COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY vs ECOLAB INC., two Household Products stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CL and ECL diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), CL reads +0.0% and ECL reads +20.0%; on return on equity, CL reads 360.1% and ECL reads 21.0%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's CL price has a different growth bar priced in than ECL (+0.0% implied for CL vs +20.0% for ECL); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What CL's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What ECL's price implies is a somewhat stretched bet versus history (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CL | ECL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $88.27 | $281.80 |
| Market cap | $70.8B | $79.5B |
| Sector | Household Products | Household Products |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +0.0% | +20.0% |
| P/E | 34.9 | 37.8 |
| P/B | 125.04 | 7.89 |
| P/S | 3.36 | 4.72 |
| EV/EBITDA | 20.5 | 26.1 |
| Revenue growth | +5.3% | +7.2% |
| Gross margin | 61.5% | — |
| Operating margin | 18.9% | 17.2% |
| Net margin | 9.7% | 12.6% |
| Return on equity | 360.1% | 21.0% |
| Return on assets | 12.1% | 7.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 28.2% | 9.5% |
| FCF yield | 5.5% | 2.4% |
| Dividend yield | 2.4% | 0.9% |
| Debt / equity | 13.82 | 1.31 |
| Current ratio | 1.03 | 1.84 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.34 | 3.88 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.