Ecolab (ECL) Q1 FY2026 earnings: revenue $4.1 billion, up 10.0% on the year

Ecolab Inc. (ECL) reported revenue of $4.1 billion for Q1 FY2026, the quarter ended 31 March 2026, up 10.0% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $433 million, up 7.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.52. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 7 May 2026.

Revenue

$4.1 billion

+10.0% on the year · -3.1% on the quarter

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

Operating margin

15.3%

15.0% a year earlier

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

Net income

$433 million

+7.5% on the year · -23.3% on the quarter

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

Diluted EPS

$1.52

+7.8% on the year · -23.2% on the quarter

Q2 FY2024Q1 FY2026

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

What management said

Guidance figures: 1 new.

Reported sales rose 10%: Reported net sales were $4,066.1 million, up 10%. Organic sales rose 4% to $3,957.3 million after a $96.6 million acquisition effect; currency added $12.2 million.
Adjusted EPS rose 13%: Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.70, up 13%. Reported diluted EPS was $1.52, up 8%, after special gains and charges of $0.16 and discrete tax expense of $0.02 per share.
Adjusted operating margin rose 70 bps: Reported operating income margin was 15.3%. Adjusted operating income rose 15% to $679.7 million, with adjusted margin at 16.7%.

Read the earnings call summary

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ million	Q1 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	Q1 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Revenue	4,066	4,196	3,695	-3.1%	+10.0%
Cost of revenue	2,295	2,348	2,060	-2.3%	+11.4%
Gross profit	1,771	1,848	1,635	-4.2%	+8.3%
Gross margin	43.6%	44.0%	44.2%
Selling, general and administrative	1,102	1,061	1,050	+3.9%	+5.0%
Operating income	622	712	555	-12.6%	+12.0%
Operating margin	15.3%	17.0%	15.0%
Interest expense	77.3	82.8	72.6	-6.6%	+6.5%
Pre-tax income	558	660	510	-15.5%	+9.4%
Income tax	122	91.7	104	+32.5%	+17.4%
Effective tax rate	21.8%	13.9%	20.3%
Net income	433	564	402	-23.3%	+7.5%
Net margin	10.6%	13.4%	10.9%
Diluted EPS	$1.52	$1.98	$1.41	-23.2%	+7.8%

$ million except per share.

Fourth quarters are the year less the first three quarters. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ million	Q1 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	Q1 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Operating cash flow	446	1,090	369	-59.1%	+20.7%
Capital expenditure	348	332	238	+4.9%	+46.5%
Free cash flow	97.4	758	132	-87.2%	-25.9%
Free cash flow margin	2.4%	18.1%	3.6%
Cash from investing	-356	-1,978	-224
Cash from financing	-226	-432	-242
Depreciation and amortisation	263	256	236	+2.7%	+11.4%
Share-based compensation	40.3	27.1	42.2	+48.7%	-4.5%
Buybacks	344	409	154	-15.8%	+124.1%
Dividends paid	216	189	192	+14.1%	+12.4%
Dividend per share	$0.73	n/a	$0.65		+12.3%
Diluted shares, weighted	284m	284m	285m	-0.2%	-0.6%
Shares outstanding at period end	281m	282m	284m	-0.2%	-0.7%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ million	Q1 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	Q1 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Shareholders' equity	10,004	9,771	8,876	+2.4%	+12.7%
Non-controlling interest	28.1	33.7	27.9	-16.6%	+0.7%
Debt	8,496	8,236	7,612	+3.1%	+11.6%
Other liabilities	6,513	6,656	5,851	-2.1%	+11.3%
Total liabilities and equity	25,041	24,696	22,366	+1.4%	+12.0%
Fixed assets	4,397	4,277	3,776	+2.8%	+16.5%
Goodwill	9,439	9,227	7,864	+2.3%	+20.0%
Intangible assets	3,524	3,688	3,229	-4.5%	+9.2%
Cash and equivalents	520	646	1,163	-19.6%	-55.3%
Receivables	3,280	3,249	2,857	+0.9%	+14.8%
Inventory	1,572	1,490	1,547	+5.5%	+1.6%
Other assets	2,308	2,118	1,930	+9.0%	+19.6%
Total assets	25,041	24,696	22,366	+1.4%	+12.0%

Questions

What was Ecolab's revenue in Q1 FY2026?

