ECOLAB INC. vs UNILEVER PLC, two Household Products stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where ECL and UL diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), ECL reads +22.7% and UL reads -4.7%; on revenue growth, ECL reads +5.0% and UL reads -0.4%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's ECL price has a different growth bar priced in than UL (+22.7% implied for ECL vs -4.7% for UL); 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). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | ECL | UL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $277.66 | $63.44 |
| Market cap | $78.8B | $138.6B |
| Sector | Household Products | Household Products |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +22.7% | -4.7% |
| P/E | 37.6 | 13.5 |
| P/B | 7.85 | 7.25 |
| P/S | 4.79 | 2.52 |
| EV/EBITDA | 26.7 | 11.9 |
| Revenue growth | +5.0% | -0.4% |
| Gross margin | — | 47.0% |
| Operating margin | 15.3% | 17.9% |
| Net margin | 12.8% | 19.8% |
| Return on equity | 21.0% | 56.9% |
| Return on assets | 8.4% | 14.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 18.9% | 36.7% |
| FCF yield | 2.4% | 5.4% |
| Dividend yield | 1.0% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.16 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 0.99 | 0.79 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 4.62 | 2.51 |
| 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 →
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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.