DOW vs ECL
DOW Inc. and Ecolab Inc., side by side — 9 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | DOW | ECL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $40.0B | $16.1B |
| Net income | $-2.4B | $2.1B |
| Gross margin | 6.3% | 44.5% |
| Net margin | −6.1% | 13.0% |
| Return on equity | −14.7% | 22.4% |
| Diluted EPS | −$3.70 | $7.28 |
| Dividend / share | $2.10 | $2.68 |
| Payout ratio | −61.0% | 36.3% |
| Free cash flow | $-1.4B | $1.9B |
| Equity | $16.0B | $9.8B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.88× | 0.78× |
| Current ratio | 1.97× | 1.08× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 0.7% | 6.4% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | · | · |
DOW bills 2.5× the revenue of ECL, and DOW closed the last reported year at a loss.
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
9 years side by side
| Fiscal year | DOW | ECL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $40.0B | $16.1B |
| FY2024 | $43.0B | $15.7B |
| FY2023 | $44.6B | $15.3B |
| FY2022 | $56.9B | $14.2B |
| FY2021 | $55.0B | $12.7B |
| FY2020 | $38.5B | $11.8B |
| FY2019 | $43.0B | $12.6B |
| FY2018 | $49.6B | $12.2B |
| FY2017 | $43.7B | $13.8B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | DOW | ECL |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $-2.4B | $2.1B |
| FY2024 | $1.2B | $2.1B |
| FY2023 | $660.0M | $1.4B |
| FY2022 | $4.6B | $1.1B |
| FY2021 | $6.4B | $1.1B |
| FY2020 | $1.3B | $-1.2B |
| FY2019 | $-1.3B | $1.6B |
| FY2018 | $4.8B | $1.4B |
| FY2017 | $595.0M | $1.5B |
9 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$23,886,800,000 | DOW |
| FY2024 | +$27,222,600,000 | DOW |
| FY2023 | +$29,301,800,000 | DOW |
| FY2022 | +$42,714,200,000 | DOW |
| FY2021 | +$42,234,900,000 | DOW |
| FY2020 | +$26,751,800,000 | DOW |
| FY2019 | +$30,389,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2018 | +$37,381,900,000 | DOW |
| FY2017 | +$29,894,100,000 | DOW |
DOW has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 9 fiscal years. The gap has narrowed since the earliest year compared.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
9 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −19.1 pp | ECL |
| FY2024 | −10.7 pp | ECL |
| FY2023 | −7.6 pp | ECL |
| FY2022 | +0.3 pp | DOW |
| FY2021 | +2.7 pp | DOW |
| FY2020 | +13.4 pp | DOW |
| FY2019 | −15.5 pp | ECL |
| FY2018 | −2.2 pp | ECL |
| FY2017 | −9.6 pp | ECL |
The higher net margin has changed hands between DOW and ECL over this period.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
ECL's net margin has been more volatile than DOW's over the 9 comparable fiscal years — 6.9 percentage points of standard deviation against 5.5.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between DOW and ECL over these 9 fiscal years — DOW led in 3 and ECL in 6.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
DOW's return on equity has been more volatile than ECL's over the 9 comparable fiscal years — 15.6 percentage points of standard deviation against 11.5.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between DOW and ECL over these 9 fiscal years — DOW led in 3 and ECL in 6.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.