TMO vs ECL vs A Stock Comparison

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Ecolab and Agilent Technologies Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$288.57 +4.3% 1M +4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$81.05B
P/E
38.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Water Treatment Industrials
4 wins
A Agilent Technologies, Inc.
$173.05 +4.7% 1M +17.4% 1Y
Market cap
$49.59B
P/E
34.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.01%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Agilent Technologies leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Agilent Technologies 5, Ecolab 4, Thermo Fisher Scientific 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTMOECLALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $254.18B $81.05B $49.59B TMO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.5x 38.3x 34.4x A
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.1x 36.5x 26.5x TMO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.2% +7.1% +8.6% A
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.0% 12.6% 19.5% A
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.9% 11.0% 13.1% A
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.5x 2.1x 1.1x A
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% ECL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.8% +4.9% +17.4% TMO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.9%/yr +5.4%/yr +1.8%/yr ECL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.8% 21.9% 32.3% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 66/100 62/100 ECL

Percentile Scorecard

TMOECLA

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

AxisTMOECLA
Valuation 60 #93 of 228 50 #11 of 21 57 #98 of 228
Growth 35 #144 of 222 83 #4 of 19 36 #143 of 222
Profitability 83 #37 of 210 88 #3 of 17 91 #20 of 210
Financial Health 28 #174 of 241 48 #12 of 22 55 #108 of 241
Shareholder Returns 88 #18 of 138 60 #5 of 11 69 #43 of 138
Overall 59 66 62
  • TMO ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • A ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTMOECLASPY
1 month +1.2%+4.3%+4.7% -1.0%
3 months +18.6%+7.4%+24.9% +2.9%
6 months +43.5%+7.1%+49.8% +6.4%
Year to date +16.3%+9.9%+27.2% +11.4%
1 year +17.8%+4.9%+17.4% +13.1%
3 years +47.1%+80.1%+63.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +13.7%+21.7%+17.9% +21.5%
5 years +10.1%+30.3%+9.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +1.9%+5.4%+1.8% +10.9%
10 years +347.3%+149.2%+279.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +16.2%+9.6%+14.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureTMOECLASPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.8%21.9%32.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.3%22.0%27.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.590.480.86 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.600.230.54 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.5%-44.3%-39.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.3%-6.4%-2.6% -2.5%
52-week high $696.55$308.35$177.72 $779.14
52-week low $438.34$245.73$110.24 $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.

MultipleTMOECLA
P/E now vs peer median 35.9xmedian 30.7x 38.3xmedian 25.9x 33.9xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 3.0x 4.8xmedian 2.5x 6.6xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 17.7x 22.9xmedian 19.3x 26.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.0xmedian 23.7x 43.2xmedian 25.4x 38.5xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.4x 8.0xmedian 2.0x 6.6xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 4.27median 0.96 1.72median 1.53 3.45median 0.96

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 monthsTMOECLA
Revenue $46.34B $16.84B $7.37B
Gross profit $18.91B $7.43B $3.97B
Operating income $8.15B $2.85B $1.64B
Net income $6.99B $2.13B $1.44B
Free cash flow $7.32B $1.87B $1.27B
R&D $1.40B – $485.00M
EPS (diluted) $18.78 $7.50 $5.09
Cash & equivalents $4.06B $5.14B $1.76B
Total debt $42.55B $38.40B $3.95B
Shares (diluted) 371.00M 282.20M 283.00M
Enterprise value $233.20B $72.79B $42.48B

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
MetricTMOECLA
P/E 35.9x 38.3x 33.9x
P/FCF 34.0x 43.2x 38.5x
P/Operating cash flow 27.6x 26.5x 30.3x
P/S 5.4x 4.8x 6.6x
P/B 4.7x 8.0x 6.6x
P/Tangible book 7.3x 12.2x 7.6x
EV/EBITDA 25.9x 22.9x 26.7x
EV/EBIT 35.3x 31.2x 31.1x
EV/Revenue 6.2x 5.3x 6.9x
EV/FCF 39.3x 47.4x 40.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.9x 29.1x 31.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.27 1.72 3.45

