JCI vs ECL vs LII Stock Comparison

Johnson Controls International, Ecolab and Lennox International Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$288.96 +3.3% 1M +4.2% 1Y
Market cap
$81.86B
P/E
38.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Water Treatment Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lennox International leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Lennox International 6, Johnson Controls International 3, Ecolab 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionJCIECLLIILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $93.77B $81.86B $12.51B JCI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.2x 38.7x 15.9x LII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.2x 36.6x 16.1x LII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.8% +7.1% -2.1% ECL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.3% 12.6% 14.9% LII
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.5% 11.0% 29.8% LII
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 2.1x 1.3x LII
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% LII
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +30.6% +4.2% -26.3% JCI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.5%/yr +5.5%/yr +4.3%/yr JCI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.4% 21.9% 41.2% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 66/100 60/100 ECL

Percentile Scorecard

JCIECLLII

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

AxisJCIECLLII
Valuation 15 #48 of 56 50 #11 of 21 47 #30 of 56
Growth 84 #9 of 52 83 #4 of 19 45 #29 of 52
Profitability 62 #20 of 51 88 #3 of 17 96 #3 of 51
Financial Health 25 #44 of 58 48 #12 of 22 40 #35 of 58
Shareholder Returns 35 #27 of 41 60 #5 of 11 70 #13 of 41
Overall 44 66 60
  • JCI ranked among 60 companies in Construction Products
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • LII ranked among 60 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodJCIECLLIISPY
1 month -1.8%+3.3%-2.2% -0.8%
3 months +2.9%+6.3%-33.2% +3.5%
6 months +2.9%+7.9%-27.2% +7.0%
Year to date +23.2%+10.1%-24.7% +12.2%
1 year +30.6%+4.2%-26.3% +13.0%
3 years +205.9%+83.5%+1.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +45.2%+22.5%+0.6% +23.1%
5 years +105.6%+30.7%+23.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +15.5%+5.5%+4.3% +11.0%
10 years +234.5%+150.5%+151.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.8%+9.6%+9.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureJCIECLLIISPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.4%21.9%41.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.6%22.0%46.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.140.481.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.980.19-0.64 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.1%-44.3%-48.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.1%-6.3%-36.2% -1.8%
52-week high $158.77$308.35$572.95 $779.14
52-week low $110.85$245.73$348.85 $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.

MultipleJCIECLLII
P/E now vs peer median 25.1xmedian 19.4x 38.3xmedian 25.6x 16.1xmedian 19.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.5x 4.8xmedian 2.5x 2.4xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 26.1xmedian 12.1x 22.9xmedian 19.1x 12.2xmedian 12.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.2xmedian 16.1x 43.2xmedian 25.2x 17.1xmedian 16.1x
P/B now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 2.9x 8.0xmedian 2.0x 9.7xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.00median 0.93 1.72median 1.54 1.19median 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 monthsJCIECLLII
Revenue $25.00B $16.84B $5.30B
Gross profit $9.16B $7.43B $1.77B
Operating income $2.99B $2.85B $1.04B
Net income $3.58B $2.13B $788.60M
Free cash flow $3.17B $1.87B $738.70M
EPS (diluted) $5.87 $7.50 $22.66
Cash & equivalents $641.00M $5.14B $51.50M
Total debt $9.48B $13.18B $1.58B
Shares (diluted) 610.00M 282.20M 34.80M
Enterprise value $91.50B $73.61B $12.31B