Ecolab (ECL) reported revenue of $4.1 billion for Q1 FY2026, the quarter ended 31 March 2026, up 10.0% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Ecolab earn in Q1 FY2026?

Net income for Q1 FY2026 was $433 million, up 7.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.52.

When did Ecolab report Q1 FY2026 results?

Ecolab filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 March 2026 with the SEC on 7 May 2026.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q4 FY2021	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022	Q1 FY2023	Q2 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2023	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024	Q1 FY2025	Q2 FY2025	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025 *	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	3,365	3,267	3,581	3,669	3,671	3,572	3,852	3,958	3,938	3,752	3,986	3,998	4,005	3,695	4,025	4,165	4,196	4,066	4,415	4,695
Cost of revenue	2,043	2,073	2,211	2,292	2,255	2,205	2,335	2,330	2,284	2,128	2,241	2,262	2,269	2,060	2,223	2,299	2,348	2,295	2,470	2,626
Gross profit	1,322	1,193	1,370	1,378	1,416	1,366	1,517	1,628	1,654	1,624	1,745	1,737	1,736	1,635	1,802	1,866	1,848	1,771	1,946	2,069
Gross margin	39%	37%	38%	38%	39%	38%	39%	41%	42%	43%	44%	43%	43%	44%	45%	45%	44%	44%	44%	44%
SG&A	868	915	940	877	922	990	1,012	1,025	1,035	1,078	1,076	1,025	1,050	1,050	1,068	1,079	1,061	1,102	1,142	1,177
Operating income	388	254	426	483	399	352	485	566	590	518	657	1,045	583	555	710	760	712	622	758	810
Operating margin	12%	8%	12%	13%	11%	10%	13%	14%	15%	14%	16%	26%	15%	15%	18%	18%	17%	15%	17%	17%
Interest expense	46.8	55.1	57.3	66.7	73.0	80.1	82.7	91.3	94.8	94.5	80.2	86.4	79.2	72.6	76.2	74.6	82.8	77.3	95.0	136
Pre-tax income	350	220	389	412	322	290	421	506	538	459	591	987	534	510	660	718	660	558	694	694
Tax rate	13%	21%	20%	15%	16%	18%	21%	19%	24%	9%	16%	25%	10%	20%	20%	18%	14%	22%	22%	20%
Net income	301	172	308	347	264	233	330	404	405	412	491	736	473	402	524	585	564	433	535	551
Net margin	9%	5%	9%	9%	7%	7%	9%	10%	10%	11%	12%	18%	12%	11%	13%	14%	13%	11%	12%	12%
Diluted EPS	$1.04	$0.60	$1.08	$1.21	$0.93	$0.82	$1.15	$1.41	$1.41	$1.43	$1.71	$2.58	$1.66	$1.41	$1.84	$2.05	$1.98	$1.52	$1.90	$1.95
Operating cash flow	641	170	322	437	859	198	573	788	852	649	611	787	767	369	702	791	1,090	446	730	764
Capital expenditure	219	149	169	192	203	174	172	166	263	202	197	236	360	238	217	262	332	348	240	313
Free cash flow	422	21.4	154	244	656	24.5	401	621	590	448	414	550	407	132	485	530	758	97.4	489	450
Buybacks	28.8	262	141	42.6	72.8	10.6	0.3	0.8	2.0	196	323	464	2.8	154	45.5	175	409	344	325	2.8
Dividends paid	140	154	146	145	158	158	151	154	155	175	166	162	161	192	188	184	189	216	208	205
Shares outstanding	287m	286m	285m	285m	284m	285m	285m	285m	285m	286m	284m	283m	283m	284m	284m	283m	282m	281m	280m	280m
Filing	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-Q for the period ended 31 March 2026, filed 7 May 2026: the filing.