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTMOECLA
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.2% 7.1% 8.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 4.5% 1.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.2% 7.5% 11.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.0% 9.4% 3.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.0% -1.4% 13.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 18.4% 5.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.2% -1.0% 18.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 21.3% 8.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.8% 0.2% 18.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 22.3% 9.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.9% 16.5% 7.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 13.9% -1.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% 19.1% 16.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 12.2% -3.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTMOECLA
Gross margin 40.8% 44.1% 53.8%
EBITDA margin 23.9% 23.1% 25.9%
Operating margin 17.6% 16.9% 22.2%
Pretax margin 16.5% 15.6% 22.5%
Net margin 15.0% 12.6% 19.5%
FCF margin 15.8% 11.1% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 19.5% 18.1% 21.8%
Return on equity 13.4% 21.2% 19.9%
Return on assets 6.2% 7.8% 10.7%
Return on invested capital 7.9% 11.0% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 8.3% 13.3% 14.6%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.4x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.8% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTMOECLA
Debt / assets 37.6% 44.0% 28.3%
Debt / equity 0.8x 1.3x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.5x 2.1x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 5.8x 7.0x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 53.4% 66.3% 47.3%
Equity / assets 46.6% 33.7% 52.7%
Interest coverage 5.6x 17.6x 15.5x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.8x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.5x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.9x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 3.98 4.15 5.75

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTMOECLA
Dividend yield 0.3% 1.0% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 2.0% 1.3% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 2.3% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 9.5% 37.4% 19.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 9.0% 42.6% 22.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.5% 13.4% 2.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 9.3% 3.1%

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.

ConsensusTMOECLA
Forward P/E 26.1xFY2026 36.5xFY2026 26.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.77FY2026 $7.90FY2026 $6.54FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1.8% +23.3% +0.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $49.99BFY2026 $17.24BFY2026 $7.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.2%FY2026 +7.2%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.9% +5.4% -5.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTMOECLA
Held by institutions 90.2% 80.0% 92.6%
Institutions holding 2,621 1,710 1,122
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +1.4% +3.2%
Institutions buying 1,141 762 599
Institutions selling 1,144 679 350
Buyers to sellers 1.00 1.12 1.71

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.

TMOECLA
TMO 1.00 0.22 0.73
ECL 0.22 1.00 0.26
A 0.73 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TMO, ECL and A?

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) $254.18B, Ecolab (ECL) $81.05B, Agilent Technologies (A) $49.59B.

Which stock is cheaper, TMO, ECL and A?

Agilent Technologies (A) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 36.5x, Ecolab (ECL) 38.3x, Agilent Technologies (A) 34.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) is cheapest (Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 26.1x, Ecolab (ECL) 36.5x, Agilent Technologies (A) 26.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Agilent Technologies (A) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +7.2%, Ecolab (ECL) +7.1%, Agilent Technologies (A) +8.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Agilent Technologies (A) has the highest net margin (Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 15.0%, Ecolab (ECL) 12.6%, Agilent Technologies (A) 19.5%). On return on invested capital, Agilent Technologies (A) leads (Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 7.9%, Ecolab (ECL) 11.0%, Agilent Technologies (A) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) returned the most: Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +17.8%, Ecolab (ECL) +4.9%, Agilent Technologies (A) +17.4%. Over five years, Ecolab (ECL) compounded fastest (Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +1.9%/yr, Ecolab (ECL) +5.4%/yr, Agilent Technologies (A) +1.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ecolab (ECL) has the highest dividend yield: Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 0.00%, Ecolab (ECL) 0.01%, Agilent Technologies (A) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 29.8%, Ecolab (ECL) 21.9%, Agilent Technologies (A) 32.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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