Clorox vs Ecolab
CLX and ECL side by side, both in soap, detergents, and cleaning preparations; perfumes, cosmetics, and other toilet preparations. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How CLX and ECL compare
Ecolab is the larger company, worth 6.7 times as much as Clorox ($86.3B against $12.9B).
On earnings, Clorox is cheaper: it trades at 19.2× trailing earnings, against 41.9× for Ecolab.
Ecolab grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (9.3% versus 6.3% for Clorox).
Ecolab keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 12.0% compared with 9.4% at Clorox.
Both pay dividends: Clorox yields 3.5% and Ecolab 0.95%.
Ecolab scores higher on the StockData Score (16 against 14 for Clorox), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | CLX | ECL |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $12.9B | $86.3B |
| Share price | $106.86 | $307.86 |
| Change, 1 year | 2.1% | 19.1% |
| Change, 5 years | −36.0% | 31.1% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.50 | 0.95 |
| Employees | 9,200 | 48K |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 14 | 16 (better) |
| Valuation score | 6 (better) | 0 |
| Growth score | 3 | 3 |
| Performance score | 2 | 5 (better) |
| Health score | 0 | 4 (better) |
| Dividend score | 3 | 4 (better) |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 19.2× (better) | 41.9× |
| P/S | 1.8× (better) | 5.0× |
| P/B | – | 8.3× |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.7× (better) | 34.1× |
| P/FCF | 28.5× (better) | 48.1× |
| PEG | 0.33 (better) | 1.74 |
| FCF yield | 3.5% (better) | 2.1% |
| Fair value | $197.34 | $241.95 |
| Margin of safety | 45.8% (better) | −27.2% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 6.3% | 9.3% (better) |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | −1.8% | 6.4% (better) |
| Net income growth (TTM) | −14.4% | 4.9% (better) |
| EPS growth (TTM) | −12.7% | 5.6% (better) |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | −2.9% | – |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 41.9% | 43.9% (better) |
| Operating margin | – | 16.7% |
| Net margin | 9.4% | 12.0% (better) |
| FCF margin | 6.3% | 10.3% (better) |
| Return on equity | – | 20.7% |
| Return on invested capital | – | 12.1% |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | – | 1.27 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.78 (better) | 4.30 |
| Interest coverage | – | 7.4× |
| Current ratio | 0.65 | 1.11 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 1.81 | 4.02 (better) |
| Piotroski F-score | 3 | 6 (better) |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | 3.5% (better) | 0.95% |
| Payout ratio | 88.9% | 39.3% |
| Years of dividend growth | 17 (better) | 16 |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | 2.2% | 7.2% (better) |
| Buyback yield | 0.98% | 1.3% (better) |
| Shareholder yield | 4.5% (better) | 2.2% |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 86.3% | 80.5% |
| Held by insiders | 0.68% | 10.6% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | $829K (better) | −$17.2M |
| Superinvestors holding | 2 | 3 (better) |
| Short interest, % of float | 9.0% | 1.7% |
Go deeper
- CLX stock overview
- CLX income statement
- CLX valuation and score
- ECL stock overview
- ECL income statement
- ECL valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.