ECLECOLAB INC.

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics

Revenue: $16.1B; 2.2% YoY
Operating margin: 17.0%; 4.4% YoY
EBITDA: $3.4B; 0.8% YoY
Market cap: $85.0B
Employees: 48,000; $335K revenue each
Net debt / EBITDA: 3.3×; $11.2B net debt
AI in 10-K: 3.2; mentions per 10K words

Takeover score 2 of 13

Fixable underperformance 1 of 7

TSR below peersNo
—
3+ of last 5 years
High CEO pay despite TSRNo
—
Median CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
Earnings not backed by cashNo
142% of net income
Cash flow under 80% of net income
Dilutive SBCNo
1% of revenue
Over 10% of revenue
Payouts exceed cash flowNo
52% of cash flow
Buybacks + dividends over cash flow
Goodwill-heavyYes
41% of assets
Over 40% of assets
Shareholder dissentNo
94% lowest support
Any vote under 80% support

Buyer economics 0 of 4

Low revenue per employeeNo
$335K · 46th pct
Bottom quartile of its SIC industry
Quiet on AINo
3.2 per 10K words · 72nd pct
Bottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
Net cashNo
3.3× EBITDA net debt
More cash than debt, positive EBITDA
Buyout-sizedNo
$85.0B market cap
Market cap $500M–$5B

Catalysts 1 of 2

Active 13DNo
0 filings
Active-intent 13D in 18 months
Net insider sellingYes
−$23M net
Net sales over $10M in 12 months

Financials

Metric	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	YoY	Trend
Revenue	$12.7B	$14.2B	$15.3B	$15.7B	$16.1B	2.2%
Operating income	$1.6B	$1.6B	$2.0B	$2.8B	$2.7B	2.3%
Net income	$1.1B	$1.1B	$1.4B	$2.1B	$2.1B	1.7%
Operating cash flow	$2.1B	$1.8B	$2.4B	$2.8B	$3.0B	4.9%
Capex	$643M	$713M	$775M	$995M	$1.0B	5.4%
Stock-based comp	$90M	$88M	$95M	$135M	$137M	1.3%
Buybacks	$107M	$518M	$14M	$987M	$784M	21%
Dividends	$566M	$603M	$617M	$664M	$754M	13%

Deal filings

None.

13D filers

Filed	Filer	Form	Stake	Intent
Aug 22, 2022	CASCADE INVESTMENT, L.L.C.	SC 13D/A	10.9%	Active

Insider trading

Open-market buys, 12 mo: $4M · 7
Open-market sells, 12 mo: $27M · 15
Net: −$23M

Pay vs performance

No pay-versus-performance disclosure yet.