Ecolab (ECL) Up 4.5% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Ecolab (ECL). Shares have added about 4.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Ecolab due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month.

VGM Scores

Currently, Ecolab has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions has been net zero. Notably, Ecolab has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry Player

Ecolab is part of the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry. Over the past month, Element Solutions (ESI), a stock from the same industry, has gained 5.1%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended March 2025 more than a month ago.

Element Solutions reported revenues of $593.7 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +3.3%. EPS of $0.34 for the same period compares with $0.34 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Element Solutions is expected to post earnings of $0.33 per share, indicating a change of -8.3% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Element Solutions. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of D.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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