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Side-by-side financial comparison of Cintas (CTAS) and Ecolab (ECL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Ecolab is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($4.1B vs $2.8B, roughly 1.5× Cintas). Cintas runs the higher net margin — 17.7% vs 10.6%, a 7.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Ecolab posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.0% vs 9.3%). Over the past eight quarters, Cintas's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 1.0%).

Cintas Corporation is an American corporation headquartered in Mason, Ohio, which provides a range of products and services to businesses including uniforms, mats, mops, cleaning and restroom supplies, first aid and safety products, fire extinguishers and testing, and safety courses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of the S&P 500 Index.

Ecolab Inc., headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, provides products related to water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene, primarily to commercial and industrial customers.

CTAS vs ECL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ECL
ECL
1.5× larger
ECL
$4.1B
$2.8B
CTAS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ECL
ECL
+0.7% gap
ECL
10.0%
9.3%
CTAS
Higher net margin
CTAS
CTAS
7.1% more per $
CTAS
17.7%
10.6%
ECL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CTAS
CTAS
Annualised
CTAS
7.9%
1.0%
ECL

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q2 FY2026

Metric
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Revenue
$2.8B
$4.1B
Net Profit
$495.3M
$432.6M
Gross Margin
50.4%
Operating Margin
23.4%
15.3%
Net Margin
17.7%
10.6%
Revenue YoY
9.3%
10.0%
Net Profit YoY
10.4%
1.3%
EPS (diluted)
$1.21
$1.52

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
$4.1B
Q4 25
$2.8B
$4.2B
Q3 25
$2.7B
$4.2B
Q2 25
$2.7B
$4.0B
Q1 25
$2.6B
$3.7B
Q4 24
$2.6B
$4.0B
Q3 24
$2.5B
$4.0B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$4.0B
Net Profit
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
$432.6M
Q4 25
$495.3M
$563.9M
Q3 25
$491.1M
$585.0M
Q2 25
$448.3M
$524.2M
Q1 25
$463.5M
$402.5M
Q4 24
$448.5M
$472.9M
Q3 24
$452.0M
$736.5M
Q2 24
$414.3M
$490.9M
Gross Margin
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
Q4 25
50.4%
44.0%
Q3 25
50.3%
44.8%
Q2 25
49.7%
44.8%
Q1 25
50.6%
44.2%
Q4 24
49.8%
43.3%
Q3 24
50.1%
43.4%
Q2 24
43.8%
Operating Margin
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
15.3%
Q4 25
23.4%
17.0%
Q3 25
22.7%
18.3%
Q2 25
22.4%
17.6%
Q1 25
23.4%
15.0%
Q4 24
23.1%
14.6%
Q3 24
22.4%
26.1%
Q2 24
22.2%
16.5%
Net Margin
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
10.6%
Q4 25
17.7%
13.4%
Q3 25
18.1%
14.0%
Q2 25
16.8%
13.0%
Q1 25
17.8%
10.9%
Q4 24
17.5%
11.8%
Q3 24
18.1%
18.4%
Q2 24
16.8%
12.3%
EPS (diluted)
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
$1.52
Q4 25
$1.21
$1.98
Q3 25
$1.20
$2.05
Q2 25
$1.08
$1.84
Q1 25
$1.13
$1.41
Q4 24
$1.09
$1.65
Q3 24
$1.10
$2.58
Q2 24
$4.00
$1.71

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$200.8M
$519.8K
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.4B
$8.5M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$4.5B
$10.0M
Total Assets
$10.1B
$25.0M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.54×
0.85×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
$519.8K
Q4 25
$200.8M
$646.2M
Q3 25
$138.1M
$2.0B
Q2 25
$264.0M
$1.9B
Q1 25
$243.4M
$1.2B
Q4 24
$122.4M
$1.3B
Q3 24
$101.4M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$342.0M
$384.0M
Total Debt
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
$8.5M
Q4 25
$2.4B
$7.4B
Q3 25
$2.4B
$8.1B
Q2 25
$2.4B
$7.5B
Q1 25
$2.0B
$7.0B
Q4 24
$2.0B
$6.9B
Q3 24
$2.0B
$7.0B
Q2 24
$2.0B
$7.5B
Stockholders' Equity
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
$10.0M
Q4 25
$4.5B
$9.8B
Q3 25
$4.8B
$9.7B
Q2 25
$4.7B
$9.3B
Q1 25
$4.6B
$8.9B
Q4 24
$4.3B
$8.8B
Q3 24
$4.0B
$8.5B
Q2 24
$4.3B
$8.3B
Total Assets
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
$25.0M
Q4 25
$10.1B
$24.7B
Q3 25
$9.8B
$23.9B
Q2 25
$9.8B
$23.7B
Q1 25
$9.6B
$22.4B
Q4 24
$9.4B
$22.4B
Q3 24
$9.1B
$22.1B
Q2 24
$9.2B
$21.5B
Debt / Equity
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
0.85×
Q4 25
0.54×
0.75×
Q3 25
0.51×
0.83×
Q2 25
0.52×
0.81×
Q1 25
0.44×
0.79×
Q4 24
0.47×
0.79×
Q3 24
0.50×
0.82×
Q2 24
0.47×
0.91×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$531.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$425.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
15.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
3.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.07×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.8B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
Q4 25
$531.2M
$1.1B
Q3 25
$414.5M
$791.3M
Q2 25
$635.7M
$701.8M
Q1 25
$622.0M
$369.4M
Q4 24
$441.4M
$766.7M
Q3 24
$466.7M
$786.7M
Q2 24
$693.0M
$611.1M
Free Cash Flow
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
Q4 25
$425.0M
$758.0M
Q3 25
$312.5M
$529.7M
Q2 25
$521.1M
$485.1M
Q1 25
$522.1M
$131.5M
Q4 24
$340.0M
$407.0M
Q3 24
$373.8M
$550.3M
Q2 24
$591.1M
$414.2M
FCF Margin
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
Q4 25
15.2%
18.1%
Q3 25
11.5%
12.7%
Q2 25
19.5%
12.1%
Q1 25
20.0%
3.6%
Q4 24
13.3%
10.2%
Q3 24
14.9%
13.8%
Q2 24
23.9%
10.4%
Capex Intensity
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
Q4 25
3.8%
7.9%
Q3 25
3.8%
6.3%
Q2 25
4.3%
5.4%
Q1 25
3.8%
6.4%
Q4 24
4.0%
9.0%
Q3 24
3.7%
5.9%
Q2 24
4.1%
4.9%
Cash Conversion
CTAS
CTAS
ECL
ECL
Q2 26
Q4 25
1.07×
1.93×
Q3 25
0.84×
1.35×
Q2 25
1.42×
1.34×
Q1 25
1.34×
0.92×
Q4 24
0.98×
1.62×
Q3 24
1.03×
1.07×
Q2 24
1.67×
1.24×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CTAS
CTAS

Uniform Rental And Facility Services Segment$2.2B77%
First Aid And Safety Services Segment$342.2M12%
Fire Protection Services$222.5M8%
Uniform Direct Sales$79.8M3%

ECL
ECL

Product and equipment sales$3.2B78%
Service and lease sales$891.5M22%

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