VLTO vs IDXX vs ECL Stock Comparison

Veralto, Idexx Laboratories and Ecolab Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
VLTO Veralto Corp
$103.18 +6.2% 1M -0.9% 1Y
Market cap
$25.20B
P/E
25.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.70B
Div. yield
0.50%
Water Treatment Industrials
2 wins
ECL Ecolab Inc.
$291.28 +4.1% 1M +4.1% 1Y
Market cap
$81.65B
P/E
39.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
1.00%
Water Treatment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionVLTOIDXXECLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $25.20B $44.27B $81.65B ECL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.6x 38.9x 39.3x VLTO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.7x 35.9x 36.9x VLTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.2% +12.8% +9.3% IDXX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.3% 25.0% — IDXX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.4% 45.6% — IDXX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.9x 0.5x — IDXX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.50% — 1.00% ECL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.9% -13.3% +4.1% ECL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -3.0%/yr +5.7%/yr ECL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.5% 32.1% 21.9% ECL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 74/100 77/100 55/100 IDXX

Percentile Scorecard

VLTOIDXXECL

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

AxisVLTOIDXXECL
Valuation 80 #5 of 21 75 #159 of 625 35 #14 of 21
Growth 72 #6 of 19 76 #148 of 602 83 #4 of 19
Profitability 100 #1 of 17 97 #18 of 551 81 #4 of 17
Financial Health 52 #11 of 22 47 #349 of 656 19 #18 of 22
Shareholder Returns 67 #4 of 10 93 #26 of 365 –
Overall 74 77 55
  • VLTO ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • IDXX ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ECL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodVLTOIDXXECLSPY
1 month +6.2%+8.1%+4.1% -0.2%
3 months +4.7%-1.5%+2.8% +3.9%
6 months +20.5%-1.2%+9.1% +8.2%
Year to date +3.4%-17.0%+11.0% +12.9%
1 year -0.9%-13.3%+4.1% +12.3%
3 years +51.8%+43.4%+85.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +14.9%+12.8%+22.8% +23.3%
5 years —-14.1%+31.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year —-3.0%+5.7% +10.9%
10 years —+435.0%+153.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+18.3%+9.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureVLTOIDXXECLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.5%32.1%21.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.3%31.2%22.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.230.790.48 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.04-0.410.19 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.6%-51.3%-44.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.6%-26.8%-5.5% -1.2%
52-week high $104.87$766.68$308.35 $779.14
52-week low $82.23$504.70$245.73 $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.

MultipleVLTOIDXXECL
P/E now vs peer median 25.6xmedian 25.6x 38.9xmedian 17.2x 39.3xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.4x 9.7xmedian 9.0x 4.7xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 16.7x 27.9xmedian 16.3x —median 16.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.1xmedian 23.6x 35.3xmedian 18.7x 41.5xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 2.0x 27.5xmedian 2.2x 7.8xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 5.71median 1.68 2.58median 0.33 1.98median 1.68

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 monthsVLTOIDXXECL
Revenue $5.70B $4.55B $17.37B
Gross profit $3.43B $2.84B –
Operating income $1.30B $1.46B $2.90B
Net income $988.00M $1.14B –
Free cash flow $1.05B $1.25B –
R&D $276.00M $261.47M –
EPS (diluted) $4.02 $14.37 $7.38
Cash & equivalents $2.12B $196.93M $722.30M
Total debt $3.38B $968.86M –
Shares (diluted) 245.80M 79.31M 282.20M
Enterprise value $17.84B $43.48B $81.68B

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
MetricVLTOIDXXECL
P/E 25.6x 38.9x 39.3x
P/FCF 24.1x 35.3x 41.5x
P/Operating cash flow 22.8x 32.3x –
P/S 4.4x 9.7x 4.7x
P/B 8.1x 27.5x 7.8x
P/Tangible book 11.1x 29.2x 15.2x
EV/EBITDA 19.1x 27.9x –
EV/EBIT 20.4x 30.9x –
EV/Revenue 4.6x 9.9x 4.7x
EV/FCF 25.3x 35.9x –
EV/Operating cash flow 24.0x 32.8x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.71 2.58 1.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVLTOIDXXECL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.2% 12.8% 9.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 9.0% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.8% 14.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.5% 10.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.5% 16.2% 11.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 11.7% 17.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 10.6% 15.6% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 12.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) 12.5% 18.1% 6.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 15.1% 19.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.8% 51.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 22.5% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 11.0% 59.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 28.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVLTOIDXXECL
Gross margin 60.2% 62.4% –
EBITDA margin 24.4% 35.4% –
Operating margin 22.7% 32.0% –
Pretax margin 21.2% 31.3% –
Net margin 17.3% 25.0% –
FCF margin 18.4% 27.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 19.4% 30.1% –
Return on equity 32.4% 71.9% 20.4%
Return on assets 12.2% 33.4% 6.9%
Return on invested capital 17.4% 45.6% –
Return on capital employed 21.4% 68.6% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 1.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVLTOIDXXECL
Debt / assets 39.5% 28.1% –
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.9x 0.5x –
Debt / FCF 3.2x 0.8x –
Liabilities / assets 63.8% 53.2% 66.4%
Equity / assets 36.2% 46.8% 33.6%
Interest coverage 14.1x 38.6x –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.5x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 4.51 20.16 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVLTOIDXXECL
Dividend yield 0.5% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 2.4% –
Shareholder yield 2.2% 2.4% 1.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusVLTOIDXXECL
Forward P/E 22.7xFY2026 35.9xFY2026 36.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.54FY2026 $15.63FY2026 $7.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.4%FY2026 +19.5%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.9% +12.9% +23.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.70BFY2026 $5.00BFY2026 $17.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.7%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.5% +0.6% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVLTOIDXXECL
Held by institutions 96.1% 93.6% 80.0%
Institutions holding 974 1,289 1,710
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.3% +4.1% +1.4%
Institutions buying 399 587 762
Institutions selling 384 496 679
Buyers to sellers 1.04 1.18 1.12

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.

VLTOIDXXECL
VLTO 1.00 0.35 0.33
IDXX 0.35 1.00 0.45
ECL 0.33 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VLTO, IDXX and ECL?

Ecolab (ECL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Veralto (VLTO) $25.20B, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) $44.27B, Ecolab (ECL) $81.65B.

Which stock is cheaper, VLTO, IDXX and ECL?

Veralto (VLTO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Veralto (VLTO) 25.6x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 38.9x, Ecolab (ECL) 39.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Veralto (VLTO) is cheapest (Veralto (VLTO) 22.7x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 35.9x, Ecolab (ECL) 36.9x). 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: Veralto (VLTO) +6.2%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +12.8%, Ecolab (ECL) +9.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has the highest net margin (Veralto (VLTO) 17.3%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 25.0%). On return on invested capital, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads (Veralto (VLTO) 17.4%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 45.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ecolab (ECL) returned the most: Veralto (VLTO) -0.9%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -13.3%, Ecolab (ECL) +4.1%. Over five years, Ecolab (ECL) compounded fastest (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -3.0%/yr, Ecolab (ECL) +5.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ecolab (ECL) has the highest dividend yield: Veralto (VLTO) 0.50%, Ecolab (ECL) 1.00%. Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ecolab (ECL) has been the steadiest (Veralto (VLTO) 23.5%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 32.1%, Ecolab (ECL) 21.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.