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
MetricJCIECLLII
P/E 25.1x 38.3x 16.1x
P/FCF 28.2x 43.2x 17.1x
P/Operating cash flow 25.2x 26.5x 14.1x
P/S 3.6x 4.8x 2.4x
P/B 6.6x 8.0x 9.7x
P/Tangible book 9.0x 12.2x 12.3x
EV/EBITDA 26.1x 22.9x 12.2x
EV/EBIT 32.9x 31.2x 13.6x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 5.3x 2.7x
EV/FCF 31.0x 47.5x 19.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.7x 29.1x 15.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.00 1.72 1.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricJCIECLLII
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.8% 7.1% -2.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 4.5% 3.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.7% 7.5% -2.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 9.4% 8.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.1% -1.4% -2.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 27.4% 18.4% 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 60.4% -1.0% -6.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 20.0% 21.3% 12.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 72.9% 0.2% -4.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.0% 22.3% 13.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 20.5% 16.5% 7.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.2% 13.9% 28.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 29.8% 19.1% 8.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 56.0% 12.2% 38.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricJCIECLLII
Gross margin 36.7% 44.1% 33.3%
EBITDA margin 15.1% 23.1% 22.0%
Operating margin 12.0% 16.9% 19.7%
Pretax margin 10.9% 15.6% 18.5%
Net margin 14.3% 12.6% 14.9%
FCF margin 12.7% 11.1% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin 14.2% 18.1% 16.9%
Return on equity 27.0% 21.2% 62.8%
Return on assets 9.5% 7.8% 17.8%
Return on invested capital 10.5% 11.0% 29.8%
Return on capital employed 11.0% 13.3% 35.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.4x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.8% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricJCIECLLII
Debt / assets 24.4% 44.0% 34.8%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.3x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 2.1x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 3.0x 7.0x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 65.1% 66.3% 71.5%
Equity / assets 34.9% 33.7% 28.5%
Interest coverage – 17.6x 18.5x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.8x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.9x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 4.15 6.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricJCIECLLII
Dividend yield 1.1% 1.0% 1.5%
Net buyback yield 6.6% 1.3% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 7.7% 2.3% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 27.3% 37.4% 23.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 30.8% 42.6% 24.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.3% 13.4% 11.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 9.3% 6.5%

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.

ConsensusJCIECLLII
Forward P/E 30.2xFY2026 36.6xFY2026 16.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.89FY2026 $7.90FY2026 $22.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +30.1%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 -2.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +30.9% +23.3% +8.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $26.80BFY2026 $17.24BFY2026 $5.75BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +7.2%FY2026 +10.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.3% +5.4% +7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersJCIECLLII
Held by institutions 89.5% 80.0% 77.3%
Institutions holding 1,597 1,710 655
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +1.4% +1.8%
Institutions buying 790 762 315
Institutions selling 557 679 236
Buyers to sellers 1.42 1.12 1.33

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.

JCIECLLII
JCI 1.00 0.16 0.32
ECL 0.16 1.00 0.40
LII 0.32 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, JCI, ECL and LII?

Johnson Controls International (JCI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Johnson Controls International (JCI) $93.77B, Ecolab (ECL) $81.86B, Lennox International (LII) $12.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, JCI, ECL and LII?

Lennox International (LII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Johnson Controls International (JCI) 26.2x, Ecolab (ECL) 38.7x, Lennox International (LII) 15.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lennox International (LII) is cheapest (Johnson Controls International (JCI) 30.2x, Ecolab (ECL) 36.6x, Lennox International (LII) 16.1x). 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: Johnson Controls International (JCI) +6.8%, Ecolab (ECL) +7.1%, Lennox International (LII) -2.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lennox International (LII) has the highest net margin (Johnson Controls International (JCI) 14.3%, Ecolab (ECL) 12.6%, Lennox International (LII) 14.9%). On return on invested capital, Lennox International (LII) leads (Johnson Controls International (JCI) 10.5%, Ecolab (ECL) 11.0%, Lennox International (LII) 29.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson Controls International (JCI) returned the most: Johnson Controls International (JCI) +30.6%, Ecolab (ECL) +4.2%, Lennox International (LII) -26.3%. Over five years, Johnson Controls International (JCI) compounded fastest (Johnson Controls International (JCI) +15.5%/yr, Ecolab (ECL) +5.5%/yr, Lennox International (LII) +4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lennox International (LII) has the highest dividend yield: Johnson Controls International (JCI) 0.01%, Ecolab (ECL) 0.01%, Lennox International (LII) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Johnson Controls International (JCI) 31.4%, Ecolab (ECL) 21.9%, Lennox International (LII) 41.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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