +17.5%+6.3%+17.8% +10.3%
1 year +20.3%+2.1%+20.3% +10.3%
3 years +76.5%+15.0%+50.1% +73.0%
3 years, per year +20.9%+4.8%+14.5% +20.1%
5 years +35.2%-18.5%+6.3% +61.9%
5 years, per year +6.2%-4.0%+1.2% +10.1%
10 years +175.4%+81.4%+368.3% +258.6%
10 years, per year +10.7%+6.1%+16.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureECLQGENTMOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.4%35.6%30.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.6%30.3%28.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.460.450.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.950.060.68 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-48.2%-41.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-9.6%-3.7% -3.5%
52-week high $308.47$55.66$709.29 $779.14
52-week low $245.73$32.63$438.34 $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.

MultipleECLQGENTMO
P/E now vs peer median 41.5xmedian 28.7x 26.7xmedian 28.4x 35.8xmedian 28.4x
P/S now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 2.5x 5.2xmedian 3.0x 5.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 21.3x 18.1xmedian 18.0x 24.9xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 48.2xmedian 25.6x 11.0xmedian 25.0x 33.2xmedian 25.0x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 2.1x 3.3xmedian 2.3x 4.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.10median 1.77 6.54median 0.93 4.73median 0.93

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 monthsECLQGENTMO
Revenue $17.37B $2.10B $47.35B
Gross profit $7.63B $1.31B $19.45B
Operating income $2.90B $445.43M $8.47B
Net income $2.10B $409.32M $7.09B
Free cash flow $1.80B $991.33M $7.60B
R&D – $194.67M $1.40B
EPS (diluted) $7.38 $1.87 $19.06
Cash & equivalents $722.30M $768.50M $5.46B
Total debt $13.19B $1.64B $41.37B
Shares (diluted) 282.10M 218.88M 371.00M
Enterprise value $80.31B $6.80B $235.85B

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
MetricECLQGENTMO
P/E 41.5x 26.7x 35.8x
P/FCF 48.2x 11.0x 33.2x
P/Operating cash flow 28.6x 16.7x 27.1x
P/S 5.0x 5.2x 5.3x
P/B 8.3x 3.3x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 16.2x 3.6x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 24.9x 18.1x 24.9x
EV/EBIT 34.1x 26.4x 34.0x
EV/Revenue 5.7x 5.6x 6.1x
EV/FCF 55.1x 11.9x 37.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.7x 18.0x 30.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.10 6.54 4.73

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECLQGENTMO
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% 3.0% 8.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 2.0% 2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.4% 1.7% 7.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 1.3% 4.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.3% -4.9% 12.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.2% 3.3% 7.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% 143.9% 7.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.8% 6.7% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.2% 6.6% 9.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 4.1% 7.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% -3.0% 21.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 8.0% 4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.6% 2.3% 24.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 10.5% 5.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECLQGENTMO
Gross margin 43.9% 62.2% 41.1%
EBITDA margin 22.9% 31.0% 24.4%
Operating margin 16.7% 21.2% 17.9%
Pretax margin 15.0% 22.0% 16.7%
Net margin 12.0% 19.5% 14.9%
FCF margin 10.3% 47.2% 16.0%
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% 31.2% 19.7%
Return on equity 20.4% 12.2% 13.2%
Return on assets 6.9% 7.0% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 10.0% 7.9% 8.0%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 8.5% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.4x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 2.1% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECLQGENTMO
Debt / assets 42.4% 27.9% 36.2%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.5x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.3x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 7.3x 1.7x 5.4x
Liabilities / assets 66.4% 43.0% 52.1%
Equity / assets 33.6% 57.0% 47.9%
Interest coverage 8.0x 11.3x 5.5x
Current ratio 1.1x 2.8x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 2.0x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 1.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 4.03 4.08 4.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECLQGENTMO
Dividend yield 0.9% 5.2% 0.3%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 0.6% 1.6%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 5.8% 1.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 39.0% – 9.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 45.6% – 8.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.7% – 8.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.7% – 10.1%

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.

ConsensusECLQGENTMO
Forward P/E 38.6xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 27.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.90FY2026 $2.35FY2026 $25.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.2% +17.4% +2.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.26BFY2026 $2.25BFY2026 $50.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% -2.8% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECLQGENTMO
Held by institutions 80.0% 67.3% 90.2%
Institutions holding 1,713 338 2,625
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +16.5% +0.8%
Institutions buying 765 216 1,144
Institutions selling 679 86 1,145
Buyers to sellers 1.13 2.51 1.00

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.

ECLQGENTMO
ECL 1.00 0.22 0.22
QGEN 0.22 1.00 0.45
TMO 0.22 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECL, QGEN and TMO?

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ecolab (ECL) $87.33B, Qiagen (QGEN) $11.03B, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) $259.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, ECL, QGEN and TMO?

Qiagen (QGEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ecolab (ECL) 41.9x, Qiagen (QGEN) 26.9x, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 36.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Qiagen (QGEN) is cheapest (Ecolab (ECL) 38.6x, Qiagen (QGEN) 21.4x, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 27.0x). 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) +9.3%, Qiagen (QGEN) +3.0%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +8.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Qiagen (QGEN) has the highest net margin (Ecolab (ECL) 12.0%, Qiagen (QGEN) 19.5%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 14.9%). On return on invested capital, Ecolab (ECL) leads (Ecolab (ECL) 10.0%, Qiagen (QGEN) 7.9%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 8.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) returned the most: Ecolab (ECL) +20.3%, Qiagen (QGEN) +2.1%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +20.3%. Over five years, Ecolab (ECL) compounded fastest (Ecolab (ECL) +6.2%/yr, Qiagen (QGEN) -4.0%/yr, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +1.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ecolab (ECL) has the highest dividend yield: Ecolab (ECL) 0.01%, Qiagen (QGEN) 0.00%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 0.00%. Qiagen (QGEN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Ecolab (ECL) 21.4%, Qiagen (QGEN) 35.6%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 30.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ECL, QGEN and TMO?

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