Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) vs Ecolab Inc. (ECL)
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and Ecolab Inc. are both Specialty Chemicals companies. Ecolab Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $77.2B against $63.4B — 1.2× the size. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has negative trailing earnings, so its P/E is not meaningful; Ecolab Inc. trades at 37.3×. Ecolab Inc. grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 7.11% against 4.51%. Ecolab Inc. has the higher net margin (12.6% vs −0.38%) and the higher return on invested capital (9.83% vs −1.12%). Both pay a dividend; Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. yields more (3.24% vs 1.06%). Across the 20 metrics below, Ecolab Inc. leads on 17 and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. on 3.
Valuation
Profitability
| Metric | APD | ECL | Specialty Chemicals median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 32.06% | 44.11% | 29.23% |
| Operating margin | (4.71%) | 16.93% | 3.63% |
| Net margin | (0.38%) | 12.57% | 2.89% |
| Free cash flow margin | (0.86%) | 11.20% | 3.78% |
| Return on equity | (0.28%) | 21.78% | 3.62% |
| Return on assets | (0.12%) | 7.89% | 0.35% |
| Return on invested capital | (1.12%) | 9.83% | 2.75% |
Growth
Health
Dividend
Size
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