Ecolab Inc. (ECL) vs PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG)

Ecolab Inc. and PPG Industries, Inc. are both Specialty Chemicals companies. Ecolab Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $77.2B against $23.6B — 3.3× the size. PPG Industries, Inc. trades at the lower P/E: 15.3× against 37.3×. Ecolab Inc. grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 7.11% against 4.99%. Ecolab Inc. has the higher net margin (12.6% vs 9.57%) and the lower return on invested capital (9.83% vs 9.87%). Both pay a dividend; PPG Industries, Inc. yields more (1.92% vs 1.06%). Across the 23 metrics below, PPG Industries, Inc. leads on 14 and Ecolab Inc. on 9.

Valuation

Metric ECL PPG Specialty Chemicals median
P/E 37.27 15.32 24.83
P/S 4.66 1.46 1.46
P/B 7.78 2.79 1.76
Price to free cash flow 41.59 17.04 19.84
EV/EBITDA 22.28 10.72 13.18
EV/Sales 5.14 1.78 1.84
Earnings yield 2.68% 6.53% 2.11%
Free cash flow yield 2.40% 5.87% 2.29%

Profitability

Metric ECL PPG Specialty Chemicals median
Gross margin 44.11% 40.90% 29.23%
Operating margin 16.93% 13.35% 3.63%
Net margin 12.57% 9.57% 2.89%
Free cash flow margin 11.20% 8.57% 3.78%
Return on equity 21.78% 19.25% 3.62%
Return on assets 7.89% 7.04% 0.35%
Return on invested capital 9.83% 9.87% 2.75%

Growth

Metric ECL PPG Specialty Chemicals median
Revenue growth (TTM) 7.11% 4.99% 4.51%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) (1.22%) 46.11% —
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 6.40% 2.79% 6.30%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR 0.00% 8.28% 0.00%

Health

Metric ECL PPG Specialty Chemicals median
Debt to equity 1.31 0.80 0.54
Current ratio 1.84 1.58 1.94
Net debt to EBITDA 2.04 1.89 2.03

Dividend

Metric ECL PPG Specialty Chemicals median
Dividend yield 1.06% 1.92% 1.69%
Payout ratio 0.51 0.45 0.25

Size

Metric ECL PPG Specialty Chemicals median
Market cap 77.19b 23.63b 2.43b

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