ECL vs LIN
Ecolab Inc. and Linde PLC, side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | ECL | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $16.1B | $34.0B |
| Net income | $2.1B | $6.9B |
| Gross margin | 44.5% | 48.8% |
| Net margin | 13.0% | 20.8% |
| Return on equity | 22.4% | 18.1% |
| Diluted EPS | $7.28 | $14.61 |
| Dividend / share | $2.68 | $6.00 |
| Payout ratio | 36.3% | 40.8% |
| Free cash flow | $1.9B | $5.1B |
| Equity | $9.8B | $38.2B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.78× | 0.46× |
| Current ratio | 1.08× | 0.88× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 6.4% | 4.5% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | · | 22.5% |
LIN bills 2.1× the revenue of ECL, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (20.8% against 13.0%).
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.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | ECL | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $16.1B | $34.0B |
| FY2024 | $15.7B | $33.0B |
| FY2023 | $15.3B | $32.9B |
| FY2022 | $14.2B | $33.4B |
| FY2021 | $12.7B | $30.8B |
| FY2020 | $11.8B | $27.2B |
| FY2019 | $12.6B | $28.2B |
| FY2018 | $12.2B | $14.8B |
| FY2017 | $13.8B | $11.4B |
| FY2016 | $13.2B | $10.5B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | ECL | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.1B | $6.9B |
| FY2024 | $2.1B | $6.6B |
| FY2023 | $1.4B | $6.2B |
| FY2022 | $1.1B | $4.1B |
| FY2021 | $1.1B | $3.8B |
| FY2020 | $-1.2B | $2.5B |
| FY2019 | $1.6B | $2.3B |
| FY2018 | $1.4B | $4.4B |
| FY2017 | $1.5B | $1.2B |
| FY2016 | $1.2B | $1.5B |
10 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$17,904,800,000 | LIN |
| FY2024 | −$17,263,600,000 | LIN |
| FY2023 | −$17,533,800,000 | LIN |
| FY2022 | −$19,176,200,000 | LIN |
| FY2021 | −$18,059,900,000 | LIN |
| FY2020 | −$15,452,800,000 | LIN |
| FY2019 | −$15,666,000,000 | LIN |
| FY2018 | −$2,613,900,000 | LIN |
| FY2017 | +$2,477,900,000 | ECL |
| FY2016 | +$2,617,800,000 | ECL |
The higher-revenue side has changed between ECL and LIN over this period. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
10 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
10 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −7.8 pp | LIN |
| FY2024 | −6.9 pp | LIN |
| FY2023 | −10.2 pp | LIN |
| FY2022 | −5.0 pp | LIN |
| FY2021 | −3.9 pp | LIN |
| FY2020 | −19.7 pp | LIN |
| FY2019 | +4.1 pp | ECL |
| FY2018 | −17.9 pp | LIN |
| FY2017 | −0.5 pp | LIN |
| FY2016 | −5.1 pp | LIN |
The higher net margin has changed hands between ECL and LIN over this period.
10 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 LIN's over the 10 comparable fiscal years — 6.5 percentage points of standard deviation against 6.2.
10 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 ECL and LIN over these 10 fiscal years — ECL led in 1 and LIN in 9.
10 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
ECL's return on equity has been more volatile than LIN's over the 10 comparable fiscal years — 10.9 percentage points of standard deviation against 7.0.
10 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 ECL and LIN over these 10 fiscal years — ECL led in 7 and LIN in 3.
10 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.