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Ecolab
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Updated Oct 29, 2026
Ecolab Q3 2026: Organic growth accelerates to 7% as High-Tech water surges 63% and Life Sciences hits 17%, but $5B CoolIT acquisition triples net debt to EBITDA to 3.1x.
Ecolab's Q3 2026 results are defined by two concurrent dynamics: genuine operational momentum — organic sales up 7%, adjusted operating income up 14%, and Global Life Sciences operating margins expanding 500 basis points to 23.3% — and a materially more leveraged balance sheet following the July 2026 CoolIT Systems acquisition, which cost $4.6 billion and pushed net debt to EBITDA from 2.0x to 3.1x in nine months. The High-Tech operating segment, now capturing semiconductor and data center water treatment demand, posted 63% organic sales growth in Q3, the single strongest growth rate across any Ecolab segment. Gross margin compression of 70 basis points reported versus the prior year reflects higher commodity costs and Middle East-driven energy price volatility that prompted Ecolab to implement an energy surcharge in Q2 2026 — a new pricing mechanism not deployed in prior periods.
Tone: mixedRevenue
$16.1B
ECL 10-K · FY 2025
Employees
48,000
Revenue FY2024
$15.7B
Founded
1923
Profile
ECL 10-K Item 1 · Feb 23, 2026Ecolab is a global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services, generating approximately $16 billion in annual sales across more than 170 countries. The company serves customers in food, healthcare, data centers, microelectronics, life sciences and hospitality through four reportable segments: Global Water, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Pest Elimination, and Global Life Sciences. Its differentiated value proposition combines science-based chemistry, digital monitoring, AI-enabled technology and direct field service to help customers optimize water and energy use while reducing environmental impact.
Read filing description ↓ Collapse description ↑
A trusted partner for millions of customers, we are a global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and the resources vital to life. For more than a century, we have advanced innovation by integrating science-based solutions, data-driven insights, AI-technology and world-class service. This unique combination enables us to partner with customers to define what best-in-class looks like and scale it across their operations, helping them achieve peak performance. Today, we have $16 billion in annual sales, 48,000 associates and customers in more than 170 countries and 40 industries. We help protect one-third of the world's food production and a quarter of the power generated while delivering innovative solutions across food, healthcare, data centers, microelectronics, life sciences and hospitality. Our comprehensive approach protects what's vital, aiming by 2030 to help protect 2 billion people from infections and enough drinking water for 1 billion people while enhancing business performance. We pursue a 'One Ecolab' enterprise selling strategy, built on the legacy of 'circle the customer – circle the globe', where we provide an array of innovative programs, products and services designed to meet the operational and sustainability needs of our customers throughout the world. Sustainability is core to our business strategy. We deliver sustainable solutions that help companies around the world achieve their business goals while reducing environmental impacts. In 2024, we helped our customers conserve more than 226 billion gallons of water and avoid more than 4.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Primary products
- water treatment products and technology programs
- cooling water treatment programs
- boiler water treatment programs
- wastewater treatment programs
- ultra-pure water technologies
- scale and corrosion inhibitors
Business segments
End markets
Geographies
Named customers
We believe our business is not materially dependent upon a single customer. Additionally, although we have a diverse customer base and no customer or distributor constituted 10 percent or more of our consolidated revenues in 2025, 2024 or 2023, we do have customers and independent, third-party distributors, the loss of which could have a material adverse effect on results of operations for the affected earnings periods; however, we consider it unlikely that such an event would have a material adverse impact on our financial position.
“We believe we are one of the leading global suppliers of products and programs for chemical applications within the industrial water treatment and petroleum refining industries.” Competitive position, as stated in the filing
Revenue commentary · FY 2025
Reported sales increased 2% to $16.1 billion in 2025 from $15.7 billion in 2024, with organic sales growth of 3% when excluding currency effects and acquisitions.
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