Yahoo Finance Ecolab (ECL) Reports Q1 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say
For the quarter ended March 2024, Ecolab (ECL) reported revenue of $3.75 billion, up 5.1% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.34, compared to $0.88 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +0.07% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.75 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.33, the EPS surprise was +0.75%.
While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how Ecolab performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Sales- Global Healthcare and Life Sciences (Fixed currency): $382.90 million versus $379.22 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +1.1% change.
Sales- Global Industrial (Public Currency rates): $1.84 billion versus $1.76 billion estimated by three analysts on average.
Sales- Global Institutional & Specialty (Fixed currency): $1.27 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $1.21 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +12.8%.
Sales- Global Institutional & Specialty (Public Currency rates): $1.27 billion compared to the $1.23 billion average estimate based on three analysts.
Sales- Global Industrial (Fixed currency): $1.84 billion versus $1.76 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +8.4% change.
Sales- Global Healthcare & Life Sciences (Public Currency rates): $379.90 million compared to the $387.87 million average estimate based on two analysts.
Operating Income- Global Healthcare and Life Sciences (Fixed currency): $37 million versus $43.57 million estimated by four analysts on average.
Operating Income- Global Institutional & Specialty (Fixed currency): $248 million versus $211.53 million estimated by four analysts on average.
Operating Income- Global Industrial (Fixed currency): $265 million versus $287.34 million estimated by four analysts on average.
Operating Income- Global Industrial (Public Currency rates): $265.40 million versus $267.24 million estimated by three analysts on average.
Operating Income- Global Institutional & Specialty (Public Currency rates): $247 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $201.07 million.
Operating Income- Corporate (Public Currency rates): -$79.50 million versus -$64.50 million estimated by two analysts on average.
View all Key Company Metrics for Ecolab here>>>
Shares of Ecolab have returned -2.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -2.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.
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Ecolab Inc. (ECL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
