| Metric | Value ($ M) | Q1 FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 4.1K | 10.0% |
| Total Income | 4.1K | 10.0% |
| Expenditure | 3.4K | 9.7% |
| PBT | 558.10 | 9.4% |
| Net Profit | 432.60 | 7.5% |
| OPM | 15.30% | 0.27pp |
| NPM | 10.64% | 0.25pp |
| EPS | 1.53 | 7.8% |
Ecolab Reports Q1 2026 Sales Up 10% to $4.1 Billion, Adjusted EPS Up 13%
28 Apr 2026 · 28 Apr, 5:43 pm
Summary
Ecolab delivered a strong first quarter in 2026, reporting sales of $4,066.1 million, a 10% increase year-over-year, with organic sales accelerating by 4%. This performance was underpinned by a 13% rise in adjusted diluted earnings per share to $1.70 and a 70 basis point expansion in adjusted operating income margin to 16.7%. Management highlighted accelerated volume growth, strong value pricing, and improved productivity as key drivers. Looking ahead, Ecolab reiterated its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance of $8.43 to $8.63, expecting performance to strengthen in the second half as pricing actions progressively build to offset rising commodity costs.
Key Highlights
- 1
Ecolab reported first quarter 2026 sales of $4,066.1 million, marking a 10% increase year-over-year, with organic sales accelerating by 4%.
- 2
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) grew by 13% to $1.70, while reported diluted EPS increased by 8% to $1.52.
- 3
The adjusted operating income margin expanded by 70 basis points to 16.7%, reflecting solid operating income margin expansion.
- 4
Life Sciences segment accelerated to 11% growth, significantly driven by bioprocessing sales which more than doubled during the quarter.
- 5
Ecolab Digital and Global High-Tech segments both demonstrated strong performance, growing by more than 20%.
- 6
The company maintained its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook in the range of $8.43 to $8.63, representing a 12% to 15% increase.
- 7
For the second quarter of 2026, Ecolab anticipates adjusted diluted EPS to be between $2.02 and $2.12, an increase of 7% to 12%.
Management Comments
Christophe Beck
We delivered another strong quarter, with accelerated sales growth and double-digit earnings growth reflecting the strength of our growth engines and the improving performance of our core businesses. That performance was driven by strong value pricing, accelerated volume growth and improved productivity, demonstrating the power of our technology- and service-led model and the way our teams execute every day to deliver for customers in a complex operating environment.
Christophe Beck
As we move into the second quarter, we expect a short transition period as we absorb rising commodity costs, while the benefits from the energy surcharge progressively build. Exiting the second quarter, we expect accelerating pricing to cover the dollar impact from higher commodity costs, with gross margin stabilizing in the second half of the year. With this, along with strong new business wins and improved productivity, we expect Ecolab’s performance to strengthen in the second half of the year and are reiterating our expectation to deliver 12-15% adjusted EPS growth in 2026, excluding the impact of the recently announced acquisition of CoolIT Systems.
Christophe Beck
The pending acquisition of CoolIT is an important strategic step for Ecolab, further strengthening our Global High-Tech growth engine and extending our leadership in high-performance cooling for data centers. Our combined end-to-end cooling technologies enable leading hyperscale and colocation data centers to put more power towards computing, with less water and energy consumption. Overall, we are confident in our team’s ability to execute and deliver for customers and shareholders, supported by the strong momentum of our growth engines and solid performance in our core businesses.
Informational and educational content only. Not investment advice.