Here's Why You Should Retain Ecolab Stock in Your Portfolio Now

Ecolab Inc. ECL has been gaining from its solid product portfolio. The optimism, led by a solid third-quarter 2025 performance and continued focus on research and development, is expected to contribute further. However, concerns regarding macroeconomic factors persist.This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has gained 16.5% in the year-to-date period against the industry’s 1.3% decline. The S&P 500 Composite has increased 18.9% during the same time frame.The renowned water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services provider has a market capitalization of $77.94 billion. It projects 12.9% growth for the next five years and expects to maintain a strong performance in the future. Ecolab’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 0.29%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchReasons Favoring Ecolab’s GrowthStrong Product Portfolio With a Focus on R&D: Ecolab’s diversified portfolio across water treatment, hygiene, life sciences, digital technologies, and pest control positions it strongly for sustained growth, supported by consistent R&D investments. The global water treatment market, valued at $38.56 billion in 2023, is projected to expand at an 8.1% CAGR through 2030, providing ample expansion opportunities.In the second quarter, the company reported progress in reshaping its portfolio by exiting non-core, low-margin segments in hospital and retail to concentrate on higher-value areas. Pest Elimination continues to outperform through its digital intelligence model, while Life Sciences sustains robust momentum across biopharma, pharma, and personal care, maintaining operating margins near 30%.Ecolab is also advancing its innovation-led strategy through cutting-edge solutions like the 3D TRASAR AI Dishmachine Program, which applies IoT and machine learning to cut water usage, and the 3D Cloud platform, which uses real-time analytics to optimize water treatment. These initiatives, alongside its disciplined portfolio management, highlight Ecolab’s focus on strengthening its competitive edge and driving growth in high-margin, high-tech markets.Ecolab’s Global High-Tech Business & Digital Platform: Ecolab is accelerating its transformation through two key high-growth, high-margin drivers — its Global High-Tech business and the Ecolab Digital Platform. Per the second-quarter earnings call, the Global High Tech segment delivered sales growth of more than 30%, driven by accelerating demand for data center cooling and water circularity solutions in the fast-expanding microelectronics industry. Management noted that operating margins in this segment now exceed 20%, underscoring both the scalability and profitability of the model, and described it as the beginning of an “incredible growth story” with significant runway as global demand for high-performance and sustainable solutions rises.Complementing this, Ecolab Digital continued its rapid expansion, with nearly 30% sales growth in the second quarter and an annualized revenue run rate of about $380 million. Growth was fueled by a mix of subscription-based services and digital hardware, demonstrating the company’s ability to monetize its technology platform at scale. These businesses not only enhance Ecolab’s recurring revenue base but also strengthen its positioning in critical industries where efficiency, water management, and sustainability are top priorities, reinforcing the long-term durability of its growth strategy.Strong Q3 Results: ECL exited the third quarter of 2025 with better-than-expected results. The company registered a robust year-over-year uptick in its top line, along with solid performances across all segments. The expansion of both margins bodes well for the stock.Per management, the performance in Ecolab’s core businesses was led by a mid-single-digit rally in Institutional & Specialty, and accelerating Food & Beverage growth, as the company leveraged its innovations and the One Ecolab enterprise growth strategy. The company’s growth engines (which include Life Sciences, Pest Elimination, Global High-Tech and Ecolab Digital) collectively grew sales in the double digits. This looked promising for the stock.A Factor That May Offset ECL’s GainsMacroeconomic Factors: Ecolab operates in 170 countries, which is why its operations are subjected to unfavorable social, political and economic challenges that may be ongoing in various countries. Per the second-quarter earnings call, management acknowledged several macroeconomic challenges that are creating near-term headwinds. Tariffs and tariff-related inflation remain a pressure point, with commodity costs running in the low to mid-single-digit range and expected to persist through the back half of the year.The company also pointed to softer demand in paper and basic industries, which weighed on its performance compared with more resilient sectors. In addition, foreign exchange movements are expected to have an unfavorable impact on expenses relative to last year.Estimate TrendEcolab is witnessing a stable estimate revision trend for 2025. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings has remained stable at $7.53 per share.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 revenues is pegged at $4.19 billion, indicating a 4.6% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Medpace Holdings MEDP, Intuitive Surgical ISRG and Boston Scientific BSX.Medpace, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reported a third-quarter 2025 earnings per share (EPS) of $3.86, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.29%. Revenues of $659.9 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.04%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.MEDP has an estimated earnings growth rate of 17.1% for 2025 compared with the industry’s 16.6% growth. The company beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 14.28%.Intuitive Surgical, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, posted a third-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.40, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.6%. Revenues of $2.51 billion topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.9%.ISRG has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 15.7% compared with the industry’s 11.9% growth. The company’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.34%.Boston Scientific, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, reported a third-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 75 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.6%. Revenues of $5.07 billion outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.9%.BSX has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 16.4% compared with the industry’s 13.5% growth. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 7.36%.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report Ecolab Inc. (ECL): Free Stock Analysis Report Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG): Free Stock Analysis Report Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks