ECOLAB INC. vs PROCTER & GAMBLE CO, two Household Products stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where ECL and PG diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), ECL reads +22.7% and PG reads -0.8%; on debt / equity, ECL reads 0.16 and PG reads 0.68. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's ECL price has a different growth bar priced in than PG (+22.7% implied for ECL vs -0.8% for PG); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What ECL's price implies is a somewhat stretched bet versus history (whole-company basis). What PG's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | ECL | PG |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $277.66 | $144.51 |
| Market cap | $78.8B | $349.2B |
| Sector | Household Products | Household Products |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +22.7% | -0.8% |
| P/E | 37.6 | 21.1 |
| P/B | 7.85 | 6.38 |
| P/S | 4.79 | 4.03 |
| EV/EBITDA | 26.7 | 17.2 |
| Revenue growth | +5.0% | +3.4% |
| Operating margin | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Net margin | 12.8% | 19.2% |
| Return on equity | 21.0% | 30.4% |
| Return on assets | 8.4% | 12.9% |
| Return on invested capital | 18.9% | 17.4% |
| FCF yield | 2.4% | 4.3% |
| Dividend yield | 1.0% | 2.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.16 | 0.68 |
| Current ratio | 0.99 | 0.73 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 4.62 | 5.02 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
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.